NEWSLETTER

BSD Customer Case Study: SpecLink Helps Glancey Rockwell and Associates Handle Formatting Challenges

Glancey Rockwell and Associates was formed in March of 2001. The principals of Glancy Rockwell are James Glancey and Peter Rockwell.

Prior to 2001 each had a successful practice, managing and designing projects as sole proprietors. In 1998 they joined forces to design a Catholic Church and parish center in Meridian, Idaho. It was a positive experience – for both the client and the two firms. Three years after this successful collaboration, they decided to join together to create Glancey Rockwell and Associates.

With a staff of eight, the firm creates design and construction documents for new construction, as well as remodeled and renovated buildings. While their primary project type is churches and high-end residences, their portfolio also includes restaurants, shopping centers and government buildings. They also provide services for multifamily residential construction.

The firm utilizes the latest technology in CADD equipment, specification writing and technical support. They augment the technology with strong visuals and hand drawings. They are always looking to improve the services they provide through continuing education with consultants, seminars and practice. Glancey Rockwell and Associates’ emphasis is on client services, focused toward producing a beautiful and functional design to meet each client’s unique needs.

The Need:
When James Glancey and Peter Rockwell decided to join forces, they knew they had a winning combination. Both shared the vision of working with clients to create designs that were practical, efficient and visually pleasing. They also believed in taking advantage of technological advances to continually improve the designs and specifications they were putting together. For their specification writing, they started out with an in-house word processing system. Their system worked, but specifications were taking too long to put together. In addition, there were some editing and formatting issues that needed to be addressed. In 2002, Glancey and Rockwell decided to look at commercially available specification writing software. After thorough evaluations, they chose SpecLink.

The Solution:
As they looked at the various software packages available for their industry, they kept coming back to SpecLink. “In deciding which software to use, the benefits of SpecLink outweighed the others,” says Peter Rockwell, AIA, Principal Architect with Glancey Rockwell and Associates. They liked the way the software worked and that it addressed some of the formatting concerns they were experiencing. Rockwell notes, “It works along with you in developing the full specification, with complementary references, automatic table of contents and other time-saving features.”

The Outcome:
One feature that Rockwell and his staff found useful was the ability to add user notes to a paragraph. With a word-processing based system, if you want to add user notes, they would be included in the actual section. Then the notes would need to be deleted before printing out the final project specifications. If the notes needed to be kept, a second “copy” of the specification that included the notes would need to be saved.

With SpecLink, there are separate notes-to-the-editor windows. When editing and reviewing a specification, a separate window that contains SpecLink’s master notes can be viewed. The specification writer can also add his or her own reminders and instructions in a separate project notes window. Both of these notes windows aid in the creation of a specification, without taking up any space in the document. And the notes never have to be deleted. Specifications can be printed with or without the notes.

When asked which project using SpecLink was their best, Rockwell replied, “Each project where we have used SpecLink.” “It [SpecLink] works along with you in developing the full specification, with complementary references, automatic table of contents and other time-saving features.” Peter Rockwell, AIA, Principal Architect Glancey Rockwell and Associates.