Construction Specifications for the 21 st Century

Who is BSD? Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) is a software company specializing in applications for the architecture/engineering/construction market The company was founded in 1983 and acquired by CSI in 2010 Headquarters are in Atlanta Staff comprises 43 full-time employees, including architects, engineers, spec writers and software programmers, plus outside consultants Major products are: –BSD SpecLink ® -E (now including SLE Cloud) –BSD LinkMan ™ -E –BSD CostLink ® /AE Customers include thousands of firms and individual users in all 50 states

What is BSD SpecLink-E? It’s the most innovative productivity tool available for editing, maintaining and producing up-to-date construction specifications – and it’s configured for linkage to Revit through BSD LinkMan-E.

It’s the latest generation of a tool that is being used to write specs for over 20,000 commercial, industrial, and institutional projects annually It’s the most innovative system available for producing up-to-date building construction specs It’s an integrated relational database solution for specification editing, production & maintenance It’s one database of master guide specification sections that can be collapsed or expanded to produce specs for all project phases – from programming through construction It’s the most comprehensive collection of guide specs available today – currently 640+ master sections covering all disciplines – and applicable to all project delivery methods, including design-build What is BSD SpecLink-E?

How Is SpecLink-E Different? It’s designed by architects and engineers for ease of data customization and ease of maintenance It employs an innovative overlay system that stores master data and project data separately while merging them for editing and printing It includes a sophisticated updating system that eliminates overwriting or file replacement and offers maximum editing flexibility It uses over 180,000 intelligent links built into the database to multiply productivity by automatically including or excluding text based on user choices It has over 40,000 context-sensitive “notes to the specifier” in a separate window from the specification text

Why Is SpecLink-E Better? All data for each project is in a single file, instead of comprising dozens of word processing files― improving both productivity and project coordination You edit by selecting text that’s needed, instead of deleting unneeded text, so all alternatives are always available (only selected text is printed) Global variables permit all formatting & printing to be accomplished in one location for each project A “project notepad” is available at each paragraph― allowing the “office master” project to serve as a convenient repository for corporate knowledge There are over 30 automatically generated reports, e.g. shop drawings, that dramatically assist in construction administration The corporate edition allows role assignment for all users and includes an Audit Trail that shows the last editor for any paragraph, plus an “office master” project can be locked by the system manager

What About Content? Outline style text streamlines communication Text is absolutely the most up-to-date of any commercial master specification, using global updating instead of a six-year replacement cycle One master is collapsed or expanded to produce Outline, Short Form, and Full Specs from the same intelligent database Many new “green” features are included, such as automated LEED checklists, contractor submittal forms, submittals report, and hyperlinks to many green products Dozens of sections include an intelligent checklist that automatically edits a section based on choices 20,000 regularly updated hyperlinks connect to manufacturer websites and reference standards

BSD SpecLink-E – Overview

BSD SpecLink-E Architecture The Latest Generation of BSD SpecLink A Client-Server Application Using SQL Server Multiple Components: –Client Software Runs on User’s Computer –Server Software and Database Run on WAN or LAN –All Components Can Run on Standalone Computer MS SQL Server Built Into BSD Server Install No Separate License; No Database Administrator Professional Version for 1 or 2 Concurrent Users Corporate Version Available for Unlimited Concurrent Users Current BSD SpecLink+ customers can upgrade to professional or corporate edition of SLE without losing data from any projects

BSD SpecLink-E Architecture SLE Cloud is now available: –All software is installed remotely –No firewall issues –All maintenance and updating are automatic and included in subscription –Available from any device that provides Internet access, including iPhones and iPads –Provides simple worldwide collaboration and consultant access Current BSD SpecLink-E customers can upgrade to SLE Cloud without losing data from any projects

How Does SpecLink-E Work? Ribbon Bar shows Home Tab with buttons for common editing functions Tree panel is divided onto vertical tabs and allows selection of sections to be edited Document panel displays master text for editing and shows which paragraphs will be printed Notes panel displays context-sensitive data to assist in editing

Links from selected text automatically include related text… …exclude incompatible text How Does SpecLink-E Work? …and highlight other text for consideration

Only text that has been selected― either manually or automatically by a link― will be formatted and printed Unselected text is grayed out and is not numbered How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Ribbon Bar shows Documents Tab with Check-In and Save commands You can have multiple documents open, each on a different tab. All editing takes place in the Document Panel There are two Notes Panels ― one for master notes... How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Ribbon Bar shows Documents Tab with Check-In and Save commands You can have multiple documents open, each on a different tab. All editing takes place in the Document Panel... and one for project notes – a “notepad” for recording corporate memory How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Editing is typically accomplished in Normal View... which shows all available text How Does SpecLink-E Work?

...but can also be refined in Selected View, which shows only text that will print How Does SpecLink-E Work?

You can add text, tables, and images in Selected View, as well as in Normal View Choice fields (identified by blue text) are also accessible in Selected View by clicking anywhere within the field How Does SpecLink-E Work?

In addition to offering Normal and Selected View, the same database can be collapsed or expanded into any of three Modes: Outline Spec Mode consists primarily of key text in Part 2 and is typically used at an early stage, such as schematic design. Outline Specs are printed by division, without paragraph numbers How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Short Form Mode produces a brief 3- part spec and is typically used for design development or as a final spec for small, simple projects. Short Form specs are printed by section and include paragraph numbering. How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Full Spec Mode produces full- length, 3-part specs for final construction documents. Full Spec documents are printed by section and include paragraph numbering. How Does SpecLink-E Work?

The expanding/collapsing database in BSD SpecLink-E now permits specs for each phase of a project to be built directly on the specs produced for the previous phase – no starting over! In addition, office master projects can now produce schematic design, design development, and full construction specs from the same master data – simply by collapsing or expanding!

For example, every listed manufacturer includes at least one hyperlink to its website How Does SpecLink-E Work? There are many other features that make this a specifications productivity tool unmatched by anything else on the market...

In addition, whenever a reference standard is mentioned in the text, there is a hyperlink to a website with additional information about the standard and an opportunity to purchase it How Does SpecLink-E Work?

There are also many global features, including automatic formatting with multiple templates, global master terms, global user terms, and automatic unit of measure replacement How Does SpecLink-E Work?

Global terms can be changed in one place and are automatically applied to the entire project― at any point in project development How Does SpecLink-E Work? You can also add an unlimited number of customized global user terms on a separate tab

Updating in BSD SpecLink-E Updates can be downloaded from BSD immediately or set for automatic downloading at any convenient interval All selections, edits, & additions are stored in a project overlay file that takes precedence over the BSD master text and is completely unaffected by BSD’s updates The BSD master text is stored in a single file that cannot be altered or inadvertently corrupted One of the most outstanding features of BSD SpecLink-E is its updating scheme, which allows you to keep your specs totally current without affecting any customized text or formatting Updates typically affect 25-65% of all master sections each quarter!

Updating in BSD SpecLink-E Peerless Products is mine being under Windows and Doors. They are SL listed and I would love to broker an appointment with Bill Osbern – their CEO and Acting Sales Director. This account has laid dormant for over a year… ever since Bill said don’t call me, I’m not interested in any “Spec marketing tools.” Please see if we can start fresh with Coby as I would love to start fresh with Bill. After an update has been installed, when an existing project is opened, a dialog box appears, noting that the project contains a particular number of paragraphs that have not been updated By clicking “Apply,” the project is completely updated automatically Instead of updating everything automatically, the user can choose to limit updates to Manufacturer References and/or Publication References The user can also ignore the updates by clicking “Cancel”

Updating in BSD SpecLink-E If the project is not updated, any sections that would be affected by the update are marked in the tree by magenta text Within the section, any paragraphs that would be affected by the update are marked by a rust color in the Status column A right click within the paragraph opens a dialog box showing how the paragraph would change if the update is accepted The user can update the para- graph or ignore it by clicking “Close”

We hope this brief introduction to BSD’s innovative spec product has intrigued you enough to ask for more information about SpecLink-E. Call us toll-free at 888-BSD-SOFT ( ) or visit our website at Thank you for your interest!