NEWSLETTER

BSD Customer Case Study: 
SpecLink’s Up-To-Date Reference Standards Help Waterleaf Architecture Stay Ahead

Waterleaf Architecture has been active in the Northwest since 1952. Its main focus is in four areas: commercial, transportation/industrial, medical/dental and community.

Over this period the firm has earned respect from clients ranging from public officials to commercial developers for responsive client service, costeffective performance, creativity and environmental awareness on both new construction and renovation projects. At least one of its four partners personally oversees every project.

Waterleaf Architecture is committed to the implementation, increased understanding and advocacy of high quality design and building practices. They have incorporated the LEED™ Green Building Rating System checklist into their design projects. Their employees regularly attend educational seminars, workshops and training, allowing for a diverse wealth of information sharing.

The Need: Architects know that obsolete reference standards delay spec production and frustrate those responsible for putting the specs together. In March 2003, this was where Waterleaf Architecture found itself. They were allocating time and resources to keep their employees up-to-date with the latest information. But their in-house specification writing process was languishing – so much so that they were outsourcing it. They wanted to raise this aspect of their service to the same level they offer in the rest of their business. They believed BSD SpecLink could help them meet this goal.

The Solution: “We selected SpecLink because we needed a user-friendly software program that would provide us with automatic updates for reference standards,” says Jon Styner, partner with Waterleaf Architecture. “Because of the way SpecLink’s database system works, we now have a very easy to use specification software system that allows us to prepare concise specifications with up-to-date reference standards.”

Due to the product’s relational database structure and BSD’s continuing comprehensive review of standards issued by 188 different organizations, BSD SpecLink is by far the most up-to-date specification system available. Standards are updated quarterly in all sections affected by the changes, and the BSD/CSI Technical Review Committee provides continuing oversight.

In addition to knowing they have the latest reference standards, Styner also says that BSD SpecLink has saved them time and money. “The ability to copy sections from one project into a new project has provided a great productivity advantage,” Styner states. “And if we need to send the information out in a different form, we can quickly convert to a wordprocessing file for large sub-consultant projects.”

The Outcome: Waterleaf has been using SpecLink on a network since March 2003. When asked what he liked best about SpecLink, Styner responded, “I can turn on just the sections I want instead of having to delete things I don’t want.” He also likes the time it saves his firm. He adds, “We are experiencing time savings of around 50% on most projects. We recently completed a commercial project for the Local 49. I was able to produce the specification much faster than by using our old word processing-based program.”