BinderFormat

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Author Message anon (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 01:02 pm:    Any of you thought or heard or wished that CSI should put together a BinderFormat so that we can get manufacturers to give us technical data in an easily navigable format, consistent from manuf to manuf? We were just discussing how our product binder library is looking pretty lonely - but we are loathe to get rid of it because of the treasure trove of information contained (and not always duplicated anywhere on manuf web sites). It would be great to have these binders in an electronic format (.pdf) that we could use to build an electronic library. Better if there were a format for manufacturer's to follow... Ron Beard CCS Senior Member Username: rm_beard_ccs Post Number: 398 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 04:47 pm:    I haven't had a new manufacturer's product binder, nor will I accept one, for the last 8 or 9 years. Mfrs. should know by now that a website is far better received by the design profession, cheaper to distribute, and quicker to upgrade. As specifiers, we need to keep pushing CSI specifically and the design professions in general to educate and inform manufacturer's as to how to best utilize their websites. "Fast is good, but accurate is better." .............Wyatt Earp ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 370 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 05:27 pm:    If we could just get manufacturers to pay attention to Colin we wouldn't have to hit our heads against the deaf and overly verbose marketing machines who write literature for their egos instead of generating useful information. I'm tired of having to decipher the gibberish and BS. Maybe it is time to create a new format for product data. It would be great to be able to plug-and-play with information formatted to comply with SectionFormat Articles instead of having to wrestle with sample specs. I'm hopeful that the new CDR program will help with that at least. Interesting that the CSI website has this: http://www.csinet.org/Stay-Informed/Common-Questions/Need-a-Guide-Spec.html but there is no mention of the CDR program. What's up with that? Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEEDŽ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 1582 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 05:28 pm:    Amen to that. BUT I see binders being used for initial selection when there are more than one manufacturer in the running. It's tough to compare manufacturer's information on my computer screen...I can't bring up 4 or 5 different ones at the same time. So, I encourage reps to report back that binders need to be something to enable that initial selection. Everything else should be available on the website - gotten to in 3 clicks - AND able to be found by their grandmother. John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 595 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 06:11 pm:    What I really like is to visit a manufacturer's booth at a trade show where they are handing out CDs (or thumb drives if they're really hip) of their latest product information. I've asked if the information on the CD is on their website and I've been shocked by the response of several manufacturers that they haven't done that yet and don't know when it will be done! So much for currnet, complete and correct product information. I only have a few binders left in my library. I want CURRENT information from a website rather than tediously copying from a printed page. I wonder if manufacturers could develop a common format for product information to make it easier to make head-to-head comparisons. It might have a clever name like SPECData. Perhaps an industry association could support the program by charging only a modest fee for the copyright, in order to encourage widespread use. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 371 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 09:29 pm:    Been there, done that. Like MasterFormat, it will never catch on. How about a more biblical approach like e-MANUSPEC? John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 596 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Friday, November 09, 2012 - 10:25 am:    Only if printed on papyrus. How do successful companies disseminate information? Does this new-fangled Interweb work? Isn't it good enough to call an 800 number and have product data sent via fax (especially when somebody else in the office has the binder)? ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 372 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Friday, November 09, 2012 - 02:21 pm:    I only accept color charts via fax Randall A Chapple, AIA, SE, CCS, LEED AP Senior Member Username: rachapple Post Number: 68 Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - 10:37 am:    I am now serving on the CSI Technical Committee and we are reviewing a proposal in the very early stages to provide a standard format for manufactures to use when preparing technical data. I this point I am not sure where this will go but I think it would be very useful to decision maker who have to quickly compare product. I would appreciate any feedback that you may have. Colin Gilboy Senior Member Username: colin Post Number: 328 Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - 10:44 am:    Remember the WebFormat(tm) document trademarked and copyrighted by CSRF as a starting spot. http://www.4specs.com/webformat/ Colin Gilboy Publisher, 4specs.com 435.654.5775 - Utah 800.369.8008 ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 375 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - 11:31 am:    Randall, this sounds like a great idea. Can we see what is being considered? What ever happened to WebFormat? As mentioned earlier, I think it would be useful if manufacturers understood SectionFormat and were encouraged to use the PARTS, Articles, and Paragraph headings as their means for organizing product data. If the whole idea is to store and retrieve information consistently, doesn't it make sense that we all follow the same guidelines?