3 "tabs" for management of 3 types of specs:

• Performance specifications, for design-criteria and whole-building performance specifications
• Short Form, for brief specs early in the design or small, low-risk projects
• SpecLink^®, for construction specifications

Performance specifications includes:

Approximately 600 pages of design criteria and performance specifications.

• 161 sections
• 17,392 paragraphs
• 21,992 internal links (targets and consequences) and links to Short Form specs
• 4,024 notes to specifier, 923 with live hyperlinks
• 191 external documents referenced, with live hyperlinks to order information
• 50 ASTMs referenced, 100 % verified within last 9 months
• 39 standards organizations' documents referenced
See Specifier's Library for complete list.

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Short Form specifications includes:

Approximately 300 pages of outline specifications.

• 16 sections corresponding to Divisions 1 through 16 in Masterformat 1995
• 8,307 paragraphs
• 9,096 internal links (targets and consequences) and links to SpecLink^® sections for continuity during design process
• 1,563 notes to specifier, 1,022 with live hyperlinks
• 365 external documents referenced
• 224 ASTMs referenced, 100 % verified within last 9 months
• 141 other documents referenced, 74 % verified this quarter*
• 43 standards organizations' documents referenced
See Specifier's Library for complete list.

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SpecLink^® construction specifications includes:

528 full-length specification sections.

• 132 sections updated or new (25 %)
• 524 non-proprietary sections
• 4 proprietary sections
See Catalog Listing for complete list.

Helpful checklists

• 54 sections with optional checklists to highlight critical options and specifying tactics

Over 3,500 pages of specs

• 91,063 paragraphs
• 100,917 internal links (targets and consequences)
• 25,901 notes to specifier
• 14,847 notes with live hyperlinks to Internet web pages

2,121 external documents referenced, with live hyperlinks to order information

• 958 ASTMs referenced, 100% verified within last 9 months
• 1,165 other documents referenced, 79 % verified this quarter*
• 183 standards organizations referenced:
See Specifier's Library for complete list.

941 unique manufacturers listed in non-proprietary sections.

• 371 non-proprietary sections include manufacturer name listings
• 2,410 manufacturer listings in all, with live hyperlinks to their web sites
• 3 new manufacturer listings

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* Documents issued more than two years ago are verified quareterly, as are annual or semiannual publications. The documents not verified this quarter were updated within the past two years.

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Two More LEED™ Rating Systems Added

For the Summer 2007 update, LEED-EB, for existing buildings, and LEED-CI, for commercial interiors/tenant fit-up, have been added to SpecLink®. Prior to this, LEED-NC (since Winter 2001) and LEED-CS (since last quarter) were the only LEED rating systems that SpecLink addressed. To address any of the four rating systems, the specifier simply selects the desired rating system and the automated checklist sections automatically exclude inapplicable requirements. Where credit numbers differ between systems, SpecLink changes the credit numbers in each LEED-related section and form where the numbers are referenced. See articles below for more details on how SpecLink supports each of the four rating systems. All four rating systems are addressed by the LEED Credit Summary section that "walks" you through identification of the credits to be achieved, and the LEED Certification Procedures section explains it all to the Contractor.

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Specifying LEED-EB for Existing Buildings

Although at first glance LEED-EB might seem to be unrelated to construction, the goal of certifying an existing building under LEED-EB might lead to the need for some construction-related upgrades. This is likely to be a good market for A/Es, since the concepts of "greening" and "sustainability" are gaining in popularity. As might be expected, LEED-EB includes prerequisites and credits that are different from those for -NC, -CS, and -CI, but there is considerable overlap.

Some credits have the same intent but are implemented differently. For instance, the credit dealing with isolation of all rooms where hazardous gases or chemicals might be present (referred to as "Indoor Chemical & Pollutant Source Control" in -NC, -CS, and -CI) is limited to high-volume copy/print/fax rooms and janitor closets in -EB. The -EB credits for alternative materials (recycled, rapidly renewable, etc.) and IAQ-compliant materials apply to all acquisitions of such materials over the certification period, which is usually one year, meaning that the owner must document all purchasing regardless of whether a construction project is involved.

Other credits are unique to -EB, such as those that can be obtained simply by documenting operating and maintenance procedures—for instance, low environmental impact cleaning materials and equipment and pest control. On the other hand, the minimum number of credits for -EB certification at all levels (Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) is the highest of all the rating systems, with a larger number of prerequisites.

In general, a recently constructed, relatively energy efficient building could probably be certified at the minimum level under -EB without any upgrades, although some work by the owner's facility personnel would probably be needed. Anyone investigating the possibility of -EB certification of a building should first look at the prerequisites, which include the age of the building (over 2 years), minimum water efficiency, retrocommissioning (which can be phased over 5 years), a solid waste stream audit, a plan for reduction of mercury in light bulbs, environmental tobacco smoke control, and asbestos and PCB abatement plans, as well as the prerequisites required for -NC. The LEED Credit Summary in SpecLink "walks" the specifier through identifying the credits to be addressed, and offers some design solutions. It also helps document whether the existing building can achieve the credit without modifications or whether the owner's operation and maintenance (O&M) program must address the credit.

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Specifying LEED-CS and -CI for Core & Shell Development and Commercial Interiors

LEED-CS is intended for developer-driven projects where the Core & Shell (CS) includes base building MEP/FP but not tenant fit-out. Along with commercial office buildings, -CS is expected to cover retail, warehouses, and labs that are developed this way. LEED-CI is specifically for office building interiors where the basic building (the core and shell) have either already been built or are not under the control of the tenant or owner of the office space. LEED-CI is designed to interface with LEED-CS for the core and shell but can also be used for fit-out projects for which the base building has not been LEED-certified. The prerequisites and credits for LEED-CS and LEED-CI are practically identical to those for LEED-NC, except for omission of those that exclusively apply to the portions of the building not covered. For -CI, many of the site and water efficiency considerations are combined into a single, multi-point credit related to selection of the building in which to take tenant space.

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END OF CHANGE SUMMARY