SPECTEXT® TRAINING INFORMATION

Are you having trouble implementing or understanding the best way to utilize SPECTEXT® to prepare project specifications or develop and maintain an office master specification system?

Customized SPECTEXT® Training utilizing state-of-the-art Web conferencing technology is now available to current SPECTEXT® Subscribers through the SPECTEXT® Support Center.

SPECTEXT® Training can expedite and streamline your specification implementation process, introduce your employees to new features and the benefits of using SPECTEXT® and EDITSPEC™ , and help your firm initiate a company-wide SPECTEXT® training program at minimal cost.

Learning to use SPECTEXT® and the EDITSPEC™ tools effectively can save your staff hours of spec-editing time and enable them to produce better, more consistent specifications for your organization.

SPECTEXT® Training can help your organization train an unlimited number of employees quickly and cost-effectively. An audio/visual recording of your training session can be provided on CD-ROM for your use in training new employees or as a comprehensive reference for your staff.

Training is provided by a specification expert with a minimum of 25 years experience in writing project specifications for a wide variety of projects that go to bid on a daily basis.

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

Q. What is covered in SPECTEXT® Training?
A. SPECTEXT® Training gives your employees a comprehensive overview of all of the components of SPECTEXT® Master Guide Specifications and the EDITSPEC™ Section-Editing Tools and how to use them to prepare project specifications and establish and maintain an office master guide specifications system based on SPECTEXT®. Please review the attached sample Training Syllabus to see the key points that SPECTEXT® users should know. You may register for a full, comprehensive day of training or customize your training to focus just on the main issues you would like to learn more about.

Q. Who should take SPECTEXT® Training?
A. Anyone in your organization who is responsible for writing specifications, preparing specifications and maintaining an office master specification system based on SPECTEXT®. Training sessions may include spec writers, engineers, architects, project managers, and administrative support staff. For the best interaction, training sessions should be limited to no more than 10-15 people per session. Training may also be provided for just one person who is responsible for training others in your organization.

Q. Can training be customized to fit our firm’s needs?
A. Yes. SPECTEXT® Training can be customized to focus on only the issues that are most important to your firm. Training sessions can be customized to just a few hours of training or expanded to the full, comprehensive day of training covered in the SPECTEXT® Training Syllabus. Your organization pays only for the training needed, although there is a two hour session minimum.

Q. How is SPECTEXT® Training provided?
A. Live, interactive SPECTEXT® Training is held over the Internet using state-of-the-art WebEx® Web conferencing technology. There is no need for travel expense or inconvenience for your staff. Your employees can be trained right at their desks, no matter where they are located, using just their PC, a fast Internet connection, and their Web browser.

Q. What training materials are provided?
A. Handouts and a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation in hard copy and electronic format are provided prior to your training session so that your employee’s may reference them during the session and use them to reinforce what they have learned after training has been completed. Your SPECTEXT® Training Session can be recorded so that your organization has a full audio/visual record of the entire training session. Everything that was discussed during training and demonstrated on-screen is recorded and can be downloaded onto your employee’s PCs and played back as needed.

Q. What do we have to provide?
A. Handouts and the SPECTEXT® Training Presentation can be provided in Microsoft® Word, PowerPoint or Adobe PDF formats. Minimum system requirements needed to participate in SPECTEXT® Training via Web conferencing are:

• Microsoft® Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, NT or 2000
• Intel Pentium 166 MHz or faster processor
• 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended)
• Web Browser: Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.x or later, Netscape 4.x, or AOL 5.0 or later
• JavaScript and cookies enabled on the Web browser; ActiveX enabled on Internet Explorer
• 56K or faster Internet connection

How Do We Get Started?

1. Review the Training Syllabus.
2. Determine the training that best fits your firm’s needs
3. Determine number of trainees and their office locations.
4. Determine your training deadline.
5. Contact the SPECTEXT® Support Center to discuss your training requirements and schedule a tentative training date. Provide list of trainees, their position titles, their office locations and telephone numbers. No more than 15 trainees may attend a session. Please allow two to three weeks from date of agreement to actual training date.
6. Review and sign SPECTEXT® Training Agreement and return it with payment to the SPECTEXT® Support Center.
7. Receive your training materials, registration ID and password, and connection instructions prior to training day.
8. On training day, connect to the SPECTEXT® Training Session approximately 15 minutes prior to the session start time.
9. Participate in the SPECTEXT® Training Session.
10. Record your SPECTEXT® Training Session for future reference and training needs.

DOWNLOAD A PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION:

SPECTEXT Training Overview - PDF

SPECTEXT Training Syllabus - PDF

FOR FEES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Your SPECTEXT® Representative
SPECTEXT® Support Center

P. O. Box 926

Bel Air, MD  21014

U.S.A.
Phone: 1-877-773-2898 or 410-838-7525

Fax:  1-410-420-2749
E-mail: supportcenter@csrf.org

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday

SPECTEXT® Master Guide Specifications and EDITSPEC™ Section-Editing tools are products of The Construction Sciences Research Foundation, Inc.