The Scope Gap Index / Division 10
Division 10 · Specialties · Q3 2026
81 Division 10 packages across 24 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 10 packages across 24 projects, 17 July to 30 September 2026
of 81 had at least one flag from Scope Agent
flags in total: 586 inferred, 139 coordination
flagged for blocking, backing and support, 41 of them 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
Toilet accessories, signage, lockers, partitions, canopies: nearly everything in Division 10 fastens to a wall or a slab another trade built. Scope Agent flagged blocking, backing and support in 46 of 81 packages, 41 as inferred. The drawing shows the grab bar, the spec says backing is required, and nobody owns the plywood behind the drywall. Sealants and anchors follow at 37 and 34 for the same reason.
| Job flagged | Packages | Inferred | Coordination | Share flagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocking, backing and support41 inferred · 14 coordination | 46 of 81 | 41 | 14 | 57% |
| Sealants, flashing and waterproofing joints35 inferred · 7 coordination | 37 of 81 | 35 | 7 | 46% |
| Anchors, embeds and connections29 inferred · 10 coordination | 34 of 81 | 29 | 10 | 42% |
| Shop drawings and submittals24 inferred · 3 coordination | 26 of 81 | 24 | 3 | 32% |
| Temporary protection24 inferred · 9 coordination | 26 of 81 | 24 | 9 | 32% |
| Tolerances, joints and trade interfaces20 inferred · 11 coordination | 25 of 81 | 20 | 11 | 31% |
| Removal, demolition and disposal23 inferred · 1 coordination | 24 of 81 | 23 | 1 | 30% |
| Maintenance, warranty and spares18 inferred · 1 coordination | 19 of 81 | 18 | 1 | 23% |
| Cleaning17 inferred · 0 coordination | 17 of 81 | 17 | 0 | 21% |
| Testing, inspection and certification17 inferred · 0 coordination | 17 of 81 | 17 | 0 | 21% |
| Openings, cutting and patching6 inferred · 7 coordination | 12 of 81 | 6 | 7 | 15% |
| Penetrations, sleeves and firestopping7 inferred · 4 coordination | 11 of 81 | 7 | 4 | 14% |
| Utility and service connections3 inferred · 1 coordination | 4 of 81 | 3 | 1 | 5% |
| Hoisting, lifting and delivery2 inferred · 0 coordination | 2 of 81 | 2 | 0 | 2% |
“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 (61 of 81) is left out; see the method note.
Beyond the ranking
Of 725 flags, 586 were inferred and 139 coordination. Specialties packages are short item lists, and the jobs around the item go unnamed: the sealant at the base of the partition, the backing for the sign, the anchor for the canopy. There’s rarely a second trade in the argument, because the second trade was never told.
Caulking around every accessory, the sign and the partition base is the kind of job that is in nobody’s package until a leak or a punch-list walk makes it somebody’s. Thirty-five inferred against seven coordination.
Cleaning drew 17 flags and testing 17, and none of the 34 was a coordination flag. Peeling the protective film off the partitions, the fire-rated assembly inspection, the load test on the fall-protection anchor. The spec calls for it and names nobody.
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.
Backing for toilet accessories, grab bars, signage, lockers, wall-mounted partitions and canopies. Forty-one inferred, 14 coordination. Put a backing schedule in the framing scope keyed to the specialties drawings, and make the specialties sub confirm it before rough-in closes.
Sealant at the partition base, around accessories in a wet room, at the canopy flashing where it meets the wall. Thirty-five inferred, seven coordination. Say which trade seals each interface.
Anchors for canopies, flagpoles and bike racks into concrete, the embed for the sign post, the connection to the structure above a suspended partition. Twenty-nine inferred, ten coordination. Name who supplies and sets each anchor and who checks it.
Signage schedules, partition layouts, colour selections, the engineered drawings for the canopy. Twenty-four of the 26 flags were inferred. State what is submitted, by whom and by when.
Protecting installed accessories, partitions and signage through the finish trades, and protecting the finished wall while they go in. Twenty-four inferred, nine coordination. Say who protects what and for how long.
Mounting heights to code, partition clearances against the tile sub’s finished floor, the interface between a modular partition and the ceiling grid. Twenty inferred, 11 coordination. State the tolerances and who verifies.
Method
81 scope packages classified to MasterFormat Division 10, generated by Scope Agent between 17 July and 30 September 2026 on all 24 projects in the quarter’s cohort. Twenty-two carried the trade label specialties, 21 signage, 14 modular partitions, five fireplace systems, two prefabricated canopies and awnings, and one each bath accessories, canopies, flagpoles, lockers, miscellaneous specialties and visual display units. Eleven 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 three specialties 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. Scaffolding, shoring and access drew no flags in this division and is left off the table.
81 packages on 24 projects clears our 20-package threshold for publishing a division, and one package moves a share by about a point. The bigger caution is composition: a signage package and a modular partition 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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