We’ve compiled a list of all the construction abbreviations we use most often as a resource to builders, engineers, framers, dealers, architects and other trades. This list is a work in progress, so if you have any abbreviations we’ve missed, leave them in the comments section and we’ll add them to the list.
| AB | Asbestos Board or Anchor Bolt |
| AC | Asphalt Concrete |
| ACCA | Air Conditioning Contractors of America |
| ACCU | Air Cooled Condensing Unit |
| ACH50 | Air Changes per Hour at 50 Pascals |
| ACI | American Concrete Institute |
| AFUE | Annualized Fuel Utilization Efficiency |
| AGC | Associated General Contractors of America |
| AHRI | Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute |
| AIS | American Institute of Steel Construction |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| ASE | Alliance to Save Energy |
| ASHRAE | American Society of Heating Refrigerating & Air conditioning Engineers |
| AWI | American Woodwork Institute |
| AWS | American Welding Society |
| AWWA | American Water Works Association |
| BAS | Building Airflow Standard |
| BETEC | Building Environment and Thermal Envelope Council |
| BOCA | Building Officials and Code Administrators International |
| BPI | Building Performance Institute |
| BSU | Basic Structural Unit |
| BTU | British Thermal Unit |
| CBS | Concrete Building Structure |
| CCA | Canadian Construction Association |
| CCF | Hundred Cubic Feet |
| CCI | Construction Cost Index |
| CEMP | Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan |
| CFA | Conditioned Floor Area |
| CFL | Compact Fluorescent Light |
| cfm50 | Cubic feet per minute at 50 Pascals |
| CIA | Cold Inducted Air |
| CIP | Cast Iron Pipe |
| CIPE | Certified in Plumbing Engineering |
| CIPP | Cast Iron Pressure Pipe |
| CISP | Cast Iron Soil Pipe |
| CO | Carbon Monoxide |
| COP | Coefficient of Performance |
| CM | Corrugated Metal |
| CP | Clay Pipe (standard length) |
| CP | Construction Planning |
| CP | Cost Proposal |
| CPI | Coalescing Plate Interceptor |
| CRPH | Cross Recess Pan Head |
| CS | Corrugated Steel |
| CSC | Constructions Specifications Canada |
| CSI | Construction Specifications Institute |
| CSP | Corrugated Steel Pipe |
| CSPI | Corrugated Steel Pipe Institute |
| CSW | Critical Structural Weakness |
| DFRCC | Ductile Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite |
| DI | Ductile Iron |
| DIP | Ductile Iron Pipe |
| DL | Drainage Layer |
| DOAS | Dedicated Outdoor Air System |
| DOE | Department of Energy |
| DSA | Division of State Architects |
| EBV | Exhaust Back-pressure Valve |
| ECAO | Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario |
| ECDA | External Corrosion Direct Assessment |
| EEBA | Energy and Environmental Building Association |
| EER | Energy Efficiency Ratio |
| EF | Energy Factor |
| EIR | Environmental Impact Report |
| EOS | Equivalent Opening Size |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| EPP | Environmentally Preferred Product |
| EPS | Expanded Polystyrene |
| EPSCA | Electrical Power Systems Construction Association |
| ES | Edge Split |
| ESA | Electrical Safety Authority |
| ESA | Environmentally Sensitive Area |
| ESC | Erosion and Sedimentation Control |
| ESP | Electrical Submersible Pump |
| ETABS | Extended Three Dimensional Analysis of Building Systems |
| ERV | Energy Recovery Ventilator |
| FCR | Fast Cast Rate |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| FM | Field Memo |
| FO | Field Order |
| FWD | Field Work Directive |
| G1S | Good One Side |
| GBC | Green Building Council |
| GC | General Contractor |
| GIS | Geographical Information System |
| GLULAM | Glue-laminated Beam |
| GS | Grade Stamped |
| GS | Grid Standpipe |
| GSFT | Glazed Structural Facing Tile |
| GSHP | Ground-source Heat Pump |
| GTAW | Gas Tungsten Arc Welding |
| HAZMAT | Hazardous Materials |
| HDD | Heating Degree Days |
| HDPE | High Density PolyEthylene |
| HET | High Efficiency Toilet |
| HERS | Home Energy Rating System |
| HPFRCC | High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites |
| HPwES | Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program |
| HRV | Heat Recovery Ventilator |
| HSPF | Heating Season Performance Factor |
| HVAC | Heating, ventilating, and Air Conditioning |
| IAQ | Indoor Air Quality |
| IAQA | Indoor Air Quality Association |
| IBC | International Building Code |
| ICC | International Code Council |
| ICF | Insulated Concrete Form |
| IECC | International Energy Conservation Code |
| IPM | Integrated Pest management |
| IW | Induction Welding |
| JHSC | Joint Health and Safety Commission |
| LC | Level Compressed |
| LCA | Life Cycle Assessment (Sustainable Architecture) |
| LED | Light Emitting Diode |
| LEED | Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design |
| LP | Level Points |
| LRFD | Load and Resistance Factor Design |
| LVF | Low Velocity Fasteners |
| MAWL | Maximum Allowable Working Load |
| MCAA | Mechanical Contractors Association of America |
| MCAC | Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada |
| ME | Metal Edge |
| MEP | Maximum Extent Practicable |
| MERV | Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value |
| MIAC | Mechanical Industry Advisory Committee |
| MMAW | Manual Metal Arch Welding |
| MS4 | Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System |
| MSDS | Material Safety Data Sheet |
| NAHB | National Association of Home Builders |
| NAHBRC | National Association of Home Builders Research Center |
| NAPHCC | National Association of Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors |
| NBC | National Building Code of Canada |
| NEC | National Electric Code |
| NGBS | National Green Building Standard |
| NIBS | National Institute of Building Sciences |
| NICET | National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies |
| NIST | National Institute for Standards and Technology |
| NPS | Non-point Source |
| NVSD | Non-vibration Sand Drain |
| OC | On Center |
| O&M or O/M | Operations and Management |
| OCEW | On Center Each Way |
| OHSA | Occupational Health and Safety Association |
| OSB | Oriented Strand Board |
| OSDS | On-site Disposal System |
| OWST | Organic Waste Storage Tank |
| P2 | Pollution Prevention |
| PAF | Plant Availability Factor |
| PAH | Poly-Aromatic Hydrocarbon |
| PAM | Poly-Acrylamide |
| PAP | Permit Application Package |
| PCB | Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyl |
| PCC | Portland Cement Concrete |
| PCCO | Prima Contract Change Order |
| PCE | Pre-stressed Concrete Erection |
| PCHWP | Process Chilled Water Pump |
| PCO | Potential Change Order |
| PCO | Proposed Change Order |
| PCR | Project Completion Report |
| PDO | Project Design Outline |
| PDS | Project Data Sheet |
| PED | Preconstruction Engineering and Design |
| PEP | Polyethylene Pipe |
| PEP | Project Execution Plan |
| PLF | Plant Load Factor |
| PME | Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation |
| PMG | Project Management Group |
| PO | Project Originals |
| POD | Position, Orientation, and Direction |
| POTW | Publicly Owned Treatment Works |
| PPC | Portland Pozzolana Cement |
| PPT | Pollution Prevention Team |
| PQ | Pre-Qualification |
| PS1 | Performance standard for wood-based structural panels (plywood) |
| PS2 | Performance standard for wood-based structural panels (OSB) |
| PSD | Particle Size Distribution |
| PVCP | Polyvinyl Chloride Pipe |
| PVD | Prefabricated Vertical Drain |
| RBEC | Registered Building Envelope Consultant |
| RC | Reinforced Concrete |
| RCP | Round Reinforced Concrete Pipe |
| RFP | Request for Pricing |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RFSW | Raised Face Socket Weld (i.e., face of a pipe flange) |
| ROJ | Required On Job site |
| RSPC | Regulated Set Portland Cement |
| RTR | Reinforced Thermosetting Resin |
| RTRC | Reinforced Thermosetting Resin conduit |
| RTRP | Reinforced Thermosetting Resin Pipe |
| RWDP | Rain Water Drain Pipe |
| RWQCB | Regional Water Quality Control Board |
| SAP | Sampling and Analysis Plan |
| SAPS | Site Assessment Prioritization System |
| SB | SolarBoard Radiant Barrier Sheathing |
| SCP | Sand Compaction Pile |
| SCFM | Standard cubic feet per minute |
| SD | Sand Drain |
| SFPM | Surface Feet Per Minute |
| SIC | Standard Industrial Classification |
| SIP | Structural Insulated Panel |
| SJI | Steel Joist Institute |
| SLC | Self-Leveling Compound |
| SP | Steel Pipe |
| SPCC | Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure |
| STMS | Site Traffic Management Supervisor |
| SUSMP | Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan |
| SWMP | StormWater Management Program |
| SWPPP | StormWater Pollution Prevention Plan |
| TB | TruBoard wall and roof sheathing |
| TD | Tender Design |
| TEC | Thermal Efficient Control |
| TOC | Total Organic Carbon |
| TQA | Trades Qualification Act |
| TSS | Total Suspended Solids |
| TW | TallWall wall sheathing |
| UBC | Uniform Building Code |
| UFC | Uniform Fire Code |
| USBIC | Sustainable Buildings Industry Council |
| USGBC | United States Green Building Council |
| VEC | Value Engineering Cost |
| VESDA | Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus |
| VMA | Variable Air Volume Modular Assembly |
| VMB | Valve Manifold Box |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| VOR | Variation Order Request |
| VLT | Vertical Turret Lathe |
| WEF | Water Environment Federation |
| WHMIS | Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System |
| WS | WindStorm wall sheathing |
| WSIB | Workplace Safety and Insurance Board |