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'E-specs'
aim to save time, money
Portland
Press Herald Tuesday, May 16, 2000
By
CLARKE CANFIELD, Staff Writer
Any
architect knows the painstaking process of figuring out the thousands
of minute details that go into designing a building. A Portland company
is trying to make the procedure a little less tedious.
From
its small offices in the Old Port, Interspec LLC uses proprietary
technology, the Internet and mountains of data to sell automated spec-writing
services to architects.
The
idea of writing architectural specifications might lack the pizzazz
of Web sites that sell cool electronic gizmos or plane tickets or
even fishing equipment. Architectural specs, after all, are essentially
meticulous instructions on construction details like what kind of
concrete or roofing a project requires.
But
from a business perspective, Interspec may be onto something. The
construction field has boomed in recent years, and architects spend
hundreds of millions of dollars on spec-writing each year. Additionally,
the business-to-business market on the Internet is roaring.
Interspec
began selling its services about a year ago, and has built its customer
base to close to 30 clients in 16 states without actively marketing
itself. It expects to turn a profit this year. Most Internet companies
can only dream of such a thing. (Take that, Amazon.com.)
Interspec
says that its "e-Specs" spec-writing service — and its e-specs.com
Web site — can save architects time and money. In so doing, it enables
companies to increase their productivity in a small yet substantial
way.
The
company also demonstrates how the Internet can empower a small enterprise
on Commercial Street to extend its markets to virtually anywhere on
the globe.
"We're
using the Internet to take a local business and go out and expand,"
said Gilles Letourneau, who is in charge of Interspec's technology.
"We can just as easily take a project from Seattle as we can
from Westbrook."
Michael
Brennan, Interspec's chief executive, said the market potential for
e-Specs is huge. There is about $400 billion a year worth of building
construction in the United States, of which 10 percent or so goes
to architecture fees. Of that amount, 1 percent to 2 percent is spent
on spec writing, he said.
"Spec
writing alone could be worth $500 million to $1 billion," Brennan
said. "$500 million at least."
In
Internet time, Interspec is almost ancient. It dates back to the fall
of 1997, when Brennan, Letourneau and two other partners who live
out of state started the company. They spent the first year developing
the technology and began selling the services about a year ago.
Letourneau
is an architect and specifier (or spec writer) who years ago envisioned
creating an automated spec-writing system. His idea is the driving
force behind Interspec, and it is his technology that allows the system
to work.
When
architects design buildings, they have to provide specifications —
or specs — for all the materials used.
They
specify the types of doors, concrete, windows, roofing, flooring,
siding, insulation, plumbing fixtures, lighting, toilets and hundreds
of other items that will be used in a project. For a large building
like a school or an office building, a specifications book can easily
be several hundred or even 1,000 pages or more.
Interspec
automates the spec-writing process by using a technology that connects
a large database of building specifications to an electronic architectural
drawing of the project. Depending on the job, the typical charge ranges
from under $1,000 to up to $10,000. Customers can also access the
specs by Internet, allowing them to watch as they are being written
and make changes if they want. "It's almost as if they're sitting
next to me as I'm working on their projects," Letourneau said.
So
far, Interspec has completed more than 50 projects, including schools,
homes, municipal buildings, a Marine barracks, a golf club and a car
dealership. It also has a do-it-yourself "ezSpecs Online"
program for $149 for architects with small commercial and residential
projects.
But
that's not to say that Interspec has the field to itself.
Greg
Balestrero, executive director of the Construction Specifications
Institute in Alexandria, Va., said a growing number of companies in
the so-called "AEC" field — architecture, engineering and
construction — are turning to the Internet in increasing numbers.
In January 1999, he said, only 10 dot-com companies served the AEC
market, he said. Now there are 130 to 140 such companies.
Experts
say that most everything in the construction industry will be automated
and online, from spec writing to bidding on projects to choosing subcontractors.
This is all part of the booming business- to-business market on the
Internet, which Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., predicts
will grow to $2.7 trillion by 2004.
"This
is significant, because if it happens, it eliminates a tremendous
amount of paperwork that takes an enormous amount of time," Balestrero
said.
Other
companies around the country sell spec-writing documents online and
other products that allow for spec writing to be done in check-list
fashion on a computer. However, Letourneau said, he knows of no company
other than Interspec that has the technology to directly link electronic
architectural drawings with large databases of text documents.
All
of which streamlines the spec-writing process and save architects
time and money. An architect who recently called Interspec said it
would take six weeks for him to complete the specs for a complex project.
"We quoted him a turnaround of six days," Letourneau said.
Mark
Burnes, project manager with Gawron Architects in Scarborough, says
Interspec does more than just save time and money. He also likes the
fact that Letourneau serves as another experienced set of eyes looking
over the project plans.
"It's
good to have a person who has the experience to give you feedback:
'Are you sure you wanted this?' 'Have you ever tried this?,' "
he said. "There are lots of positives to this process."
Staff
Writer Clarke Canfield can be contacted at 791-6464 or at: ccanfield@pressherald.com
Copyright
© 2000 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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