Standards Lookup

This skill catalogs the major engineering standards bodies with their selection logic, section-lookup patterns, access methods, and citation formats. Your job is to turn the user's engineering question into a reproducible provision retrieval: select the authoritative standard, locate the governing section, retrieve or reference the provision text, and return it with enough provenance that another engineer can verify it.

Engineering standards differ from scientific databases: most are paywalled, many have no public API, and the same question may be answered differently by different jurisdictional standards. This skill handles those realities explicitly.

Input Gate

Before searching, name the question, the artifact/scope (or say it is a literature review), the jurisdiction/edition, and the effort budget (user-set or thorough). Ask ONE clarifying question if the ask is too vague, then proceed. See references/input-gate.md.

Core Workflow

1. Select the authoritative standard — Use the Standard Selection Guide below. Prefer the primary standard for the domain + jurisdiction. Do not fan out across many standards just because they are available.
2. Locate the governing section — Engineering standards organize by limit state (flexure, shear, compression, stability, connections). Use the section-lookup patterns in the reference file to navigate. Distinguish mandatory provisions ("shall") from advisory ("should", "may", commentary).
3. Return the provision with provenance — If free access or preview is available, retrieve the provision text directly. If paywalled, cite the exact provision (standard, section, edition, page) so the user can locate it in their copy. Never paraphrase a "shall" provision — quote it or flag the paraphrase. When two applicable standards conflict, report both and identify which the project specification designates as governing.

Standard Selection Guide

By engineering domain

By jurisdiction

Access Methods

Most engineering standards are paywalled. This is a first-class constraint, not an afterthought.

Access tiers

What to do when access is blocked

1. Cite precisely — standard, section, edition, and page number (or equivalent locator) so the user can find it in their licensed copy.
2. Flag the access limitation explicitly in the output.
3. Never reconstruct a "shall" provision from memory or secondary sources — this is how dangerous errors creep in. If you cannot retrieve the provision, say so and provide the citation.
4. Offer a free alternative if one answers the same question (e.g., a FHWA manual provision that parallels an AASTO clause).

Provision Types and Mandatory Language

Engineering standards use precise obligation levels. Distinguish them in your output:

When a claim invokes a provision, verify the obligation level. A researcher who treats a "should" as a "shall" (or vice versa) has made a compliance error.

Conflict Resolution

When two applicable standards give different answers, do not silently pick one — report both and identify which the project specification designates as governing. Never silently pick the more conservative value; conservatism is a design decision, not a retrieval decision.

Section-Lookup Patterns

Identify the limit state (flexure, shear, compression, stability, connections), then find the chapter and provision in the reference file. Check the scope clause and footnotes — "except" clauses are where governing provisions hide.

Output Format

Structure your response like this:

## Retrieval Summary
- Standard:
- Edition / date:
- Section(s):
- Access: retrieved | preview-only | paywalled (cited) | unavailable
- Jurisdiction assumed:

## Provision
[Exact text if retrieved, or exact citation if paywalled]

## Obligation level
[shall / should / may / commentary]

## Applicability check
[Does the provision actually apply to the case? Scope confirmed?]

## Conflicts / cross-checks
[Any overlapping standards with different requirements]

## Provenance
- Source: [standard + section + edition]
- Access method: [free / preview / paywalled / unavailable]
- Access date:
- Identifier conversions or assumptions:
- Warnings: [paywall, edition differences, jurisdiction limits, scope gaps]

If the provision is paywalled and cannot be retrieved, say so explicitly and provide the most specific citation possible. Do not reconstruct mandatory provisions from memory.

Adding New Standards

Each standard is a self-contained reference file in references/. To add one: create references/<standard-abbrev>.md (scope, edition history, access method, chapters by limit state, key sections, mandatory-language conventions, known conflicts, jurisdiction notes) and add an entry to the Standard Selection Guide.

Available Standards

Read the relevant reference file before attempting any lookup.

Structural Steel

Concrete

Masonry

Bridges and Transportation

Fire and Life Safety

Electrical

Mechanical

Materials and Testing

Timber and Masonry

Citing Engineering Standards

Format: [Standard Abbreviation] [Number]-[Edition], §[Section], [Title] ([Publisher], [Year]).

Example: AISC 360-22, §F2-1, Flexural Members (AISC, 2022).

Always cite the edition — provisions change between editions (AISC 360-16 vs -22 differ; ACI 318-14 vs -18 had major shear changes). When the user references a standard without an edition, ask which one or note the assumption.

Scope and Boundaries

• This skill retrieves and cites standards provisions — it does NOT produce final designs or construction documents.
• Research-only, not for final engineering sign-off. Retrieved provisions support engineering research but must be reviewed by a licensed engineer for any design application. Standards applicability (jurisdiction, edition, scope) is the user's responsibility.
• Evidence quality: see references/evidence-quality-tiers.md.