NEWSLETTER

10-Year BSD SpecLink® Veterans

BSD SpecLink® was launched in March of 1996 and has continued to grow in content, functionality, and customer base ever since. The loyalty and growth of that customer base has been one of the most gratifying aspects of BSD’s business. As we celebrate BSD SpecLink’s 10th anniversary, we thought it would be appropriate to let a few of the early customers talk about their experiences.

For example, SpecLink has been making a bottom line impact at Randall Paulson Architects (a 41-person firm in Roswell, GA) since 1996. James Musgraves, AIA, Principal, says, “We have been very happy with BSD SpecLink’s evolution over the past 10 years. They have been very responsive to our suggestions and requests for improvements. One of the more recent improvements that we requested was how BSD addressed the new MasterFormat 2004. The coordination of the sections, especially the index referencing, aligning with the new numbering system and having the ability to switch projects back and forth between the MF95 and MF04 has saved our firm considerable time in making the transition. We have been extremely pleased with how easy it is to communicate with and guide our contractors in adjusting to the two different numbering systems using SpecLink. And…did I mention BSD’s technical support? They can solve anything! They have made our use of SpecLink so much easier through the years.”

HagerSmith Design, PA (a Raleigh, NC 26-person firm) has also been using SpecLink for 10 years. “We are very happy with how SpecLink has evolved over the past 10 years or so. Over the years, the software only continues to get better and easier to use. What we like the most about SpecLink is how we can create a master spec for each typical building type we design and reuse that master spec without worrying about leaving something out. The software makes it very easy to minimize possible errors and omissions that we might have otherwise overlooked. Overall, BSD has been very responsive to our needs.”

Steve Stovall, Specification Coordinator for Rees Associates Inc. (an Oklahoma City, OK 73- person firm) has been using SpecLink since 1996 and has also been impressed by the evolution of SpecLink during the past 10 years. As Specification Coordinator, Steve oversees the performance utilization of SpecLink throughout the corporation. “SpecLink over the years has had a major impact on our specification production time savings. The ability to reuse past projects and in-house developed masters for typical building types without fear of our custom edits being overwritten has been a huge time saver for us. Starting a new project with a pre-edited master saves us a great deal of time over other methods and systems. Also, over the years we have had the benefit of SpecLink standards and references being up-todate without spending valuable time verifying that information.” SpecLink’s consistent technical support has been another area that has made their investment in SpecLink valuable to them. Says Steve, “We really appreciate and rely on BSD’s technical support. They are very helpful when we need them.”

Design Plus, Inc (a Grand Rapids, MI 78-person firm) is another firm that has seen their bottom line improved by the long term use of SpecLink. Russ Hinkle, Architect and Chief Specification Writer with the firm, says, “Since coming here and utilizing SpecLink, we have dramatically reduced our specification production time by at least 50%. That has made a big impact on our bottom line. And I can’t say enough about how much time BSD has saved us with the way they addressed the new MasterFormat 2004 numbering system and the way you can switch project data back and forth with one mouse click. We were able to transition very quickly and easily – even all of the Mechanical / Electrical sections that we had developed ourselves. Another area we are excited about is LEED. We are very big into LEED here and are pleased with how SpecLink’s LEED sections will help us with ongoing LEED projects. A lot of our success has been because of the great service that BSD provides. Service is great, and our questions are answered immediately. You don’t find that in many software firms today. What I like about BSD is that they are very quick to respond to suggestions and improvements. We are always looking forward to what improvements SpecLink will incorporate next.”

Michael J. Kant, Sr. Associate, of LR Design Associates (an Oceanside, CA 10-person firm) is really happy with the direction SpecLink has taken over the years. Michael says, “We are very happy with the way SpecLink has improved over the years. The software continues to get better and better and even easier to use. We love the edit-by-selection process, especially how every time we select a paragraph, the built-in ‘intelligent’ links automatically turn on, off, or highlight other paragraphs that need to be considered for inclusion in our specs. We have greatly reduced our omissions with this kind of built-in automation, and it makes writing specs much easier. We have also found that both junior architects and architects new to spec writing find it much easier to learn how to write specs with SpecLink. We have not yet got into the new LEED sections, but are excited about using them on some upcoming projects. They are another example of how SpecLink continues to significantly improve over time.”

We want to thank our thousands of customers who continue to find significant value in using SpecLink year after year. We especially thank those early customers who had the faith and dedication to get us started. More of those customers from 1996 that were not included in this article can be found featured on our website in the Customer Success Stories that are linked from our home page. These firms include CM Architecture, Coleman Johnston Clyma, Anthony Abbate Architect, James Goodman Architecture, TRO/The Ritchie Organization, Lami Grubb Architects, and many more. Our special thanks go out to all of them – and to all of you. We always appreciate your feedback, comments and suggestions. Here’s to the next 10 years!