Our Approach for Owners

RETHINKING SPECIFICATIONS.
REFOCUSING PRIORITIES.

Traditional approaches to construction specifications focus on a relatively narrow deliverable: a set of documents to help define contractual obligations and guide builders in their work.

Traditional Approach

Conspectus Approach

The Conspectus approach, by contrast, creates and documents a seamless flow of information that extends from the concept phase — well before design begins — through design and construction to owner occupancy and operations.

Making this dynamic information resource accessible to all stakeholders — owners, architects, design-builders, and construction managers — gives them a clear, consistent, and continuously updated understanding of the impact of design decisions and enables them to contribute to the decision-making process. This transparent, collaborative approach results in more fully informed decisions during design and construction and provides critical guidance to owners for operating and maintaining their assets.

UNIFORMAT

Uniformat describes a project in terms of the systems and assemblies that perform critical functions — substructure, shell, interiors, and services for example — enabling exploration and assessment of the cost and functionality of design options early in a project.

MASTERFORMAT

MasterFormat organizes data about construction requirements, products, and activities by “work results” and enables communication among designers, specifiers, contractors, and suppliers as they work to meet owner’s requirements, timelines, and budgets.

DESIGN NARRATIVE

The design narrative tells the story of how a particular design will meet the owner’s requirements. It describes a building’s purpose and functionality, often offering insight about finishes, materials, and systems that will be required.

OUTLINE SPECIFICATION

An outline specification is an itemized list, using brief, concise statements, of significant materials, systems, and equipment and their criteria and levels of quality.
_{(Source: AIA and CSI)}

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION

A part of the contract documents, construction specifications consist of “the written requirements for materials, equipment, systems, standards, and workmanship for the work and performance of related services.”
_{(Source: AIA)}

CLOSING THE GAPS

The disjointed traditional process approach is riddled with risk-prone information gaps. The Conspectus approach, a seamless continuum of documentation, closes these gaps. The following are the gaps with greatest risk.

DESIGN PROCESS GAPS

Without a continuously updated record of the who, what, and why of design decisions, the design documentation becomes obsolete and disjointed. As a result, the team often duplicates effort and revisits decisions already made.

DOCUMENTATION GAPS

Serious information gaps result when outline specs differ from the design narrative and construction specs can differ from outline specs with no record of the rationale for the differences. This can result in scope and cost creep, value engineering, and continuous cost escalation.

OWNER OPERATIONS GAPS

An owner’s ability to manage and maintain a completed building efficiently can be seriously compromised when errors or disconnects in documentation, which can occur at any project phase, result in incomplete or inaccurate design data, performance data, construction records, and operating information.

WHAT THE CONSPECTUS APPROACH
CAN MEAN FOR YOU

OWNERS

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Focused on owner’s requirements, Conspectus offers an accurate, transparent view of how decisions made during the design process will ultimately impact project cost, construction quality, and building operations. Empowered by complete information at every project milestone, owners can make fully informed decisions with confidence.

For a more detailed discussion of how the Conspectus approach can help you can manage risks, control costs, and make sure your expectations are fully met, view or download the accompanying PDF.

ARCHITECTS

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From the earliest drawings, Conspectus helps architects optimize their design solutions by identifying systems options and analyzing their full implications for cost and functionality. This enhances problem solving, promotes design process efficiencies, and provides relevant data for smart design decisions focused on satisfying owner requirements.

For a more detailed discussion of how the Conspectus approach can help you can manage risks, control costs, and make sure your design intent and owner expectations are met, view or download the accompanying PDF.

DESIGN-BUILDERS

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Guided by the owner’s requirements, design-builders assume total project responsibility — along with a large share of risk — for optimizing project costs and performance. Conspectus partners with design-builders to support sound decision making and to help maximize process efficiency, promote quality, and constrain costs.

For a more detailed discussion of how the Conspectus approach can help you can manage risks, control costs, and make sure owner requirements are fully met, view or download the accompanying PDF.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS

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Driven by the time/quality/cost triad, construction managers focus constantly on managing logistics, controlling costs, and maximizing efficiency. The Conspectus approach helps you mitigate the inherent risks by eliminating inconsistencies, discrepancies, and data gaps that lead to RFIs, change orders, delays, and cost overruns.

For a more detailed discussion of how the Conspectus approach can help you can manage risks, control costs, and make sure owner requirements are fully met, view or download the accompanying PDF.

Our rethinking and refocusing of the specifications process makes good business sense for all stakeholders. As projects evolve, the Conspectus approach captures and preserves increasingly complex information, provides data for incremental cost analysis of proposed design and construction options, and documents all decisions as they are made.

Click a tab to learn more about how this approach can add value and reduce risk for your projects.

WHY THE CONSPECTUS APPROACH WORKS

FOCUSES ON OWNER’S REQUIREMENTS

The Conspectus approach creates an information flow that supports optimized design choices, translates design solutions into reliable construction documents, and provides the data and insight necessary for owners to optimize the operations and maintenance of their facilities.

SUPPORTS FULLY INFORMED DECISION MAKING

Owners and architects can start making data-driven decisions earlier in the project and at a higher level, which helps keep the design solution aligned with owner requirements. With access and input to centralized, accurate information at every stage of the project, all team members can understand the “what and why” of design solutions and align their efforts with the desired outcome.

MITIGATES FINANCIAL RISK

Because financial risk is always top of mind, Conspectus carefully defines the required systems and assemblies in sufficient detail to enable early cost analysis of the viable options. This promotes fully informed design decision making taking into account the three most critical dimensions: performance, cost, and quality.

REDUCES INCONSISTENCIES, DISCREPANCIES, REDUNDANCIES, AND INEFFICIENCY

The Conspectus approach gathers comprehensive data from the earliest phases of a project ensuring that no data is lost and that all relevant information and decisions are documented. This helps to reduce both the number and frequency of change orders and to avoid disruptions caused by value engineering efforts to cut costs, regardless of scope or quality implications. It also provides complete documentation for dispute resolution.

EMBODIES TRANSPARENCY AND PROMOTES COLLABORATION

The Conspectus approach keeps the extended project team on the same page by providing access to a common, complete, and current data set. This enables team members to make fact-based decisions rather than rely on assumptions and best guesses. It also provides a mechanism for all parties to contribute relevant knowledge, expertise, and experience at the most appropriate time in the project continuum.