I am very excited to be able to say that an electronic version of this is now only a few months away from launch and is now undergoing beta testing.
NBS Domestic Specification is an internet application and will therefore work on pretty much any platform... PC, Mac or even Apple IPad. I cannot say too much for now - but please find some teaser screenshots below and keep tuned to this blog for more information over the coming weeks!
Sign in to NBS Domestic within your web browser and click to create a new specification
(click image for larger view)
Select your contract particulars and work sections
Edit your NBS specification with synchronized guidance and drop down suggested values
Publish your finished specification to PDF
Stephen; all sounds very promising!
ReplyDeleteOperating the Specification system via web app certainly seems to be heading the same way that things are going generally. Presumably, this allows for ensuring that library content is always up-to-date? I've not used the paper-based NBS Dom before, but is it a spec-based comparator to NBS Scheduler; in terms of complexity of document and/or project?
Would the written specs reside online, or only be saved locally?
I'm looking forward to trying this out on a Mac. Looks like it should save a lot of time, and look much more professional than the existing paper versions.
ReplyDelete@Rich
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive comments.
As you are online, the work sections will always be the very latest when you add them to your project spec. This is true for the technical guidance and suggested insert values too.
In terms of complexity of project, the scope of the content isn't quite up there with NBS Scheduler - but is fine for small domestic projects. I'll maybe speak to one of our technical team and do a post on the scope of content in the next few weeks.
The specification data will reside online, but at any time you can take a local PDF copy of this.
@Warren
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely delighted to be able to say we're doing a specification product for the Mac. All of our software developers use IPods and IPhones and IPads nowadays so delivering a specification system over the web clearly allows us to make it platform independent.
I appreciate there is a demand for all our products to work on a Mac - I cannot promise anything, but clearly this is a step in the right direction.
One thing that merits re-consideration is the continued use of the word "domestic". It seems like this package would be ideally suited to small commercial/refurb jobs which could also be making use of this product.
ReplyDelete@Warren
ReplyDeleteAs I am on the software side, I am kept well away from the scope of the content and even further away from the naming of the product. As I mentioned in my reply to Rich though, I will speak to someone at NBS and do a full post on this subject next week.
Also, I saw your post on RIBA Net saying nice things about Domestic - thanks for helping spread the word :)
I cant wait to see this in action. I am an Interior Designer and this would be perfect for me :)
ReplyDeleteRemember, if anyone wants to see NBS products before they are released then they can join our Beta Testing programme:
ReplyDeletehttp://constructioncode.blogspot.com/2010/05/join-nbs-beta-test-programme.html
@Warren and @Rich
ReplyDeleteI have spoken to our technical author in charge of the content and I has given me some draft information:
http://constructioncode.blogspot.com/2010/09/nbs-domestic-specification-draft-scope.html