This week’s SPEC SHORT takes a closer look at a topic the design community doesn’t talk about enough: The quality of 3-Part Master Sections created by Building Product Manufacturers (BPMs). In this issue, we watch Gem, an excited middle-schooler, rush to show off her fantastic report card to her father, who has just returned home from a long day. Little did she know that he also received a report card of his own that day. Only the report card he received paints a much different picture. One the “missing content”, “more information required”, and “formatting issues,” all accumulated to result in a low success (usage) rate of the Section by Industry Professionals. Like a student’s grades, a Product Master Section is only as strong as it’s weakest part. That’s why Part 1 (General), Part 2 (Products), and Part 3 (Execution) all contain specific information and, therefore, need to carry their weight. When even one part is overlooked and/or contains limited content, the whole Section suffers, making it harder for the design team to rely on and use their Projects.
