NEWSLETTER

BSD SpecLink Fuels Growth at Applied Engineering Services, Inc. 

Since founding the firm in 1998, the owners of Applied Engineering Services (Applied) knew they wanted to build a business that would provide superior engineering services by utilizing a time-proven approach for delivering the right solution specific to each project and client.

Girls Incorporated is a national non-profit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. (Girls Inc. is the new name for the Girls Club of America.) Applied teamed with Browning Day Mullins Deirdorf, Inc., an Indianapolis-based architect. The project doubled the size of the Girls Inc. facility and included a comprehensive renovation of the existing building.

Applied Engineering Services (Applied) is an engineering solutions company that provides mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering services for the industrial, healthcare, institutional/university and government markets. The firm provides professional engineering solutions, including feasibility studies, engineering/construction sketches, drawings, specifications, project management, validation, construction management, and construction field support. They provide professional mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering services using in-house professionals and subcontract other needed services.

Applied was founded in 1998 by three individuals who had worked together for over 16 years in managing projects, client relationships and office responsibilities. They currently employ 35 individuals, of whom 23 are degreed engineers and 14 are professionally registered in the State of Indiana.
 
Their goal from the beginning has been to perform superior work at a fair and competitive price. Management recognized early that acquiring the latest technology would help them meet this goal. As a result, they have many repeat clients. They are also able to attract new clients by word of mouth and formal recommendations.

The Need: 
Applied had no formal specification system. They kept project specifications in word processing documents. They would open old project files and “cut and paste” to create new specifications. This was very time-consuming, as the needed elements may be spread throughout several projects. In addition, because the specification files were in various and separate documents, there was no “master” file that allowed Applied to quickly start a new project or to produce specifications with a consistent look.

The Solution: 
According to Ralph Power, P.E., an Associate with Applied, the primary benefit of adopting BSD SpecLink was the creation of an office master. It increased productivity, was easy to generate and use, and simple to maintain and update. Part of the Applied mission statement says that the company wants to “provide clients with professional engineering services that are reliable, cost-effective and competent.” Bringing SpecLink technology on board helped them deliver on this pledge. 

“Our office master is an evolving document,” says Power. “We created the office master and had a team edit it so it contained what was typical for various project types. As the master has developed, we can easily add updates to all future projects.” With SpecLink, Applied can manage the information so it is presented in a consistent format, yet it remains flexible enough to include very project-specific information in a project specification. In addition, using the office master allows all project specs to be stored in a single location for easy future access.

Power confirmed what many other SpecLink clients know: “SpecLink is easy to use - just like a word processing program, but with all the advantages of a relational database. With less than an hour of instruction — and with no formal training — each person who uses SpecLink in our firm can be a fundamental user.”

The Outcome:
Applied initially used SpecLink as a single-user application. Once they saw the benefits, they installed it on the network. Since making the switch to SpecLink in 2000, Applied has used it on numerous projects and has realized time and cost savings on every one.

When asked what they liked best about SpecLink, Power replied, “The ease of use. The primary feature is turning off paragraphs instead of deleting them. If the spec needs to change over the course of a project, you simply turn the needed paragraphs back on. This is so much simpler than the other way! I would strongly recommend SpecLink for any design firm - large or small.”