Loretta - that’s the very first thing I check any time a client tells me, “we have our own masters.”
Dan –
I am right now in the midst of just updating the numbering for the client’s masters to that newfangled six digit MasterFormat. I can’t wait to actually read what is in them.
Loretta: In the ASTM analogy I’m referring to back to a time when pin register hand drafting was a radical step forward!
I always HATED pin-register drafting. It was one of those ideas (like CONDOCS and BIM) that must have seemed like a really good idea to some engineers who had no idea how construction documents were actually produced or used.
@ Phil Kabza: “I didn’t know what ASTM stood for when I started.”
ASTM used to be an acronym for, ‘American Society of Testing and Materials’, which is pretty descriptive moniker. It now is not an acronym for anything, but merely a prefix for ‘International’. As the world changes, specs need to keep pace.
Kirk W. Mackey
I got placed in a spec consulting firm by an employment agency and after a few months, my boss starting talking about CSI. After he explained what it was, I said “you mean there are more of you and you admit it in public?”
LOL! Yes, and we’re all darn proud of it, too!
Resurrecting this thread seemed the best place to go.
Why is it advantageous for an architectural firm to use a dedicated spec writer (whether in house or as an external consultant) as opposed to just having architects working on the project write the specs?
I know why I think it is advantageous, but I would love to hear, er, read what you all have to say.
Thank you!!
A typical staff architect will develop 2, 3, or 4 projects in a year. A dedicated specification writer will work on that many in a couple of weeks. This enables much faster mastery of information within a narrower channel of expertise, which greatly benefits the design process and the final documentation. Given the demands on a project architect across the range of owner, community, and statutory requirements and coordination of an ever-increasing number of project consultants, adding competent specification development seems more and more unreasonable.
Well I could be snarky and say that it would be great if every project architect would write, or at least read, their project specs since they know best what is in their projects. What a great exercise in learning how to communicate content to others. I know a number of Architects who value Specifiers because they had to write a spec and enforce it in CA. They are some of the best people I have to work with. They populate my product data folders with marked up product data sheets and even save the PDS in the correct Division folders (well, most of the time).
Why do Architects use other “consultants” whether in-house or independent? Can’t they do their own hardware or theater design or acoustic studies, etc.? Do they even have time to finish design before transitioning to CDs or for that matter to finish fleshing out the project? How many more RFIs do you think projects get when there’s a disconnect in communication between Drawings and Specs? Imagine what happens when Architects who do not value specs end up writing their own.
BTW, there are a lot of Architects who are not dedicated Specifiers who write darn good specs. They are usually great people to work with.
I think another way to fix this overall issue is firms need to be willing to give students an opportunity. I’m 31 years old and started writing specs because after I went back to college (technical college) at 25, I ran across a job opening for a Specifications Coordinator position. I barely knew what specs were but I knew I wanted to get my foot in the door in the industry & I had a 4.0 GPA so that firm took a chance on me. I was trained by one of the best & now here I am 5 years later, the sole Specifications Writer for a different firm & loving what I do. There are certainly more people out there like me, that want a solid career and might enjoy it. Firms just have to be willing to look at people with 2 year degrees instead of 4 & willing to take a chance on someone that is smart, with good work ethic. Folks aren’t going to school intending to write specs for a living. I originally wanted to be an estimator but I fell in love with my first position in specs. Loretta, in this thread, actually remembers those days I’m sure and she taught me a lot that I know as well. I’m very grateful I was given that chance & I think there are surely others out there like me.
Melissa, it sounds like you have a similar path as I did (minus the 4.0 GPA!).
Here’s my story that I share with the group only to demonstrate that a good spec writer can be made out of thin air (+ 1 marginally bright individual who’s not afraid to ask dumb questions)…
I enrolled in 2-year architectural drafting program and earned my Associate in Arts degree in 2000. I was lucky to find a position at a great A/E firm and had been drafting for only 9 months or so when, during the economic slump that lagged behind 9-11, I was advised by a project manager to check out the job opening in our spec department because they were starting to layoff staff. “Yes sir! Will do! What’s a specification exactly?” (I sort of knew what a specification was, just had no idea how to put one together or how they worked.)
I had no project architect experience, no construction experience or any construction site experience, no 4-year degree in architectural design, and zero experience with a specification. I wasn’t even good at AutoCAD (drafted an entire project on a single layer because I didn’t understand layers - I didn’t have the best mentorship at the time). All that I really brought to the table was a strong work ethic, love for learning, and a strong sense of service to my colleagues. Not the best resum, but that’s all that was needed to launch me into a successful 22 year career! Right?? No! Not by a long shot!
I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for those who saw potential in me. I’m not talking about a single special person who was visited by an angle and blessed with a vision of the magnificent grandeur that would be my career. I’m talking about the dozens (hundreds?) of colleagues along the way who trusted me to complete the task at hand, to take advantage of an opportunity they were offering me, or to simply come through for them when they didn’t know what to do themselves. The environment I work in has allowed me to build a career one stupid question at a time. That is to say, I work at a firm that values and supports learning, mentorship, career development, and who maintains a respectful environment - a “safe place” to ask those dumb questions. All my 22 years is with the same A/E firm (HGA).
And then there’s CSI. The outreach to students (I was a student member), the certification programs (HGA gave me raises and promotions when I got my CDT and CCS!), the ongoing membership and involvement (albeit limited) with CSI has been invaluable to me.