Professional
Specification Services

Get project support from out team of
experienced architects and engineers

Beyond Specifications

A Full Suite of Industry-Leading Capabilities

At every construction project milestone — from initial concept to occupancy — Conspectus delivers industry-leading specifications and related risk mitigation and advisory services that add value for all stakeholders.

Construction Specifications

Complete, accurate specifications for all stakeholders

Our certified professionals have what it takes to deliver the highest quality specifications. They understand the design process, see beyond the drawings, and know constructability at a deep and practical level. Working at the intersection of design and construction, they integrate design solutions into specifications and construction documents that articulate contractual requirements and improve communication and coordination among all parties. The result is reliable cost estimates, improved construction efficiencies, and finished projects that meet all expectations and requirements.

Experience, Expertise, Sound Judgement

With a mastery of advanced systems and tools, we use data and analysis of products, systems, materials, and performance factors to make smart choices and recommendations. Our team’s multidisciplinary training and knowledge of compliance, systems, and regional variations enable us to deal with complexity and change. Our experience and perspective gained in working on wide-ranging projects domestically and internationally have prepared us to meet any challenge and to empower the design team to do the job right the first time.

A One-Stop Specifications Provider

We offer a broad range of specifications services tailored to the needs of all stakeholders: owners, designers, builders, engineers, insurers, and manufacturers. We work with all specifications formats, including UniFormat and MasterFormat, to provide the documentation required at each process milestone. We also work closely with major design-builders to develop specs tailored to their particular needs. We offer specialized knowledge of VA Master Specifications and SpecsIntact, a unique specification software editing package used for projects for the US military services.

Systems and
Performance Descriptions

Leverage the team's expertise from the start using format.

Because today’s project teams often find it necessary to make important decisions much earlier in construction projects than ever before, Conspectus takes a descriptive approach that focuses more intently on defining systems and performance than on specific design solutions, products, and materials at the early project stages.

This approach opens up opportunities for designers to explore system and assembly options before committing to a single design decision. It incorporates rigorous value analysis of the options to compare cost impacts, potential risks, and performance differences. This supports a robust design solution informed by professional judgment and aligned with owner requirements. It also helps avoid reactive value engineering after the design is completed, which can change project scope, add work, and significantly disrupt schedules.

A Continuous Information Stream

As the design process unfolds, we continuously add and update information about system components (products and materials) to help improve the accuracy of project estimates and manage cost and time more effectively. We organize both design data and project estimates following UniFormat, a methodology originally developed by estimators. This consistency helps eliminate gaps in information flow, enables easier system comparisons, and supports optimal decision making at each critical project milestone.

Delivering on Owner's Requirements

Our early emphasis on supporting data-based design decisions and then documenting them and their rationale lays the foundation for contractually required specifications and the final set of construction documents. Having a single repository of comprehensive documentation accessible by all fosters transparency and collaboration, which means fewer RFIs, change orders, delays, claims, and disputes. It also ensures that the owner’s requirements remain the focus of design decisions throughout the process.

Construction Quality Assurance

Risk & Quality Advisory

By its very nature, the Conspectus approach is a quality assurance and risk management process. Making and documenting well-informed decisions at the right time in the right order is critical to managing both risk and quality. This is especially true for decisions that can have major consequences or cause significant disruption if they are changed later. Our approach supports the kind of well-informed, data-driven decision making that mitigates such risk and assures quality across the life of a project.

The First Line of Defense

As specifiers, we are the first to independently review and interpret design drawings and form the front line of quality assurance and risk mitigation. We question and probe to determine design intent and quickly articulate the design solution in sufficient detail to help other team members understand what the drawings may not make obvious and to allow the specifications and estimating process to begin.

Formal QA Reviews

As trained experts, we can also help reduce liability exposure by conducting more formal quality assurance reviews to discover design omissions and inconsistencies before the building official or the contractor finds them. Every comment we make helps eliminate a potential RFI or change order, which can mean costly changes, construction delays, and disgruntled owners.

Constant Monitoring

Our professionals gather and analyze data continuously to reduce risk from material, product, and system selections. Their notes, drawing markups, and other documentation call out what details require more attention. By addressing issues as they arise, the architect can avoid having to answer the same questions during bidding or, more seriously, during construction, when late revisions and value engineering can cause massive and costly scheduling disruptions.

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and expert judgment that your project team requires

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