Home | Services | Products and Services for Architects and Engineers

Products and Services for Architects and Engineers

Digicon is committed to being the pre-eminent provider of specification expertise to the North American commercial construction industry. To achieve this goal, our products and services reflect current standards of practice as endorsed by CSC and CSI, as well as the latest emerging approaches to specification production and the software technologies. All products and services are continuously being updated to ensure their currency and relevance.

PRODUCTS
	Name	Description
Commercial Master Specifications	SpecSuite	Digicon develops and publishes five (5) varieties of master specifications collectively referred to as "SpecSUITE", which are sold through our marketing web site Spex.ca. SpecSUITE includes Canadian Master Specification (CMS), MiniSpec, OutlineSPEC. HomeSPEC, MasterProspectus
Software	SpecMacros	SpecMacros are specification editing software, designed to function with all of Digicon's master specification texts, using a common word processor format. SpecMacros are add-ins to Corel WordPerfect (version 9 or higher) and Microsoft Word (version 2000 or higher).
	Specnique	Specnique is a proprietary software specifically designed to edit any specifications published by Spex.ca. The text is edited similarly to a word processor although information is stored in a database format. These two factors provide users with ease of formatting, better global control of formatting, easier option selection, and the ability to run reliable project management style reports which are difficult or impossible to create using a word processor.
Publications	Metric Guide for Specifiers	A Guide for weights and measure units in specifications and addresses basic metric conversion parameters with a specific focus on construction specifications and indirectly, drawings.
	Glossary - An Alphabetized Word List of Definitions and Defined Terms	A manuscript which identifies, coordinates, and categorizes a wide representation of contract-like terms with references sited regarding the industry sources plus the knowledge gleaned from many years of practice by the author.
SERVICES
	Master (template) specifications are developed specifically for manufacturers, for the purpose of assisting architects and engineers to prepare project specifications are developed based on their products. Once developed, proprietary specifications may then be included in Digicon's BrandedSPEC subscription program (through the Spex.ca marketing web site), and offered FREE to Spex.ca subscribers should the manufacturer wish to support their inclusion.
Project Specifications	Proprietary product data sheets are organized based on ProductFormat, a format endorsed by Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) that ensures that information required by all key players at every stage of the project construction project is included and is easy to find.
Consultant (Specifier) Seminars	The commercial construction project process and how to market from a position of power is the focus of these seminars for manufacturers and technical representatives
Digicon produces proprietary specifications (BrandedSPECs) and Product Descriptions. BrandedSPECs are guaranteed to meet MasterFormat, SectionFormat, and PageFormat standards in the year developed. Product Descriptions are based on ProductFormat which is complementary to the other standards. Use them for current projects and file them for future use. Check BrandedSPECs currently on spex.ca and our summary of source information on documents developed by Digicon.
FREE ARTICLES AND WHITE PAPERS
Project Documentation and information Flow	This information paper addresses the complexity of the whole construction industry as it pertains to construction information and how it is identified and organized. This is a process that our industry has not addressed in a total context - at least for the whole industry - or even for to some parts of it.
Classification Standards	This paper describes the real benefits to classification research and relates to the software development which will be required to implement certain standards into products that you and I can use everyday. The subject of international standardization is emerging as one of the hot topics of the 90's and into the new millenium, with work currently being done at an international level in ISO (International Standards Organization) and ICIS (International Construction Information Society). ICIS is engaged in researching better ways of relating construction information.
Rationale and Classification Scheme for Project Prospectus (MasterProspectus) and Outline (OutlineSPEC) Specification		This information paper explains why Digicon’s Project Prospectus and OutlineSPEC subsystems are classified in a manner that is slightly difference than the industry norm. There are several traditional ways of developing project documents; the one factor that is driving this need for change is the design-build process - as this process fundamentally changes the roles of the parties in the design/construction process. The term "MasterProspectus" was created by our firm in order to best describe or title our master document package.