Sample specifications from NBS

When writing a specification it can be a little daunting seeing a blank screen and wondering where to start.

So, in a further improvement to our online support material there are now a number of sample specifications available to download from our website. There are a number of sample specifications for:

• Project management (roles and definitions)
• Architecture (door and window systems)
• Electrical engineering services (low voltage system)
• Mechanical engineering services (heating systems)
• Structural engineer (piling and pilcap systems)
• Landscape architecture (paving system)

Each download comes with a guide from the individual NBS Technical Author who writes and maintains the content. The specifications themselves can be opened in Adobe Reader or NBS Create.

The structure of each specification is consistent across each of the disciplines showing what can be achieved when the whole project team used NBS.

Some screen captures below:

Commentary from each NBS technical author

Samplle full specification for a doorset system

Sample performance specification for a traffic kerb system

All of the downloads are free - so please have a look at them at:

- thenbs.com/services/our-tools/nbs-create/sample-specifications

To learn more about NBS usage on a project please see:
- thenbs.com/case-studies/bim-toolkit-sample-projects/bim-toolkit-for-education/st-margarets-primary-school

An introduction to NBS Create - Video

As part of the development of our new website we wanted to produce a video that introduces the NBS Create specification system in three minutes. This comes hot on the heels of the NBS BIM workflow video I blogged about in March.

This video may now be viewed below:
- theNBS.com/Create

As with the previous BIM video, again this video introduces the product through telling the story of our own building project and uses NBS colleagues within the movie.

At NBS, our technical authors work together to ensure the quality and structure of the NBS content

This content is then used by thousands of constructional professionals on thousands of projects across the UK

The structure of this content allows for innovative functionality where specifications can be developed from outline to full throughout the project timeline - functionality also connects the specification to relevant standards and manufacturers

The video moves through our new office building looking at specifications from the different disciplines

Where each member of the project team subscribes, the final documentation is consistent across all disciplines

Project teams can strengthen the NBS Create system by capturing their office knowledge within it

The specification must be coordinated with the drawings and schedules - the connectivity within a BIM environment give big efficiency benefits here

...and the video ends as it started with a focus on the NBS people - in this case the support that is provided to customers as part of their subscription

To find out more about NBS Create - please see:
- theNBS.com/Create

Thanks to chartered architects JDDK who have led the building project and are pictured in the video

Thanks also (again) to Soluis who partnered with us to produce the video.
- Soluis.com

How NBS fits into your BIM workflow - Video

As part of the launch of our new brand and our new website - we now have a dedicated place on our website explaining how NBS products and services can support you within your BIM workflow.

As part of this, we have just produced a three minute video as a short introduction.

- theNBS.com/BIMWorkflow

What I think is particularly nice about this video is that the story is told from our own building project that is currently under way. This is a genuine model of our building. The content and software examples are genuine. Some stills from the video are explained below.

At an early stage, client information requirements can be defined in the NBS BIM Toolkit

Generic objects from the National BIM Library can help generate concept designs

Specifications can be started early and then developed through the timeline using NBS Create

Relevant standards and regulations are linked to BIM objects and specifications within the Construction Information Service

Product specifications from over 650 manufacturers may be added using NBS Plus

The NBS Plug-in for Autodesk Revit synchronises the model and the specification

Information is developed through the project timeline

The connectivity between the solutions is what makes them so effective

To find out more about our BIM solutions - please see:
- theNBS.com/BIMWorkflow

Thanks to chartered architects JDDK who have led the building project

Thanks also (again) to Soluis who partnered with us to produce our third engaging BIM video (previous 1, previous 2).
- Soluis.com

The new NBS website

Our new NBS website is now live at the beta web address http://new.thenbs.com/ 

The home page is clean, crisp, easy to navigate and is designed for web and mobile. The overall design and use of the new NBS brand hopefully adds to a great user experience.

Our new website

There are three main sections to the website Services, Knowledge and Support. Within the Services section you can quickly find the right NBS products and tools for your practice. Whether you work in the architecture or engineering - whether you work on small or large projects.

NBS products and tools that can benefit you

The Knowledge area has a wide range of interesting articles. Each article is tagged by the relevant topics and also the author. By clicking on the topic or the author you can discover more articles of a similar nature.

A wide range of interesting articles in the Knowledge section

The third main area of the site is the Support area. If you are an NBS user (or want to browse the support that NBS users are provided with) you can look through the online help articles and videos - equally you can find out about training options and also engaging in our customer panels.

Get the most out of our services in the Support section

One final mention is the new 'My NBS' area of the site. If you have an NBS Account (from using NBS Create or NBS Domestic or National BIM Library or BIM Toolkit...) then you simply sign into the site and you can save useful articles, look at your history or tailor your experience and notifications based on your interests.

The new 'My NBS' section of the website

So please spend a little bit of time looking through the website and any feedback you send through our 'BETA bar' is most appreciated:
- http://new.thenbs.com/ 

NBS Create - Office Masters

The first of three blog posts looking at some of the new functionality that is coming very soon to NBS Create users. NBS Create is the revolutionary new specification product from NBS.

As usual, lots of screen-shots, with a little commentary below. Click any of the images to see larger versions in a slide-show.

Fig 1 - Create an office master clause

Fig 2 - Complete the clause as you wish it to be used on future jobs

Fig 3 - Create multiple clause relationships

Fig 4 - The office master clause will appear in the right context within a project now

Fig 5 - Office master guidance is presented to the user as the clause is made project-specific

Fig 6 - A very quick way to create robust, concise project specifications

For information on how to update office masters and feed this information back into the project specifications please see:
- NBS Create - Updating your content
And for a little on the permissions model please see:
- NBS Create - Permissions

NBS Create - Updating Your Content

The second of three blog posts looking at some of the new functionality that is coming very soon to NBS Create users. NBS Create is the revolutionary new specification product from NBS.

This post should be read in the context of the other posts - NBS Create - Office Masters and NBS Create - Permissions.

As usual, lots of screen-shots, with a little commentary below. Click any of the images to see larger versions in a slide-show.

Fig 1 - The user is amending an office master clause

Fig 2 - As this clause is currently being used in a job - the user is alerted

Fig 3 - The user may generate a report to see an overview of update actions in a job 

Fig 4 - The user is guided through the individual clause items that require attention

Fig 5 - Practice guidance may be added to give the end user more assistance on whether to accept or reject amends

Update - 17/05 - I received an email asking if the update mechanism was the same when NBS updates the national-level content.

The answer is "yes". In fact it's a bit better because the the NBS updates come with a consistent commentary that explains what precisely has changed and why.

Fig 6 - The NBS Guidance has a link at the top where all recent updates are documented

Fig 7 - The modified clause item is highlighted and an update commentary is clearly presented

Fig 7 - After one quick click, the specification or office master has been brought up to date

NBS Create - Permissions

The third of three blog posts looking at some of the new functionality that is coming very soon to NBS Create users. NBS Create is the revolutionary new specification product from NBS.

This post should be read in the context of the other posts - NBS Create - Office Masters and NBS Create - Updating Your Content.

As usual, lots of screen-shots, with a little commentary below. Click any of the images to see larger versions in a slide-show.

Fig 1 - Manage the users in your office

Fig 2 - Help system

Check out the NBS training courses and CPD opportunities:

- http://www.thenbs.com/training/trainingCourses

TV Times

At NBS we have recently launched a new service that is free to all NBS subscribers:
http://www.thenbs.com/nbsTV

NBS TV covers a broad range of online video programmes, including case studies, technical guidance and interviews with leading industry figures. These online videos cover key topics in the construction industry examples of which are below:

• Sustainability – Code for Sustainable Homes - UPDATE 2011
  Featuring Mel Starrs. Mel Starrs is an Associate at PRP Architects where she is a specialist in sustainability and green buildings. She is also a Blogger/ Twitterer on all manner of technical issues.
• BIM - Interview with Paul Morrell, OBE, Government's Chief Construction Advisor
  Paul Morrell OBE discusses how BIM will impact the construction sector, and how this will lead to a very different, increasingly collaborative approach to building design and management.
• Regulations and standards - BS 8300 - Designing for Disability
  Featuring Fausto Pereira, director with PH Partnership. An architect with special expertise in designing for people with disabilities and access-related issues, Fausto is a National Register of Access Consultants assessor and was also the Vice Chair and CPD-Coordinator for the North East branch of the Access Association. He is also a visiting lecturer teaching accessible design at Newcastle University.
• Design and specification - Vicky Richardson, British Council
  Interview with Vicky Richardson the new director of architecture, design and fashion at the British Council. She took up her position on 1st March 2010, just in time to commission muf architecture/art to design the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
• Building services – Wind Turbines
  Featuring Ian Bogle – BFLS Architects, studied architecture at the Mackintosh school of Architecture, and subsequently worked for the Parr Partnership in Glasgow before joining Foster + Partners in 1995 where he worked on projects including the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, The Dubai Cultural Centre, the Swiss Re Headquarters and the Bexley Business Academy, buildings which won and came second in the 2004 Stirling Prize respectively. He joined BFLS (formerly Hamilton Architects) in 2002 and became a director in 2005.
• Practice management – Cloud Computing
  Featuring Tim Cowen head of the 'Open Computing Alliance', a network of IT companies operating 'within the cloud'. He is also the immediate past Chairman of the CBI competition panel and was the longest serving member of the board of BT's international businesses and General Counsel.
• Contracts and law – Pre-Development: The QS's Role
  Interview with Julian Heard Director of Cost Consultancy at Cyril Sweett.
• Building technologies – Design of Steel Structures to Eurocode 3
  Featuring Dr Graham Couchman MA PhD Ceng MICE - Chief Executive of the Steel Construction Institute and a specialist in the analysis and design of steel and composite structures, the behaviour of steel connections, light gauge steel and modular construction, and the behaviour of metallic cladding. He has authored a number of industry guides relating to steel and composite constructions.
• Health and safety – Designers' Health and Safety Responsibilities
  Giles Meredith is the portfolio holder for designers and CDM Coordinators in the Health and Safety Executive's Construction Management Unit.
  Much of his time is spent working with design stakeholder groups, working to produce and improve guidance for designers on CDM and their wider health and safety responsibilities.

So current subscribers to NBS specification products, contract adminstrator, building regulations - check out this added value service:
http://www.thenbs.com/nbsTV

NBS Create - Adding your knowledge to NBS guidance and suggested values

Our major new specification product is not far away. In May I blogged about being able to create outline and performance specifications and in June I blogged about how the specification is now a rich information model forming part of a fuller building information model. This month I am going to look at how soon you will be able to add your information to supplement the NBS guidance and suggested values.

When completing your NBS specification you are presented with a part-complete template specification clause. Expert technical guidance is provided to the right of the editor window. Clicking the drop down arrows in the clause offers a number of suggested values for you to pick from. You can select one of these or type your own.

Where an office has information they'd like to supplement NBS with they may now add guidance notes against any part of the NBS guidance. For example, below, the user has more information they'd like to add to the Image quality keyword of a performance clause for a CCTV system.

The screenshot shows the user adding their information. Once complete, the user selects whether this guidance note will be available on all future jobs or for a specific job only. They also select whether this note must be visible to all users in the office or just a personal note.

This guidance note now appears inline within the NBS guidance at the appropriate context. Who added the note and when they added it is displayed and this note may be modified at any time.

Within a company it will be possible to control who can add this information through the software permissions model. As the NBS data will be delivered across the web, this information can be shared across sites, so if a company has offices at Newcastle, Glasgow and London - then all users of the system (including home-workers) will see this guidance.

As part of customer focus group activities over recent years, a common request for improvement has been to allow users to supplement not just the NBS guidance, but also the suggested values. The screenshot below shows the user selecting the option "Edit Office Values List...".

The user may then add additional values that will appear on all future jobs and be available to all users within a company.

The screenshot below shows the clause now with the new office values appearing in addition to the NBS suggested values. We believe that the ability to customise these values and the ability to supplement the technical guidance makes will help offices centralise and share their knowledge and make best use of this on their construction jobs.

Further reading...
For all blog articles on NBS 2012 - click the NBS 2012 hyperlink to the right of this page.

To join our Beta Testing Program and help us develop this product, please see:
- http://www.thenbs.com/support/betatesting

Adding User Guidance to NBS

One great way of making the NBS master specification system work even better for your practice is to add your office knowledge to it.

NBS supports this through the "User Guidance" feature.

Adding user guidance notes to an office standard works especially well as these notes will come through to all designers in the office that create project specifications using this office standard.

Fig 1 - Creating a user guidance page

Figure 1 shows the user has selected to add a guidance note. This is being made "high priority", which means that it will take priority over the NBS Guidance and the Manufacturer information.

Fig 2 - Editing a user guidance page

Figure 2 above shows that within the NBS software the user may perform simple editing on the note to add their practice knowledge to their local NBS system. This is ideal for information tailored to the specific practice and this enhances the technical guidance provided by NBS.

Fig 3 - Adding an external link as user guidance

For practices with web based Intranet systems, the ability to link to web pages works really well. Figure 3 above shows that instead of a basic user guidance note being added, a link to an Intranet page may be selected.

Fig 4 - HTML user guidance notes

Figure 4 above shows the advantage of writing user guidance notes as Intranet pages and then linking to them:

• All formatting styles that HTML allows may be used.
• Images, tables, movies and advanced hyperlinking can be used.
• These practice notes are edited outside of NBS, this is possible without using up an NBS licence seat.