The Scope Gap Index / Division 23
Division 23 · HVAC · Q3 2026
28 Division 23 packages across 23 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 23 packages across 23 projects, 17 July to 30 September 2026
of 28 had at least one flag from Scope Agent
flags in total: 351 inferred, 256 coordination
flagged for testing, inspection and certification, and all 24 of those as inferred
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
Scope Agent flagged testing, inspection and certification in 24 of 28 HVAC packages, every one as inferred: air and water balancing, duct leakage testing, commissioning, the start-up report. Penetrations and sealants tie second at 23, and those run the other way, with 21 and 20 coordination flags. The duct through the rated wall and the curb on the roofer’s membrane are the two places an HVAC package meets another trade, and the documents show both without a name.
| Job flagged | Packages | Inferred | Coordination | Share flagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testing, inspection and certification24 inferred · 3 coordination | 24 of 28 | 24 | 3 | 86% |
| Penetrations, sleeves and firestopping16 inferred · 21 coordination | 23 of 28 | 16 | 21 | 82% |
| Sealants, flashing and waterproofing joints13 inferred · 20 coordination | 23 of 28 | 13 | 20 | 82% |
| Anchors, embeds and connections18 inferred · 17 coordination | 22 of 28 | 18 | 17 | 79% |
| Hoisting, lifting and delivery18 inferred · 1 coordination | 19 of 28 | 18 | 1 | 68% |
| Utility and service connections14 inferred · 9 coordination | 16 of 28 | 14 | 9 | 57% |
| Temporary protection12 inferred · 5 coordination | 15 of 28 | 12 | 5 | 54% |
| Cleaning14 inferred · 0 coordination | 14 of 28 | 14 | 0 | 50% |
| Blocking, backing and support3 inferred · 12 coordination | 13 of 28 | 3 | 12 | 46% |
| Maintenance, warranty and spares10 inferred · 4 coordination | 13 of 28 | 10 | 4 | 46% |
| Openings, cutting and patching3 inferred · 13 coordination | 13 of 28 | 3 | 13 | 46% |
| Removal, demolition and disposal3 inferred · 7 coordination | 9 of 28 | 3 | 7 | 32% |
| Scaffolding, shoring and access4 inferred · 0 coordination | 4 of 28 | 4 | 0 | 14% |
| Shop drawings and submittals1 inferred · 3 coordination | 4 of 28 | 1 | 3 | 14% |
| Tolerances, joints and trade interfaces1 inferred · 3 coordination | 4 of 28 | 1 | 3 | 14% |
“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 (24 of 28) is left out; see the method note.
Beyond the ranking
Balancing, duct leakage, commissioning and the start-up reports are in every mechanical spec, and Scope Agent found 24 of 28 packages silent on who performs them. Only three of those also carried a coordination flag. The balancing agency is often hired by nobody until the engineer asks for the report.
Rooftop units, air handlers, the chiller. The crane day is a line item somebody has to own, and 19 packages didn’t say who, 18 as inferred. Same gap as electrical switchgear: lifting it is nobody’s trade, so when the documents skip it nobody notices until the delivery is booked.
Blocking drew 13 flags, 12 coordination against three inferred. Openings drew 13, all 13 coordination. The louvre opening in the mason’s wall, the curb the roofer flashes, the backing for the wall-hung unit. Nobody disputes they’re needed. The flag is about whose scope the opening sits in.
The items in detail
The seven jobs flagged in more than half the packages. Check your own documents before assuming a flag is right.
Air and water balancing, duct leakage testing, commissioning support, start-up reports, the refrigerant and pressure tests the authority wants. Twenty-four inferred, three coordination. Name who hires the balancing agency, who commissions, and who produces each report.
Duct and pipe penetrations through rated walls and slabs, sleeves before the pour, fire dampers at every rated crossing, and the firestopping around all of it. Sixteen inferred, 21 coordination. Require a combined penetration drawing before each pour, and say who supplies, installs and firestops each damper and sleeve.
The curb on the roof, the louvre in the wall, the wall cap for the exhaust: each one is a flashing and sealant joint between the mechanical sub and the envelope trades. Thirteen inferred, 20 coordination. Name the trade that flashes and seals each rooftop and wall penetration.
Equipment pads and anchors, hangers and seismic restraint into the structure, the embed for the roof curb, the final electrical connection to each unit. Eighteen inferred, 17 coordination. Name who sets each pad, anchor and curb, and who lands the power.
The crane for rooftop units and air handlers, rigging the chiller into the plant room, the route through the building for anything that arrives after the walls are up. Eighteen of the 19 flags were inferred. State who provides the crane and when.
Gas to the units, condensate to drain, the chilled and heating water tie-ins, the boundary with the plumber at each one. Fourteen inferred, nine coordination. State the boundary for each service at each unit.
Protecting installed ductwork from construction dust, capping open ends, protecting rooftop units before start-up, and the temporary heat the building needs over winter. Twelve inferred, five coordination. Say who caps, who protects and who provides temporary heat.
Method
28 scope packages classified to MasterFormat Division 23, generated by Scope Agent between 17 July and 30 September 2026 on 23 of the 24 projects in the quarter’s cohort. Nineteen carried the trade label mechanical and eight HVAC. One carried a customer-specific label we couldn’t map to a standard trade; it’s 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. 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.
Twenty-eight packages on 23 projects clears our 20-package threshold for publishing a division. It’s small enough that one package moves a share by about four points, so treat the ranking as an order and the percentages loosely. 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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