A New Approach to Building Product Manufacturers in BSD SpecLink^®

Building product manufacturers (BPMs) have been included in BSD SpecLink under two different circumstances, both of which are currently changing. This article will set forth the history of BPM data in the SpecLink product and BSD's current policy on manufacturer listings.

Seven years ago, BSD SpecLink became the first and only commercial master specification to include proprietary sections along with its own non-proprietary master specification sections. Under a joint distribution agreement with The Architect's Catalog, Inc. (currently ARCAT, Inc.), proprietary sections written around the products of ARCAT's clients were imported into SpecLink and included as an integral part of the database, free to all subscribers. Even though some sections were withdrawn on occasion, due to non-renewal by ARCAT's clients, the total number of proprietary sections in SpecLink steadily increased over the years, reaching a high point of 363 sections in the Summer 2002 release.

By the summer of 2003, BSD had developed a software technology that allowed us to capture information about our subscribers' use of SpecLink. What we learned was partly predictable and partly unexpected. We learned, for example, that our users overwhelmingly preferred non-proprietary sections when there was a choice. On the other hand, for specialty items with no corresponding BSD non-proprietary section available, some of the proprietary sections receive a significant amount of usage. These findings contributed to a decision to terminate our arrangement with ARCAT, under which we were obligated to include sections that were of no interest to our subscribers. Beginning with the Fall 2003 issue of SpecLink, we began the process of withdrawing little-used proprietary sections and replacing them, where possible, with new non-proprietary sections and additional content in existing BSD sections. The proprietary sections currently in SpecLink will gradually be phased out over a 3-1/2-year period. By September of 2007, all ARCAT Sections will be gone. The only proprietary sections that will remain in SpecLink are those that fulfill a real need by focusing on unique items and specialty products for which non-proprietary sections are unwarranted.

Each quarter, we will alert our subscribers to proprietary sections that are being withdrawn. This will allow our users to copy sections they wish to retain for future use. Of course, withdrawn sections that have already been included in previous projects will continue to be available in those projects, even without copying to another project file.

The other major BPM category in BSD SpecLink is the list of manufacturers included in Part 2 of most non-proprietary product sections. Instead of attempting exhaustive lists of products with widely varying quality, BSD's policy has been to limit the manufacturer lists to three or four nationally distributed companies that make roughly comparable products. BSD does not endorse these companies and provides the names (and hyperlinks to the manufacturers' websites) as a convenience and a service to our subscribers, who are free to include them, add to them, or ignore them in their project specifications.

Initially, the BPM listings in BSD SpecLink were totally free. In recent months, however, BSD has begun a campaign to enlist manufacturers in the ongoing updating and enhancement of SpecLink. By charging manufacturers for listings in SpecLink, BSD hopes to accomplish a number of goals simultaneously: 1) new sources of revenue will allow BSD to keep down the cost of subscriptions to architects and engineers; 2) having principal manufacturers as subscribers will help to assure closer scrutiny of section content by leaders of their respective industries; and 3) BPMs with no interest in SpecLink listings may eventually be replaced by comparable manufacturers who recognize the value of supporting the architectural/engineering community.

In implementing this new BPM initiative, BSD is not abandoning its principles or its editorial integrity. Manufacturers included in SpecLink were selected by BSD and are being given the first opportunity to participate in the new program. Those who elect not to take part will not be summarily removed but may eventually be replaced by manufacturers of comparable products who do wish to participate. Although contributing manufacturers are subscribers who are invited to review and critique section content, ultimate editorial control remains with BSD. And finally, manufacturer lists will include only products of similar quality.

BSD is offering manufacturers three levels of participation in BSD's non-proprietary sections, in which manufacturer lists will be limited to a maximum of four companies for any single product category. A basic listing includes a hyperlink to the manufacturer's website and the opportunity to include a preferred product name as one choice in the listing. An enhanced listing includes an "infomercial" in the note attached to the listing, complete with a photo or other graphic illustrating the product (see figure accompanying this article). The manufacturer also may include multiple product names in the "pop-up" choice included with the manufacturer's name in the specification text. Finally, manufacturers and trade associations may elect to sponsor a section, which entitles them to credits at the opening note and within the section, in addition to hyperlinks to specific website pages at appropriate locations.

In conclusion, BSD's attitude toward building product manufacturers is that they should participate in the maintenance of BSD SpecLink but should not in any way control it. BPMs benefit from being included in commercial master specifications, and they should be willing to pay reasonable amounts for that benefit. On the other hand, BSD's subscribers in the design community are the raison d'etre for the product, and their interests are uppermost in our minds. As we move forward with our manufacturer initiative, we pledge that we will do everything possible to continue improving the quality of our products while simultaneously making equitable adjustments in who should pay for them.

Robert Paul Dean, AIA, CSI, CCS
President, Building Systems Design, Inc.