Deltek Specpoint, New Home for AIA MasterSpec,To Be Delivered This Fall

Bret Tushaus, Vice President, Product Management for Deltek, spoke with AECCafe Voice this week about their recent announcement, together with AIA, to  deliver a new solution to the AEC industry this September, called Deltek Specpoint. The solution is an all-in-one specification and design automation tool that will be the new home of AIA MasterSpec®. Specpoint will help architects and engineers reduce risks and improve project outcomes with the combination of its innovative approach to authoring specifications and the industry proven content provided via MasterSpec.

Deltek Projects Home

Does Deltek Specpoint become the go-to place for all users to access AIA MasterSpec or will there be other tools that will host it as well? 

Yes, Deltek Specpoint will become the go-to place for all users to access AIA MasterSpec and will be the only tool to host the content.

What makes Deltek Specpoint a particularly good home for AIA MasterSpec?

The best specification content is now converging with the best technology, Specpoint.

Deltek Project Research Map

Specpoint, home of AIA MasterSpec^®, is a cloud-based software solution revolutionizing how A/Es and product manufacturers collaborate, bringing them together on one platform throughout the project lifecycle. Using up-to-date peer reviewed product content (the only peer reviewed content in the industry which follows strict guidelines to ensure compliance and completeness), which is industry proven and the gold standard in the industry. A/Es can do intelligent research and select products, efficiently write specs, and produce project manuals to deliver successful projects with Specpoint.

• Makes specification authoring smarter with data driven product decisions
• Removes silo between Designers and BPMs and consolidates all relevant information into a single tool
• Makes MasterSpec content easier to update and distribute
• Enables BIM and other automation technologies to improve the design process

The advantages of Deltek Specpoint housing AIA MasterSpec are:

• A/Es can make better decisions and reduce time consuming building product research by leveraging the most widely used and trusted master guide specification resource for the A/E industry: AIA MasterSpec – the product content foundation powering Specpoint.
• A/Es can help owners keep projects on schedule and in budget using preferred building products and inherent knowledge to produce accurate, high quality specifications. And if they need additional product insight, Specpoint gives the most widely used and trusted master guide specifications, AIA MasterSpec, to support construction specifications.
• A/Es don’t need to be tenured spec writers to develop specs – Specpoint’s intelligent design automation is an easy-to-use visual tool for product research, selection and “one click” spec writing to efficiently produce project specs and manuals whether a novice or tenured team member.
• Using one platform, AEs can streamline project collaboration and unify specs and drawings into one system to better manage project changes that impact the specs and track product execution metrics to improve building product decisions for current and future projects.

What new features will users enjoy once MasterSpec is in Specpoint?

Intelligent Technology

• Generate specs quicker using visual product selection tools
• Smarter spec writing with data driven product decisions
• More in-depth product search functionality across all project elements
• “One-click” spec development
• Automatic global formatting for specifications, no more manually formatting of specifications
• Create custom spec templates to meet firm and/or owner standards and re-use on any project to save time and reduce errors

Most Trusted Spec Resource

• With Specpoint, specification writers are always starting with the latest version of MasterSpec rather than an outdated copy on a network folder somewhere, which can occur today
• Source accurate and up-to-date regional and national building product manufacturing specifications to optimize project quality and success
• Leverage firm’s product preferences, knowledge and best practices for efficiency
• Capture and retain firm’s intellectual property to minimize costly RFIs, change orders and errors
• Improved project outcomes through better specifications

Building Product Research & Selection

• Create accurate specs with product content backed by the AIA and vetted by industry peers to save time
• Easy access to product manufacturers when product expertise is needed
• Leverage the largest collection of product specifications used by 80% of A/E firms
• Improve spec accuracy and streamline processes using visual product research system
• Find products quickly by searching across product types and characteristics

Integrate and Collaborate

• Connected data empowers confident decisions
• Streamline project coordination using integrated technology
• Support real-time project collaboration by sourcing current and past specs data
• Digitally capture spec data for predictive insights to reduce risk and improve project outcomes
• Advanced reporting for better spec intelligence

Does AIA MasterSpec already include a library of specifications and tools that users can access? If so, please explain.

MasterSpec does not include tools. MasterSpec is a Word file that contains specification content.  Deltek currently provides tools to supplement the usage of the MasterSpec content.  e-SPECS allows users to create, edit and collaborate around specs and integrate to BIM models and office masters . SpecBuilder Cloud is our cloud based specification authoring tool.  Over time, Specpoint will be displacing both of these solutions with a much more powerful and sophisticated specification authoring platform.

What types of features will Deltek demo at the AIA conference?

Deltek will be demoing the Specpoint solution including how to author and edit specifications and how to select products.

What tools and features will Deltek Specpoint add to the AIA MasterSpec family of tools?

Deltek Specpoint will continue to evolve and grown in functionality focused on the previously mentioned feature set.

Is this arrangement something that users have been looking forward to?

Most of our customers are using the MasterSpec Word file. Customers have been asking for better technology in the specification world and the industry has been asking for a more modern way to author and manage specifications and collaborate with building product manufactures which uses modern technology. With Specpoint we are addressing customer requests for more efficient tools to match our industry recognized content offerings.

Tags: AEC, architects, architecture, collaboration, Deltek, design, engineering, engineers

Categories: 2D, 3D, AEC, AECCafe, AIA 2021, architecture, collaboration, construction, construction project management, Deltek, engineering, file sharing, project management, site planning

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