Spec Book Pro Blog

Quality Assurance for Interior Design Specifications

One of our clients made a great suggestion recently. After considering the alternatives, we added a new section to the the Main menu of Spec Book Pro entitled

Quality Assurance for Project

There are currently four options:

    Enter Data for Specs with No Details
    Enter Data for Specs with No Image
    Enter Data for Specs with No Quantity or Price
    Enter Data for Specs with No Sources

"Enter Data for Specs with No Details" selects all the specs that have no descriptive data entered for the item. For example, a Chair might have the following attributes for data entry:

Dimensions
Finish
Seat Height
Seat Depth
Arm Height
COM Required
COM Reference

If no data has been entered in these data fields, selecting "Enter Data for Specs with No Details" would find that spec and all specs missing that kind of data. With this list, the designer can go into each spec and add the necessary information.

"Enter Data for Specs with No Image" lists all the specs without an image

Likewise, "Enter Data for Specs with No Quantity or Price" finds the specs without Quantity or Price, and "Enter Data for Specs with No Sources" retrieves specs without a Manufacturer and Rep Firm included.

These enhancements are designed to

1- increase the productivity of interior designers, and

2 - reduce the possibility of ommissions in specs sent to clients and purchasing.

Continuous improvement makes Spec Book Pro more valuable in these tough times. Please add any suggestions in the comments below.

Green Furniture & Furnishings

BuildingGreen.com has a list of Green Furniture & Furnishings products and considerations.

Link: BuildingGreen.com - Green Product Category: Furniture & Furnishings

The introduction of furnishings that off-gas hazardous chemicals can undo all the care given to using “clean” building materials. Furniture and furnishings incorporate many separate products and all of the issues that go with them. As a result, they can be a significant source of IAQ problems—coming from binders in wood composites such as particleboard, from finishes used on the products, from flame retardants used in foam cushions, and from adhesives used to assemble the products.

Those items incorporating fabric, such as upholstered furniture and workstations, can also collect dirt and airborne contaminants, releasing them later.