The Inside Track – November 2012 Welcome to The Inside Track! This page provides the latest news, highlights and case studies from our partners in the architecture and building industry. AIA-Accordion Highlights Zipcar is a new Advantage partner Zipcar for Business is the smarter transportation solution to all your company’s needs. Taking taxis to client meetings and going to the rental counter are expensive and inconvenient. Not only are Zipcars around the corner from your office, but they’re also near your next business destination around the US, Canada, UK, and Spain. Drive hybrids, sedans, or pick-ups by the hour or the day with exclusive low rates from Monday to Friday. (Gas and insurance included.) Plus, members of the AIA save $75 on a membership. Sign up today:www.zipcar.com/aiarchitects. BSD Announces: Enhancements for Expandable Specifications Atlanta, Georgia―Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) today announced major enhancements of its award-winning construction specifications software product. The fall release of BSD SpecLink-E® includes many new features, but one of the most unusual is an enhancement to its innovative expandable database function. Continue Reading Boston Chapter Construction Specifications Institute posts their 20122013 Program Calendar To learn more, click here ARCOM to Sponsor U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Decathlon 2013 for Third Consecutive Competition Year ARCOM to Donate MasterSpec Library and LEED Requirements Resource to Collegiate Design Teams for Next Year's Program Salt Lake City, Utah (August 15, 2012) — ARCOM has announced its sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013, an award-winning program that challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. ARCOM, a Solar Decathlon sponsor since 2009, has been a long-time supporter of schools of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and other construction-related programs by donating MasterSpec licenses and Masterworks software for teaching purposes. Continue Reading Viracon Names Sales Representative for Utah Region Effective immediately, Viracon is pleased to announce that Ryan Hoffman will be taking over as the Viracon sales representative for the Utah market. This move allows Cameron Scripture recently named, Western Regional Architectural Sales Manager to better focus on his new assignment. Ryan has demonstrated that he has the essential selling and marketing attributes to take on this additional responsibility, we are proud of his accomplishments thus far and, look forward to watching Ryan create success in this new territory. For the past 6 years, Ryan Hoffman has had the responsibilities of a field sales representative for the Northern California and Northern Nevada markets. Before this time, he worked in Technical Services, Architectural Promotions, and International Sales departments at Viracon. In his new role, Ryan will maintain his current markets and expand his responsibility to cover all of Utah. Viracon’s Statesboro, GA Facility To Re-Open in August: Upgrades Maintain Facility’s State-of-the-Art Glass Fabrication Capabilities OWATONNA, MN – Viracon, the nation’s leading single-source architectural glass fabricator, will re-open its Statesboro, GA manufacturing facility next month. Employees will return to work and production will resume on August 13th. For the past six months, Viracon has spent $6 million refurbishing the facility’s equipment and infrastructure to ensure it maintains cutting-edge performance for the next construction up-cycle. Continue Reading W.P. Hickman Adds Two Key Employees The W. P. Hickman Company has hired two new employees to fill key roles. Pat Gallagher has been hired to fill the role of National Sales Manager and Kevin Bramlett is the new Manager of Lean Operations. Both roles are newly created positions at the W. P. Hickman Company. Continue Reading W.P. Hickman Company Awards Welding Scholarship The W. P. Hickman Company announces that the William P. Hickman Welding Scholarship has been awarded to George Fowler, second-year student at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College. Continue Reading Premier Glass Products Joins Viracon’s External Sales Team: Company to Provide Architectural Sales and Customer Management for Texas Region OWATONNA, MN…Viracon, the nation’s leading single-source architectural glass fabricator, is pleased to announce the addition of Kyle Jones and his company, Premier Glass Products (PGP) to its external sales team. PGP will be responsible for architectural sales and customer relationship management for the entire state of Texas. PGP is a manufacturer's representative agency engaged in the promotion, sales and service of a variety of products purchased through the Glass and Glazing Industry, Window Centers and Lumber Yards. The agency has more than 140 years combined industry experience. Continue Reading MasterSpec and SpecText are MasterFormat 2012 Compliant! Salt Lake City, Utah (April 3, 2012) — ARCOM is pleased to announce that MasterSpec® and SpecText® master guide specifications are compliant with MasterFormat 2012 as of the 1st Quarter 2012 updates. MasterFormat™ 2012 was recently published by CSI/CSC. “ARCOM is committed to being the leader in specifications by providing the most current master guide specifications, specification productivity software, and specification resources," says Christopher Bushnell, President and CEO of ARCOM. "We work hard to ensure that all our products meet the construction industry's latest standards, formats, and classification system.” ARCOM will also discontinue the use of MasterFormat 1995 in its specification and software products as of June 30, 2013. For firms with clients requiring specifications to be submitted in MasterFormat 1995, the MasterFormat 2012 to 1995 converter in ARCOM’s Masterworks is available at no cost to ARCOM clients. Continue Reading Product Announcements BSD Announces: Major 5.0 Software Release for BSD SpecLink®-E Atlanta, Georgia―Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) today announced a major software release of its flagship BSD SpecLink-E product for automated production of construction specifications. The new version of the product includes major software modifications but no data updates. The biggest change is quite significant – all data edits in a project are saved immediately to the projects database on the server instead of being saved initially to a temporary file in the client software for batch uploading at a later time. This approach results in much faster operation of many functions (such as section check in and closing), greater stability in the software, and significantly enhanced data management and control. Continue Reading BSD Announces Keynote Management Tool Atlanta, GA – Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) today announced the release of a new version of its groundbreaking BIM interoperability tool, BSD LinkMan-E. Designed to work with all recent releases of Autodesk’s Revit software, the new LinkMan now incorporates a tab that allows users to import, edit, and connect keynotes to Revit objects while simultaneously linking the objects to specifications in BSD SpecLink-E. A unique master keynote has been assigned to each of the thousands of products and assemblies in the LinkMan database, all of which have been linked to appropriate sections and paragraphs in BSD SpecLink-E. Objects in Revit have also been linked to the same LinkMan database, which permits LinkMan to display any discrepancies between a Revit project model and the corresponding project specifications in SpecLink – or to update the specifications automatically, based on the Revit data. Continue Reading Viracon Introduces CyberShield™ With Pilkington DATASTOP™: New Glass Coating Provides RF Shielding for Secure Building Applications OWATONNA, MN – Viracon announces CyberShield™ - a glass coating specifically engineered to reduce the transmission of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation, also known as RF shielding. “With more data being transmitted and shared electronically, it is becoming necessary to protect private conversations, boardroom discussions and trade secret documents from electronic eavesdropping,” says Kevin Anez, Director of Marketing & Product Management for Viracon. “CyberShield was developed to help government organizations, businesses, architects and building owners design secure buildings.” CyberShield offers electrical attenuation with an average of 45 decibels (dB) across a frequency range from 35 megahertz (MHz) to 18 gigahertz (GHz), while optimizing visible light transmission with a neutral glass color. Additionally, glass performance can be enhanced with low-emissivity coatings and/or silk-screen solutions. Continue Reading ARCOM Launches Ground-Breaking MasterSpec Historic Preservation Library at AIA Expo 2012 ARCOM Announces Upcoming Masterworks Version for Macintosh ARCOM Announces New Version of e-SPECS to Integrate MasterSpec with GRAPHISOFT's ArchiCAD ARCOM Announces Strategic Alliance and Endorsement Agreement with Society for Design Administration Viracon Unveils ClearPoint™ OWATONNA, MN – Viracon, the nation’s leading single-source architectural glass fabricator, introduces ClearPoint™ - a point-supported insulating glass system that increases the transparency of glass façades. Specifically engineered to provide building designers with greater flexibility, ClearPoint allows architects to maximize clear openings and enhance aesthetics, delivering a clean, contemporary look both inside and out. Continue Reading Case Studies Newforma Architecture and Engineering, SHW Group and Newforma Project Analyzer Aerotek Quality Improvement JELD-WEN Benefits of Windows in High Performance School Designs LG Hausys LG Hausys Floors Tandus Government Facility Design NUDO Updated Operation: University of Iowa Hospital Unifying Design: Canyon View Elementary School Industry Knowledge Graphisoft GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD. GRAPHISOFT® ignited the BIM revolution with ArchiCAD®, the industry-leading BIM software for architects. With GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD’s Building Information Modeling approach, architects can explore design ideas with full confidence, knowing that every detail is being captured and all documents are synchronized. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as the revolutionary GRAPHISOFT BIM Server™, the world’s first, real-time BIM collaboration environment. Open BIM design collaboration offers intelligent, model-based workflow between the members of the extended design team and architects using ArchiCAD, resulting in greater efficiency in the building process. Continue Reading Reed Construction Data Find new project listings in your state for FREE with Reed’s accessArchitecture service. http://www.youtube.com/embed/E5PeDNPC6CM?aia-embed+350+190+@justify Did you miss Reed Construction Data’s webcast, Flat, down, or UP: Where is construction heading? The presentation from this webcast is now available. To see the presentation, please click here Get Involved with the AIA Questions or Comments, please contact us.