The Scope Gap Index / Division 31
Division 31 · Earthwork · Q3 2026
49 Division 31 packages across 20 projects, generated between 17 July and 30 September 2026 for Provision customers, ranked by how often each job got flagged. Model flags, checked by a person on fewer than one item in a hundred. Where to look, not proof.
Division 31 packages across 20 projects, 17 July to 30 September 2026
of 49 had at least one flag from Scope Agent
flags in total: 381 inferred, 247 coordination
of packages had at least one flag, the only division where every package did
Inferred means Scope Agent judged the job necessary and found no scope naming who does it. Coordination means it judged the job to sit between two trades. Neither is a confirmed omission on that project.
Ranked
Forty-nine of 49. Scope Agent flagged removal and disposal in 31 packages, 27 as inferred: excess spoil, unsuitable material, where it goes and who pays the tip. Utility connections follow at 29: the existing services in the dig and the tie-in at the property line. Shoring and access at 28, all 28 inferred: the documents call for a shored excavation and don’t say who engineers it.
| Job flagged | Packages | Inferred | Coordination | Share flagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Removal, demolition and disposal27 inferred · 8 coordination | 31 of 49 | 27 | 8 | 63% |
| Utility and service connections24 inferred · 16 coordination | 29 of 49 | 24 | 16 | 59% |
| Scaffolding, shoring and access28 inferred · 13 coordination | 28 of 49 | 28 | 13 | 57% |
| Testing, inspection and certification23 inferred · 4 coordination | 24 of 49 | 23 | 4 | 49% |
| Maintenance, warranty and spares22 inferred · 1 coordination | 23 of 49 | 22 | 1 | 47% |
| Temporary protection19 inferred · 8 coordination | 21 of 49 | 19 | 8 | 43% |
| Sealants, flashing and waterproofing joints13 inferred · 13 coordination | 18 of 49 | 13 | 13 | 37% |
| Anchors, embeds and connections5 inferred · 13 coordination | 17 of 49 | 5 | 13 | 35% |
| Blocking, backing and support10 inferred · 7 coordination | 16 of 49 | 10 | 7 | 33% |
| Shop drawings and submittals11 inferred · 0 coordination | 11 of 49 | 11 | 0 | 22% |
| Tolerances, joints and trade interfaces10 inferred · 2 coordination | 10 of 49 | 10 | 2 | 20% |
| Cleaning9 inferred · 0 coordination | 9 of 49 | 9 | 0 | 18% |
| Penetrations, sleeves and firestopping6 inferred · 4 coordination | 9 of 49 | 6 | 4 | 18% |
| Hoisting, lifting and delivery3 inferred · 0 coordination | 3 of 49 | 3 | 0 | 6% |
| Openings, cutting and patching0 inferred · 3 coordination | 3 of 49 | 0 | 3 | 6% |
“Inferred” and “coordination” count packages with that kind of flag, and a package can have both, so the two columns can add to more than the total. The generic supply-versus-install topic (39 of 49) is left out; see the method note.
Beyond the ranking
In a division with ten shoring packages, Scope Agent still found 28 of 49 silent on who designs, installs and removes the shoring, the ramp and the haul road. Thirteen of those also carried a coordination flag, usually between the excavator and the shoring sub, which is at least an argument between two named parties.
Settlement after backfill, re-grading when it settles, maintaining the haul road and the silt fence through the job. The spec requires the result for a year and names nobody to come back.
Anchors, embeds and connections drew 17 flags, 13 coordination against five inferred. The tiebacks under the neighbour’s property, the pile cap the concrete sub pours on the foundation sub’s piles, the underpinning connection to the existing footing. Each one sits between earthwork and the structure.
The items in detail
The six jobs flagged most often, after the generic supply-versus-install topic. Check your own documents before assuming a flag is right.
Excess spoil off site, unsuitable material the geotechnical report hinted at, contaminated soil, the old foundations found in the dig. Twenty-seven inferred, eight coordination. State the disposal boundary, the unit rate for unsuitable material, and who classifies it.
Locating and protecting existing services, the temporary disconnect, the tie-in to the municipal main at the property line, the dewatering discharge permit. Twenty-four inferred, 16 coordination. Name who locates, who protects and who pays for the strike.
Engineered shoring, the excavation ramp, the haul road, the crane pad the structure sub needs. Twenty-eight inferred, 13 coordination. Say who engineers and installs the shoring, who maintains the ramp, and when the shoring comes out.
Compaction testing, the geotechnical engineer’s inspection of the subgrade, the pile load test, the survey of the finished grade. Twenty-three inferred, four coordination. List every test, who orders it, who pays for a failure.
Settlement and re-grading, erosion control through the job, the haul road. Twenty-two of the 23 flags were inferred. State the warranty on backfill and who returns for settlement.
Protecting the subgrade from weather and traffic before the slab goes down, erosion and sediment control, protecting the neighbour’s property. Nineteen inferred, eight coordination. Say who protects what and for how long.
Method
49 scope packages classified to MasterFormat Division 31, generated by Scope Agent between 17 July and 30 September 2026 on 20 of the 24 projects in the quarter’s cohort. Sixteen carried the trade label earthwork, ten shoring, seven special foundations, three soil stabilization, two soil treatment and two underpinning. Nine more carried a customer-specific label we couldn’t map to a standard trade; they’re counted here because the package itself was coded to the division. A package is one trade on one project, as it stood at quarter end, so a project typically contributes two or three earthwork packages. An item counts when Scope Agent flagged it as inferred or coordination. We grouped the items into sixteen topics by keyword, and one item can land in more than one topic.
49 packages on 20 projects clears our 20-package threshold for publishing a division, and one package moves a share by about two points. The bigger caution is composition: a shoring package and a bulk excavation package get flagged for different things, and this page blends them. These are Provision customers’ projects, and the numbers describe this sample only. A flag is Scope Agent’s judgment, checked by a person on fewer than one item in a hundred, so some flags will be wrong. We’ll update it every quarter.
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