csinews 1505

CSI Houston ChapterThe Construction Specifications InstituteMay 2015

Inside this issue:CSI Houston ChapterMay Program 1Leadership Directory 2

Presidents Message 3

Board Meeting Minutes 4

Sponsor Advertisements 5

Are specifiers an endan-gered species? 6, 8

CSI Sponsor Advertise-ments 7, 9

Strictly Smith-ly, Specifiers add-ed value 8

Strictly Smith-ly, ProfessionalCertifications 10

SCR Region Conference 11

CSI Houston Calendar 12

Houston Chapter Website:http://www.csihouston.org

May 18, 2015Factory Tour34 XLFNVHUYBrittmoore Park Drive7

3:00 PM to 5:30 PMPlease be prompt&

Gratis to CSI members;$35.00 to non members atthe door.5* RWRhttp://www.csihouston.org

CSI Houston May ProgramQuickserv Factory Tour

Quikserv Corp is pleased to be offering the factory tour for CSI Houston Chapteron Monday, May 18, 2015.

If you have ever wanted to know what goes into the manufacturing process formaking drive-thru windows and bullet resistant security window systems, this isthe tour for you. The 80,000 SF facility is located in Northwest Houston justwest of the beltway between Clay and Tanner roads.The tour will show the processes involved from the beginning receipt of raw ma-terials that then get turned into fabricated parts through various high tech ma-chines thru final assembly.Food and beverages will be provided by a local catering food truck and the tourwill end with a neat demonstration of QuikServ Corps bullet resistant productsthat you surely do not want to miss.

Itinerary:

3:00 p.m. Arrive at Quikserv3:15 p.m. Plant tour4:15 p.m. Bullet resistant demonstration4:30 p.m. Social with food and beverages, Quikserv staff and CSI members5:00 p.m. Presentation and raffle5:30 p.m. Conclusion of program

Directions and Parking:

Address: 11441 Brittmoore Park Drive, Houston, 77041

Arriving from the north on BW 8: Exit Tanner road, turn right onto Tanner Road,turn left onto Brittmoore Road, turn right on Brittmoore Park Dr., Quikserv is lo-cated 1/2 mile to the left.Arriving from the south on BW 8: Exit Clay Road, turn left onto Clay Road, turnright onto Brittmoore Road, turn left onto Brittmoore Park Dr., Quikserv is locat-ed 1/2 mile to the left.

Plant entry and parking: Please follow the CSI signs.

CSI Houston June ProgramAwards Program

SPEC.TECTONICS

20142015 COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Programs Alex Bernard, CSI, CCPR(713) 407 7700

[email protected] Mark LeCrone

(713) [email protected]

Certification Greg Quintero, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED AP(713) 356-1300

[email protected]

Awards Amy Salmeron, CSI, CDT713-460-5216

[email protected]

Continuing Education Mark Koehler, CSI(713) 781-6006

[email protected]

Public Relations/Marketing Grant Groeschel, CSI(713)-520-0155

[email protected]

Golf Tournament Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

Table Top Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

CIC Delegate Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPR(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

CIC Alternate Jeff Holstein, CSI, CDT

20142015 CSI HOUSTON SPEC.TECTONICS

SPEC.tectonics Editor Don Smith, CSI, CCS, RA, LEED AP(713) 688-0092

[email protected] CSI HOUSTON WEBSITE

Webmaster Logan Vits, CSI, CCPR, LEED AP(281) 703-5201

[email protected]

20142015 CSI HOUSTON FOUNDATIONPresident, Al Pasek, CSI, CCPR

(713) [email protected]

Past PresidentGreg Roberts, FAIA, FCSI, CCS, ACHA, LEED APVice President Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPRSecretary Diann Reid, CSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED APTreasurer Bob Cook, CSI, AHCCommittee Chair James Sandoz, CSI, CDTDirector Jeff Holstien, CSI, CDTDirector Don Smith, CSI CCS, RA, LEED AP

MAY 2015 - PAGE 2 CSI HOUSTON

CSI HOUSTON CHAPTER20142015 CHAPTER OFFICERS

President Neil Byrne, CSI, CDT, CPA(281) 354-1100

[email protected]

Past President Robert P. Byrne, CSI(713) 632-4790

[email protected]

President Elect Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

VP Finance/ Admin. Chuck Vojtech, CSI(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

VP Professional Development Tim Wilson, CSI(832) 289-6765

[email protected]

VP Member Services Tom Atwell, CSI(713) 877-8879

[email protected]

VP Public Services Don Smith, CSI, CCS, RA, LEED AP(713) 688-0092

[email protected]

Secretary Betsy Finch, CSI(713) 806-3401

[email protected]

Treasurer Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPR(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

20142015 BOARD OF DIRECTORSDirector through 2015 Amy Salmeron, CSI, CDT

[email protected]

Director through 2015 Grant Groeschel, CSI, AIA, LEED AP(713) 934-4891

[email protected]

Director through 2016 Gerard Litton, CSI(832) 260-3822

[email protected]

Director through 2016 Logan Vits, CSI, CCPR, LEED GA(713) 703-5201

[email protected]

Director through 2017 Jeff Holstien, CSI, CDT(281) 850-4659

[email protected]

Director through 2017 Alex Bernard, CSI, CCPR(713) 407 7700

[email protected]

Board Advisory Director Doug Frank, FCSI, CCS(281) 660-6246

[email protected]

CSI SOUTH CENTRAL REGION (http://www.scr-csi.org) / INSTITUTE LEADERS (http://www.csinet.org)SC Region President Melody A. Stinson, CSI, CCS, AIA, LEED AP Institute Director Kirby M. Davis, CSI, CDT

(405) 942-7337 (203) [email protected] [email protected]

Institute President Robert W. Simmons, FCSI, [email protected]

SPEC.TECTONICS MAY 2015 - PAGE 3 CSI HOUSTON

May 2015Presidents Messageby Neil P. Byrne, CSIPresident, CSI Houston Chapter

April was anothergreat month at CSIHouston. A big partof what we do as anorganization is togive back to theconstruction com-munity. That themewas on full displayat the April meetingwhere we handedout scholarships toworthy candidatesand heard from thePrairie View A&M students who ventured toCalifornia for an education based field tripthat was funded in part by CSI Houston. Iwould like to thank The CSI Hou-ston HousHH Foundation for their efforts inthe scholarship process.

This month we have a tour lined up atQuikServ where you will get a behind thescenes look into the manufacturing processfor making drive-thru windows and bullet re-sistant security window systems. I hope youall will join us for this unique opportunity.

Be sure to follow us on our new twitter han-dle, @CSIHOU and check our website,www.csihouston.org for important Chapterupdates.

I look forward to seeing you all at the Maytour. Remember, please help increase mem-

bership and member participation by advocat-ing R.U.N CSI!

At each monthly meeting, the Chapter encourages Indus-try Members to provide a table top display of their prod-ucts and services for the inspection and education ofthose attending the meeting.The table top display is also encouraged to be presentedduring the social hour and after the program for anyquestions by attendees.The presentation fee is $200 for members and $250 fornon-members, or free with a Golf Sponsorship pledge.Contact: [email protected]


CSI Board Meeting MinutesHouston Chapter CSILocation: HESS Building 5430 WestheimerRoad Houston, TXApril 27, 2015

Present: Alex Bernard, Neil Byrne, Bob Cook, BillFairbanks, Doug Frank, Jeff Holstein, Holly Jordan,Jerard Litton, Greg Quintero, Don Smith, Logan Vits.

President Neil Byrne called the meeting to order at4:07 p.m.The March 2015 Board Meeting Minutes were re-viewed and approved.

Vice President Reports Finance/Administration:Chuck Vojtech Treasurers Report: Bill FairbanksBill distributed the Income & Expense Statement datedApril 27, 2015 and discussed the status of items listed.Membership payments from National lag present

budgeted amount by slightly less than $8,000.00.Professional Development: Tim WilsonContinuing Education:

CDT Certification: Greg QuinteroNo report.

Member Services: Tom AtwellPrograms: Alex BernardAlex discussed the Quickserv plant tour which will startpromptly at 3:00 pm, May 18th. The tour announce-ment is being completed and will be sent out soon. Afood truck will be available on site for tour guests. Alexis looking for new program committee members to helpplan programs after the June meeting.

Membership: Mark LeCroneNeil commented that current membership is reportedby National is continuing but is not resolved. Neil stat-ed that progress is being made by National on themembership program to work on the membershipbacklog for an accurate membership count.

Awards: Amy SalmeronNo report. Nominees for the craftsmanship award werediscussed.

Table Top Display: No report.

Public Services: Don SmithSpec.tectonics: Don SmithDon reported that the April newsletter has been post-ed to the website.

Electronic Communications: Logan Vits commentedthat Chapter website redesign was progressingwith an eye toward active content, an email andmeeting announcement templates to be completebefore the end of the fiscal year.


Other Business:Chapter Election Results: Neil will remind Betsy Finchto forward the Chapter election results to CSI National.

CSI Certification: Logan Vits said he has joined theCSI National Certification Management Committee.

South Central Regional Conference: Neil comment-ed that the Regional Conference breakoutsessions were well put together. Neil discussedthe South Central Region financial responsibility splitas a financial backup for Region Chapters that findthemselves in arrears for hosting a Region Conference.

National Convention: Neil stated that the National Con-vention will be held in St. Louis this October.

Meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Don Smith, CSI forBetsy Finch, CSI Chapter Secretary

WHERE IS YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISEMENT?

A quarter page ad is only $250 for 12 issues

A half page ad is only $500 for 12 issues

A business card ad is only $225 for 12 issues

Contact Don Smith at(713) 688-0092 or [email protected]

for more information.


Are specifiers an endangeredspecies?By Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CSC

For many years, therehave been debatesabout the future of con-struction specifiers.Where will we find newspecifiers? Are they alldying off? Is the profes-sion no longer needed?While I believe there isreason for concern, Idon't think much has changed.

Several years ago, Bob Johnson conducted aninformal survey on 4specs.com, asking membersto answer these questions:

What is your current age?Did you receive education beyond high school?What was your major?At what age did you first prepare some significantspecifications?Did you have a mentor in specifications?How was the mentor related to you (office, CSIchapter, etc.)?At what age did you first take a formal educationseminar or course in specifications?Who provided the education?At what age did you achieve CCS (will be laterfor many because of when the program started)?At what age did you first become a full-time spec-ifier?

After sixty-nine responses, Bob made his final re-port, indicating the average age, with the range inparentheses:

Current age: 55 (32 to 73)Higher education: ArchitectureAge when first prepared specs: 32 (17 to 51)Have a mentor: 72 percent; in same officeAge at first formal education: 41 (20 to 56)Education provider: CSIAge at CCS: 45 (27 to 57)Age as full-time specifier: 46 (20 to 60)

Bob opined that 'lack of young specifiers in to-day's world is not a new story and that most peo-ple do not become specifiers until they have beenaround the "professional block" a few times anddiscovered where their talents lie and what part ofthe profession they are most interested in.'

I wish the survey had included at least one morequestion: What is the size of your firm? The lack ofengineers is not surprising, but it would be interest-ing to know how they would respond to the samequestions.

According to the 2012 AIA Survey Report on FirmCharacteristics, about 25 percent of firms are solepractitioners, and more than 60 percent have fewerthan five employees, while only 1.4 percent of offic-es had 100 or more employees. My observation isthat firms don't have dedicated specifiers unlessthey have about 40 or more employees. AIA re-ports 6 percent of firms have 20-49 employees. Ifwe assume that half that group has 40 employees,only 6 percent of firms have specifiers.

As noted, if you ask specifiers, many will say theyare a dying breed, but they've been saying that forsome time. Given the small number of firms thatuse specifiers, that may appear to be the case, butthere simply aren't very many specifiers, and neverhave been, so it's hard to say if their numbers aredecreasing.

This group has always had more gray hair than av-erage, for a couple of reasons: No one went to ar-chitecture school with the intent of becoming aspecifier, and people typically don't become specifi-ers until they've had at least a few years' experi-ence.

The move to information modeling may impactspecifiers, but it will be primarily in how they dotheir work. Before the advent of word processingsoftware, it was not uncommon for specifiers alsoto be typists, though many relied on redlining, withan administrative person doing the typing. As wordprocessing became more common, specifiers didmore of their own typing, until it became the norm,and all specifiers were more or less required to be-come more or less proficient at word processing.An unfortunate result of this is that many architectstoday see specifiers as little more than glorified typ-ists, and their real value - research, knowledge ofmaterials, understanding of constructability, andcoordination of drawings and specifications - isoverlooked.

Must specifiers change with the times? Of course,as much as any other profession. And, just like anyother profession, there are specifiers who are con-tent to do things the way they have done them foryears, even if that no longer makes sense.

Continued on page 8


Continued from page 7

The recent move toward building modeling maywell have an effect on specifiers; as grunt workof the job fades away, they will be able to spendmore time doing the important part of their work.Specifiers recently have been talking aboutchanging the name of the profession to some-thing like information manager, partly, I believe,to dissociate themselves from the common per-ception of what specifiers do.

The growth of specifying software, such as Spe-cLink, may also have an effect. Much as CADwas seen, 30 years ago, as a program thatwould reduce the need for architects by simplify-ing drafting and eliminating the need to be ableto think in three dimensions, many architects ex-pect specifying software to simplify specifying,perhaps to the point that specifiers no longer willbe needed.

As BIM and specifying software develop, and weleave behind our paper-centric view of constructiondocuments as drawings and specifications, more thanthe job of the specifier will change; the format of spec-ifications and the way they're used also will change.As the software becomes more intelligent, it is almostcertain that we will need fewer architects and specifi-ers to do the same amount of work. But as long asschools fail to teach the very things that led states torequire architects to be licensed, large projects willrequire specifiers, regardless of what they're called.

Specifiers may be evolving, but they're not goingaway.

2015, Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CSC

Agree? Disagree? Leave your comments at http://swconstructivethoughts.blogspot.com/

Strictly SMITH-ly

Specifiers added valueBy Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI CCS RA LEEDAP

If you are an independent specifier, you are alsocontinuously involved in marketing your services.A lot of what we do as specifiers can be de-scribed as variations on a theme. If all you do isput a new header on an old idea no matter whatprofession your work will be stale and quickly

loose value, Your greatest value is therefore whatyou bring to a project.

Your job is nothing more or less than distilling thescope of a project and communicating those re-quirements to the other project team members.Depending on who hose members are, they will belooking for different thins, whether it be accuracy,value, constructability cost, esthetics, or a competi-tive edge.

But in taking off a project, you also bring aware-ness and knowledge on what works and whatdoesnt work. A well detailed project makes thisjob a little easier because it exposed the flaws andmakes it easier to see how the building will morewith temperature and loading changes.

Over the years I have noticed that a well designedand detailed project conveys a sense of pride andvalue much the same as a great work of art. Con-struction workers want to take ownership in some-thing that they can be proud of. Great design in-spires great workmanship! Conversely, an archi-tect must be aware that the construction team isnot being paid to correct design flaws. Sure theyare not interested in participating in work that willfail, but delivering the project on time for a profit istheir primary interest.

This brings our discussion back to the experienceand skill of the specification writer. If he is fortu-nate to have years of drafting experience, a goodmemory, and the ability to visualize in three dimen-sions, drawing reviews and field visits will exposeproblems in the making. Problem areas tend tojump out at you usually without being your primaryfocus as you walk the project site. As a teammember who does not have actual responsibility fordesign and constructability decisions, the specifieris in a unique position to bring oversights to the at-tention of the decision makers and hopefully im-prove the end result of the teams efforts.

The reward for extra effort is usually more work.Its the best way I know that a client can say thankyou to a specification writer.

"If you don't know where you're going, you mightwind up someplace else."

Yogi Berra

Just my opinion,

Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI, CCS, RA, LEEDAP



WHERE IS YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISEMENT?

A quarter page ad is only $250 for 12 issues

A half page ad is only $500 for 12 issues

A business card ad is only $225 for 12 issues

Contact Don Smith at(713) 688-0092 or [email protected]


So, again, you must ask yourself what do thesemean to me? They represent a minimum level ofknowledge attained and a quest to learn at leastone something new each day.

What do certification mean to others? If you areemployed as part of a design team, your qualifi-cations as well as other team members are putforward in each project proposal as the collectiveknowledge, experience and judgment that willguide to project through to its completion.

What is your employer thinking about your certifi-cation? As part of the team, your individual skillscontribute not only in the preparation of your ownwork, but also to the results of the entire the en-tire project design team. Everyone on the teambenefits from another set of knowledgeable eyes.Project success comes from the efforts of theentire team. The best reward possible for projectsuccess is the continued trust of a client and thereward of another project to work on together.

"In a time of drastic change it is the learners whoinherit the future. The learned usually find them-selves equipped to live in a world that no longerexists. "

Eric Hoffer

Just my opinion,

Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI, CCS, RA, LEEDAP

Strictly SMITH-ly

Professional CertificationsBy Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI CCS RA LEED AP

Building Knowledge and Improving Project Deliv-ery is the motto of the Construction SpecificationsInstitute. The various certifications granted by theInstitute through examination attest to the minimumlevel of knowledge attained by the individuals of thevarious design and construction processes.

CSIs core purpose is to improve the process ofcreating and sustaining the built environment. Sobefore investing your time and energy in becomingcertified, it might be wise to think about what certifi-cation means and how becoming certified helps theindividual.

The Construction Documents Technologist (CDT) isan elite group of professionals known in the con-struction industry for their comprehensiveknowledge of writing and management of construc-tion documents.

The Certified Construction Specifier (CCS) is givento individuals who have gained an in-depth under-standing of agreements and their relationship to theContract Documents, general and supplementaryconditions of the Contract, Division 01 - GeneralRequirements, and their relationship to the specifi-cations, and advanced skills in specification devel-opment. A CCS must have at least five years fulltime specification writing experience before sittingfor the CCS certification exam.

The Certified Construction Contract Administrator(CCCA) has an in-depth understanding of develop-ing, administering, and enforcing construction docu-mentation and construction contracts. People withCCCA certification have proven their skill in qualityassurance, and quality control, bidding and negoti-ating procedures, construction observation and in-spection, and knowledge of agreements, conditionsof the contact for construction, Division 01, and ofthe other documents related to the project.

The Certified Construction Product Representative(CCPR) certification is given to individuals whohave proven to be a valuable resource called opnby the design team for product and constructionknowledge and who understands the roles and re-sponsibilities of the members of the entire construc-tion team.

63( &LVDPRQWKO\SXEOLFDWLRQRIWKH+RXVWRQ&KDSWHU&RQVWUXFWLRQ6SHFLILFDWLRQV,QVWLWXWH&6,+GRHVQRWDSSURYHGLVDSprove, sanction, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of any date, claim, or opinion appearing herein. Republication rights are granted to the CSIand its chapters for original articles printed herein, provided proper credits are given. The Houston Chapter is incorporated under the laws of theState of Texas, and is chartered by the Construction Specifications Institute.

CONSTRUCTIONSPECIFICATIONSINSTITUTE

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May 2015 through July 2015


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