Sherwin Williams : and BSD Simplify and Automate Painting and Coating Specifications for Design Professionals

Sherwin-Williams and BSD Simplify and Automate Painting and Coating Specifications for Design Professionals

CLEVELAND, ATLANTA (Feb. 27, 2015) - The Sherwin-Williams Company and Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) today announced significant improvements in the specification of painting systems for architects, engineers, interior designers, and other design professionals, including innovative software features for easier specification of high performance coatings.

"While paint and painting systems are specified on virtually every architectural and engineering project, the specifications for painting have traditionally been among the more difficult sections for design professionals to prepare," said Rob Dean, CEO of Building Systems Design. "The reasons include the number of surfaces requiring different kinds of paint in a typical project, with many different glosses and sheens. In addition, most paint manufacturers offer products at several different quality levels, requiring significant expertise to determine the appropriate products for a given situation. That's why we're pleased to offer this solution to make the process simpler."

Working together, Sherwin-Williams and Building Systems Design, Inc., have developed new data and software techniques that greatly simplify the design professional's selection of appropriate products and the production of up-to-date specifications that are tailored to specific projects. BSD's automated specifications software, BSD SpecLink-E, includes a feature known as intelligent linking, and this feature is used to great effect with over 170 individual Sherwin-Williams product listings. For example, by selecting substrates to be painted and the desired gloss or sheen, the automated linking in SpecLink-E includes only the most appropriate Sherwin-Williams paint products.

BSD SpecLink-E also provides useful tutorials in a context-sensitive window adjacent to the text selections. These "instructions to the specifier" provide information designed to help the design professional make appropriate choices. Sherwin-Williams has made extensive use of this feature in SpecLink-E, providing general information directly in the tutorial window and additional, detailed product information through hyperlinks to specific Sherwin-Williams data sheets.

Since this information is accessible from inside the application that is preparing the specifications and is highly context-sensitive, it is not necessary for the design professional to look elsewhere while preparing the paint specifications.

The latest innovation developed jointly by BSD and Sherwin-Williams has been a major reorganization of the BSD SpecLink-E section on high-performance coatings. Based on the success of the selection process in the standard sections for interior and exterior painting, BSD has added selection standards to the high-performance coatings section, together with appropriate intelligent linking for automatic product selection. In addition, Sherwin-Williams has become the first paint manufacturer to include its high-performance coatings by specific product names.

Together, Sherwin-Williams and BSD have been able to make painting and high-performance coatings specifications for design professionals a much easier task. And because of BSD SpecLink's unique, continuous on-line updating process, the two companies can help assure architects and engineers that their painting and coating specifications will always be up-to-date.

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Through its more than 4,000 stores and 2,400 sales representatives, Sherwin-Williams provides fast, flexible, responsive service and personalized, expert advice to meet the coating and color needs of builders, designers, specifiers, property managers and contractors. As North America's largest single-source supplier of high-quality paints, stains, masonry coatings and brand-name wall and floor coverings, Sherwin-Williams is proud to have earned the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for its innovative acrylic alkyd technology. Visit sherwin-williams.com or join Sherwin-Williams on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr.

About BSD: Building Systems Design has offered innovative software tools for the architecture, architectural engineering, and construction markets since 1983. The company creates and supports advanced cost estimating, specification writing, and interoperability products that are used for over thirty thousand commercial, institutional, and industrial projects annually. BSD was acquired by The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) in 2010. www.bsdsoftlink.com.