NBS | Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

 

NBS

NBS - National Building Specifications

NBS is a 50-year-old tech scale-up – with our finger on the pulse of the construction industry. We help architects, specifiers, and engineers write their specifications with our market-leading platform NBS Chorus.

We also connect manufacturers and specifiers through NBS Source. A mutually beneficial platform that helps specifiers select products confidently and efficiently whilst giving manufacturers a unique opportunity to showcase their products at the right time.

Our technical content and expertise underpin our products – we do it all!

NBS Chorus is the leading global construction specification platform used by over 3500 practices.

NBS offers clients a range of solutions to fit their individual needs. We are a vertically integrated one-stop-shop of specification software and services.

NBS Chorus of specifiers

NBS Chorus is a cloud-based platform to create, review and manage technical specifications rapidly from anywhere on any device. It is used by organizations of all sizes from small architecture and engineering firms, to the very largest global construction companies. NBS Chorus is designed so you can work smarter and safer, collaborate better, and connect your workflow.

Unlike Microsoft Word, NBS Chorus has been purpose-built for specification authoring. It allows users to rapidly develop specifications 70% faster via the web on any device, using an intelligent set of tools to save time and improve accuracy. Powerful collaboration via the browser enables the whole team to work together in real time. NBS Chorus allows you to access dynamic and up to date content available for NMS (DDN) and CMS, which reference CCDC contracts.

NBS Chorus for building product suppliers

NBS Chorus is not just for specifiers. Building product suppliers also use NBS Chorus to author, review, and collaborate on their product specifications with clients and consultants. Drive more efficiency from your technical sales team when working on specifications and provide a faster way for your clients to specify your products.

Through our acquisitions of Innovation Technology (ITI) and Digicon, we are able to offer a full suite of content in Chorus for both Canadian Master Specification (CMS) and National Master Specification (NMS) that we update automatically - giving you full control over your specification and helping you get it right first time.

Purchase NBS Chorus today!

NBS Source

NBS Source is a tool that creates a single source for product information. Unlike any other product library, NBS Source provides an additional level of enhanced product data, in a consistent, structured format that will integrate seamlessly into your project workflow. This new platform will save you hours of time chasing product information across the web, on phone calls and manual searches though product literature.

NBS Source is a great place for product suppliers to list their products with all the product data being available at a click of the mouse. Let’s help you get specified, by marketing your products, creating BIM objects and helping to write and manage your specs.  

NBS Source is a platform for specifiers and manufacturers.

Specification writing & review

Specifications are no longer just about words in a contractual document. They are fundamental pieces of structured and integrated data.  Our team has the knowledge and experience of our award-winning specification platform NBS Chorus, so we can make the most of its features and deliver robust data quickly. With this full-service solution, one of our consultants will write the specifications for you, as well as build you your own masters and system libraries such that future specifications can not only benefit from our expertise and experience but also become more efficient and quicker to produce.

Many practices write their own specifications in-house. If so, our specification reviews can be a very useful option for those looking to ensure the basics are correct so that the specification is robust and overall risk is minimised.

Specification, project, & design management

Specification Management is a service designed for senior leaders looking to improve upon thought leadership around specifications. Our expert consultants will review your current working practices and provide independent advice as to how best to carry out specifications through the implementation of appropriate systems.

Design Management is a service we offer that is focused on the application of a project management mentality within a design team environment. Our role is to ensure fulfilment of contractual obligations through good managerial and administrative procedures, allowing your team to focus on design. Project Management services are offered in two forms: day to day support (also called light-touch support), or full project support. Full project support can help you with any of the following scenarios:

  • Single contractual responsibility. Where, for example, an Architect is taking on a multi-disciplinary contract and is required to appoint sub-consultants to formulate a single design team.
  • Small practice – large project. A small or new practice enters a design competition for a huge project and wins! In these circumstances, your practice may not be set up to handle such a scale or have the necessary experience to deliver.
  • Unfamiliar territory. You may be working internationally in an unfamiliar place. In these instances, you will need support with local procedures and processes.
  • In-house skills gap. You may be a business with some skill gaps in the area of design management.

BIM object development

Use NBS to develop information-rich 3D models that are fully coordinated with linked specification information. Over the years, NBS has created thousands of BIM objects for both specifiers and building product suppliers. Authored to the NBS BIM Object Standard, objects are produced to an international standard for use across multiple platforms.

If you don’t know where to start, or just don’t have the resources yourself, NBS can help.

BIM & specification association

Are you a firm that creates specifications based on the model? NBS can help you streamline this work by providing you with access to NBS Chorus with a special licence type designed specifically for this type of work. If you require help with creating your specifications based on the model, we can help with that too.

Through our partnership with RAIC, NBS is here to help Canadian specifiers and product suppliers better collaborate on projects through connected data. For more information, please contact us at info@thenbs.ca, or visit at www.thenbs.ca us.