| Author |
Message |
Scott Whitcraft (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 10:15 am: |    |
Current age:65
Higher education: Yes
Major? Architecture
Age when first prepared specs: 27
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Working group within firm
Age at first formal education: B.Arch Age 20
Education provider: University of Kansas
Age at CDT: 43
Age at CCS: 45
Do you also have CCCA? No
Age as full-time Specifier: 42 |
Margaret G. Chewning FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: presbspec
Post Number: 339
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 01:21 pm: | |
I can see updating this again and seeing if we have added to our ranks. Here is my info again:
Current age: 68, no plans to retire
Higher education: yes
Major? BET, Construction Management concentration.
Age when first prepared specs: 22
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Hans Meir's Construction Specifications Handbook given to me by my supervisor at Navy Exchange Maintenance.
Age at first formal education: In specifications was a seminar in writing government specifications (before SpecsIntact), and self study converting NAVFAC specs into CSI 3part sections for retail renovation work.
Education provider: SOP (Seat of the Pants)
Age at CDT: N/A
Age at CCS: 30, circa '83
Do you also have CCCA? Obtained at 46, have dropped this cert as I no longer do Construction Admin
Age as full-time Specifier: 28
Experience background: Draftsman, Construction Quality Control on NAVFAC project, Specifer at various A/E firms and now independent, Code inspector at Capital Outlay Projects (ODU), On-site Project Manager for NRHA; All contributed to my knowledge set towards making me a better Specifier. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 616
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 01:29 pm: | |
why are we doing this again. IMHO we would be better served by asking 5 architects we know who are not spec writers
1. have you ever written a spec?
2. if no spec writer was available could you write one?
2. if you have how many?
3. when did you write the first one?
4. when did you last write one?
have you had problems finding a spec writer?
THESE are questions to ask and report back. I already know we are (almost all) old and have been doing this since paper was invented. |
Margaret G. Chewning FCSI CCS
Senior Member
Username: presbspec
Post Number: 340
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 01:44 pm: | |
Marc, you are right (except for the "almost all old" thing).
This would be a good survey for SCIP to put out. Not sure of the best way to distribute, but could yield some very good information toward recruiting some younger folk into our ranks. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 1349
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 02:17 pm: | |
Hi Marc.
I'd be interested in seeing the results of that survey. Having known many Architects who believed that they could do it all, their answers would be:
1. yes
2. yes
2(2). enough
3. doesn't matter
4. doesn't matter
What's a spec writer and why do I need one?
While I wouldn't post a survey, I'm curious how many firms have endured lawsuits for whatever design reason and whether they used their specs to defend themselves. Were they successful? Did the valued of specifications increase, decrease, or stay the same. |
Marc Chavez
Senior Member
Username: mchavez
Post Number: 617
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 02:48 pm: | |
well it would be good for CSI to do it. but the last time CSI commissioned a report on specifications (Ujjval Vyas did it) They did not like him or the results or both and buried so no one would see it. Yea SCIP could do it. anyone could do it with Survey Monkey. There are two important things to ensure validity, have valid questions and as good a sample as possible. size of sample is not as important as makeup. There, that is a whole semester of survey research methods and a semester of experimental methods in two sentences. |
(Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 02:58 pm: | |
Ken, Lawsuits and Claims are two very different things, and I suspect the response regarding Claims would be much more fruitful and helpful. I used to work with a firm that considered the Claims phase as simply the expected final phase of every project. They specialized in public-bid schools and owner-builder multifamily projects. They had full time in-house legal consul....but not a spec writer. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 1350
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - 03:19 pm: | |
Good point Guest. I did a lot of work with a major Mid-Atlantic GC/CM company who expected claims on every project. Their legal team said they went through litigation, not just mediation or arbitration, on roughly half their projects. The Precon group that I dealt with got to be pretty good at predicting which projects would go to litigation during bid. They bid them anyway. I could never get them to tell me if their numbers were predominantly due to design document quality, their construction practices, or some combination thereof. They also wouldn't tell me percentages of who started most of the claims, them or other members of the project teams. Can't say I blame them. |
Jeff Leemhuis, CCS, SCIP
Senior Member
Username: jrlbarch
Post Number: 43
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 12, 2021 - 07:52 am: | |
Current age: 70
Higher education: Yes
Major: Architecture, Kent State University
Age when first prepared specs: 33
Have a mentor: No
Mentor Relationship:
Age at first formal (spec) education: 36
Education provider: Columbus Chapter CSI member
Age at CDT:
Age at CCS: 36
Do you also have CCCA? No
Age as full-time Specifier: 36 |
Wayne Yancey
Senior Member
Username: wayne_yancey
Post Number: 923
Registered: 01-2008
| | Posted on Friday, March 12, 2021 - 10:45 am: | |
Current age: 73
Higher education: Yes
Major? Architectural Technology at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (Class of 1967)
Age when first prepared specs: 26
Have a mentor: Yes. Several
Mentor Relationship: Good
Age at first formal specifications education: 26
Education provider: Constructions Specifications Canada (CCS)
Age at CDT: No. Went straight to CCS
Age at CCS: 43
Do you also have CCCA? No
Age as full-time Specifier: 30 |
Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC
Senior Member
Username: redseca2
Post Number: 694
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 12, 2021 - 06:44 pm: | |
I have retired, so this will be my last update
Current age: 67
Higher education: Yes
Major? Architecture, University of Oregon
Age when first prepared specs: 47 (my first complete spec)
Have a mentor: Yes
Mentor Relationship: Senior Spec Writer
Age at first formal education: 45
Education provider: San Francisco CSI via AIA
Age at CDT: 48
Age at CCS: N/A
Do you also have CCCA? No
Age as full-time Specifier: 47 |
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