The Spec Shaman

The Spec Shaman - Getting Specified

Building product manufacturers who want to get specified by architects can find strategies and suggestions in our weekly blog posts. Building product specification is crucial for manufacturers and our team offers the best resources available. Blog post topics include: 3 part CSI guide specifications, AIA continuing education, and building product rep training. Building product manufacturers who want to get their products specified can check our platform every week for valuable information about the AEC industry. Guest bloggers are always welcome. Please contact us for submission information and requirements.

On: Dec 6, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
4 Trends That Will Affect Specification in 2019
"Trend" isn’t necessarily a word a manufacturer wants to have used to describe their product, when used in reference to short-lived fads. But Merriam-Webster defines the word at least four different ways in its noun form: a prevailing tendency or inclination; a general movement; a current style or preference; or a line of development. None of these mean short-lived or like a fad.
On: Nov 30, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Climate Change, Part 3: It’s All About the Straws, Isn’t It?
I used to love reading dystopian fiction, particularly when the fall of humanity could be attributed mostly to climate change or a weather catastrophe. I think this was because of all the possibilities for a fallen world, this one was the least realistic for me. The natural world existed long before we ever did, before I ever did, and it was much bigger than us. We could never ruin it, or be ruined by it, in my mind. It was unconquerable.
On: Nov 21, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
5 Things That Can Increase Building Product Specifications
Getting specified is not always easy and getting specified during the holidays or end of the year deadlines is even more of a challenge. The challenge is the same for everyone--a product manufacturer builds a relationship with a specifier, or bids to be part of a project, and hopes to get picked. But in the end, there is only one victor. If you’re not the one picked, how does that happen if you did all the same things that the other person did? The construction industry is a complex one.
On: Nov 16, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Climate Change, Part 2: It’s All About the Straws, Isn’t It?
Wouldn’t it be great if saving the world was as easy as ditching straws or riding our bikes to work? Sustainable living is definitely affected by our personal best practices, but it’s obviously a global problem in a symbiotic relationship between the world as a whole and humans on a personal level. At this point, however, big changes need to happen. And probably not just big changes, but innovative, outside the box big changes.
On: Nov 1, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Pay Attention: 3 Things That Encourage Specification
The AEC industry is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up. The challenge as a manufacturer is knowing how to get your product specified regardless of these changes. The obvious starting point is having a great product. Even the best sales rep can’t get a product specified if the competition blows it out of the water. Additionally, networking is vital, both face to face and online.
On: Oct 26, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Climate Change: It’s All About the Straws, Isn’t It?
Climate change is happening, despite the differing opinions and facts surrounding it. It’s become quite the divisive topic, eliciting passionate debates. It’s easy to understand why those in favor of climate change argue vehemently for it, but harder to understand why anyone would deny it. Maybe one of the reasons people deny it is because they don’t understand it, especially the difference between global warming and climate change.
On: Oct 22, 2018 By: Brad Blank
3 Building Product Specification Tactics You Should Retire Immediately
Dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago and so should many of your specification strategies. It’s difficult to admit outdated specification tactics aren’t working until they blow up in your face. If you are receiving poor ROI, negative feedback, and major pushback, then you should consider eliminating the specification strategies we will discuss today.
On: Oct 18, 2018 By: Brad Blank
HPD Versus The Declare Label: Why Should Building Product Manufacturers Care?
Should a building product manufacturer develop a Health Product Declaration (HPD) or a Declare Label? Both product disclosures are excellent tools but differ in complexity, cost, and potential ROI. There are other excellent sustainability documentation tools available such as Cradle to Cradle, BIFMA, and ANSI resources to meet Materials Ingredients credits. However, our focus today is on HPDs and Declare Labels.
On: Oct 16, 2018 By: Brad Blank
LEED Certification and Product Specifications Update
The USGBC released their 3rd quarter 2018 LEED certification update. The key takeaways revolve around the achievement level, LEED rating version, and LEED rating system. Also, metrics include the country and state where certifications took place. There are several good signs for building product manufacturers which we’ll explore.
On: Oct 12, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Is Plastic the Next Trend in Green Building?
In The Three Little Pigs, three houses are built: one made of straw; one made of sticks; and then as we all know, the victor against the wolf, one made of bricks. Recently, while reading an article about the Dutch non-profit, The Ocean Cleanup, and subsequent articles about what to do with all the plastic it collects, I wondered how a house made of plastic would’ve fared against that wolf?

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GreenCE is an AIA Education Provider and offers free AIA online courses. The free AIA courses are sponsored by building product manufacturers. In addition, the platform offers barrier-free ADA courses for Texas and California architects. Texas barrier-free online courses and California Accessibility courses meet state requirements. TX ADA courses and CA ADA courses are created by the top ADA experts in the country.

Building product manufacturers can get specified by using GreenCE services. GreenCE develops AIA and LEED courses for product manufacturers to educate architects. The online architect courses help build brand awareness about building products. In addition, GreenCE hosts manufacturer webinars for 200-300 architects at a time. The AIA webinars and LEED webinars are free for architects who can learn about various products.

Finally, GreenCE helps manufacturers develop Health Product Declarations (HPDs), LEED v4 product documentation, mindful MATERIALS documentation, Google Portico documentation, and Declare Labels. We value our relationships with design professionals and building product manufacturers. They are crucial to our success.