Your branded worksection template is a powerful tool that can play a vital role throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. It helps not only during the design and construction phases but also throughout asset management. Here's how you can leverage your branded worksection at each stage:
- Asset Creation: The Beginning of the Journey
In the asset creation phase, which involves creating a new asset or upgrading an existing one, a product may be selected or deselected. The decision to include or exclude a product often involves several stakeholders.
- Design Phase: This is when designers select products relevant to the project, often based on building type. They also evaluate competing products within the same category.
- How to Leverage Your Branded Worksection: Promote your product early by using your branded worksection to demonstrate how your product aligns with the building type, regulatory standards, and any specific client requirements (e.g., low VOC levels). This helps build brand awareness and positions your product as the right choice.
- Documentation Phase: Streamlining the Process
During the documentation phase, your NATSPEC branded worksection becomes a crucial resource for specifiers, making it easier for them to select your product for their project.
How to Leverage Your Branded Worksection:
- Your worksection can be downloaded easily from SPECbuilder for NATSPEC subscribers, and from NATSPEC’s website and your own website for non-subscribers.
- Product Partners can support specifiers in completing the pre-edited worksection template, which strengthens relationships and reduces specification preparation costs.
- Construction Phase: Minimising Substitution Risks
The construction phase is where your branded worksection helps reduce the risk of product substitution. Clear product specifications make it harder for contractors to substitute your product with a competitor’s.
How to Leverage Your Branded Worksection:
- Clearly define your product’s characteristics and requirements, which help prevent substitutions during construction.
- If substitutions are proposed, your branded worksection can present your product as the preferred choice by emphasizing quality, value and performance characteristics. Also, the product substitution clause located in section 2. Products, sub-clause 2.1 General can be used to block substitution.
SUBSTITUTIONS in 0171 General requirements sets out the submissions required if the contractor proposes alternative products. Refer also to NATSPEC TECHnote GEN 006 for more information on proprietary specification.
- Operations and Maintenance Phase: Ensuring Long-term Relevance
As the building transitions into the operations and maintenance phase, your branded worksection continues to add value by ensuring all necessary information is included in the Operation and Maintenance Manual (O&M Manual).
How to Leverage Your Branded Worksection: Provide essential product information to be included in the O&M Manual, ensuring easy reference for future maintenance.
- Asset Renewal and Rehabilitation: Simplifying the Renewal Process
Asset renewal or replacement is a significant phase where work is done to restore or rehabilitate existing assets without altering their capacity.
How to Leverage Your Branded Worksection:
- Use your branded worksection to demonstrate your product’s compliance with industry standards, making it easier for stakeholders to choose your product for renewal or replacement work.
- Your branded worksection offers a simple, standardised template for this phase, simplifying the process and making your product the go to choice.
Are You Promoting Your Branded Worksection Effectively?
By understanding how your branded worksection fits into each stage of the building lifecycle, you can maximise its effectiveness as a marketing and sales tool. Engaging with stakeholders at every phase, from design to asset renewal, ensures your product remains front and centre throughout the building’s lifecycle.
Conclusion: Your branded worksection is more than just a specification tool, it’s a strategic asset that supports your product at every stage of a building’s life, enhancing visibility and increasing the likelihood of being specified.