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Information Technology March/April 2008 Data by the Slice SpecLink offers easy system for selecting important data By Debra Wood
To speed the preparation of construction documents, design professionals often turn to BSD SpecLink, which features a relational database that lets users select text to include, rather than delete what’s not needed. “I find it is so much faster than doing it the old way of cut-and-paste in Word documents,” says Doug Haas, manager of architectural services at Boldt Co., Appleton, Wis., which has used SpecLink for seven years. “It’s all there and organized. You make checks and move on. I’ve been happy with it.” The software incorporates the Construction Specifications Institute’s MasterFormat 2004 and the 1995 MasterFormat. Users select the portion of the file they want to include. Nothing is deleted because the master text remains available, but only the selected copy prints. “The advantage of SpecLink is you get to see it all, but you only turn on the pieces that apply to your product, section or how you want to specify something,” Haas says. For instance, if the designer specifies a certain brick, SpecLink highlights installation instructions and reference standards for inclusion. “In a word-processing system, you have to know enough to leave in the appropriate text,” says Rob Dean, president and chief operating officer of SpecLink developer Building Systems Design, Atlanta. “Our built-in intelligent links do a lot of editing for the user, so you don’t have to be an expert in masonry to produce a good masonry spec. What you need to know is what materials to include.” Designers often cut and paste from a previous project’s specs in a word-processing program, but that can present problems. “With a Word-based system, unless what you are cutting from has everything you need in it, you may not know it,” Haas adds. “That’s why SpecLink is nice.” With SpecLink, the user can still work off a previous job’s specs, but all original text will still exist in the previous file. The designer on the new project can look it over and add whatever he or she needs. The SpecLink system incorporates PerSpective, a database of performance-based specifications used during early building design stages and for design-build projects. “It includes design criteria that are helpful when an owner is trying to decide on the characteristics of a new building, such as security, maintenance, energy conservation or acoustics,” Dean says. “These are criteria that don’t deal with materials so much as the required results.” That section of the software is organized to the facility’s basic components such as the shell, rather than product categories, which is how BSD has organized the main SpecLink section. SpecLink can automatically format an entire document and generate reports about a project, such as lists of required submittals and specified manufacturers. BSD offers an evaluation package that allows potential users to try the system. A live demo is available online. An initial one-year subscription ranges from $995 to $3,295, depending on the sections desired. The $490 meter mode allows users to pay as they go, deducting a set amount per section printed. Renewal pricing is lower. Building Systems Design |
