We recently hosted a webinar, Collaborative Specification Writing, featuring insights from NBS Innovation Director, Dr Stephen Hamil, NBS Head of Manufacturer Solutions, Lee Jones, and manufacturers Profab Access and PPG Architectural Coatings.
The webinar looked at improving the safety, sustainability and efficiency of buildings through more effective collaboration between manufacturers and specifiers. Here are the three things you should consider when writing a specification...
1. Changing legislation
Following the publication of Building a Safer Future, a ‘Golden Thread of information’ was proposed in order to make the construction industry more transparent and introduce a greater level of accountability. For over 50 years, NBS’ suite of tools has provided a structured solution for specifiers. Our team of experts also ensure that specification templates and clauses always meet current regulations and industry standards, so that you don’t have to worry about constantly staying up-to-date with the latest changes. During her keynote speech at the Construction Leaders’ Summit in October 2020, Dame Judith Hackitt said that although the changes from the Draft Building Safety Bill won’t actually be implemented until 2023, it is a moral obligation to start behaving as if those regulations are already in place.
"The case for doing so not only has a strong moral argument but also makes business sense by ensuring that buildings are built to the right standards now and avoiding costly rectification and remediation work" – Dame Judith Hackitt, October 2020
2. Easily access product information
In research conducted on behalf of the Construction Products Association (CPA), NBS found that specifiers typically find it too difficult to find clear technical information relating to construction products and systems. NBS Source, our manufacturer product platform, was launched last year to help solve this problem. Source allows you to search and compare hundreds of thousands of manufacturer products with the highest quality data – and this data all links to our specification platform, NBS Chorus, to make the specification writing process easier than ever. NBS Chorus is fully cloud-based and has options for organisations of all sizes. This means that irrespective of the size of your practice or where you are in the world, as you long have internet access, you can create your specification anywhere at any time!
"Before NBS Chorus, I would spend about 80 hours completing a mechanical specification. Now it only takes about 20 hours, which is a massive reduction, meaning I’ve got more time to work on other projects and don’t have to work late into the night" – Jason Carter-Smith, Project Engineer at Adler and Allan, January 2021
3. Specialist insights
With NBS Chorus being cloud-based, it is now possible to remotely collaborate with the whole project team, including clients, contractors and product manufacturers directly within the project environment. Now more than ever, achieving the highest accuracy and compliance within specifications is paramount. Engaging with manufacturers during the specification process can help to deliver robust high quality specifications and increase the efficiency of your delivery. Having a manufacturer’s specification provided within Chorus ensures that the products and systems are firstly specified accurately, but it also saves you time by omitting the mundane task of manually copying specification provisions into your project.
"The manufacturer is putting this all together for you - so you can easily just check the content at the end and then transfer directly into the main specification.” – Chris Dixon, Associate Architect at Franklin Ellis Architects, April 2020
