Up until now, the specification process derailed the plumbing engineer’s entire day … and then some. It was tedious, manual and ad-hoc. Specifying required combing through old project binders, scanning product specs one by one, searching multiple sites to find compatible parts, verifying and piecing it all together and coordinating p-schedules. There wasn’t really a Read more
The Story of inSpec
Up until now, the specification process derailed the plumbing engineer’s entire day … and then some. It was tedious, manual and ad-hoc. Specifying required combing through old project binders, scanning product specs one by one, searching multiple sites to find compatible parts, verifying and piecing it all together and coordinating p-schedules. There wasn’t really a full-fledged tool to take you from spec to finish.
Zurn Industries, LLC officially launched its digital specification tool. inSpec, powered by Zurn, helps engineers configure plumbing projects faster using the manufacturer’s wide product offering, from drainage to behind the wall and front of the wall systems.
Close up of a designer working on a project. Photo credit: GettyImages
inSpec, powered by Zurn simplifies the process at every point. Users can build endless configurations from Zurn’s full line of plumbing solutions. They know what works with what and what and where to find it. They can find all the necessary product info for their plumbing projects at their fingertips, in an instant. From there, users choose the products they prefer to create a seamless solution. Projects are all managed in one place and can be edited on the fly at any time. Users can pick up where they left off without losing progress or questioning the current status.
“The days of rifling through old project binders or searching from site to site to site for a ‘suitable’ solution are over,” said Dave Krohn, Director of Digital Marketing & Communications. “inSpec, powered by Zurn, speeds up the specifying process, from spec to finish. inSpec users can digitally search and specify Zurn’s wide range of commercial products, quickly and accurately. The platform allows professionals to create unlimited configurations, save them to individual project folders, and access them at any time. The platform is completely intuitive from building configurations to generating the plumbing schedule and submittal.”
“The majority of plumbing products that specifying architects, engineers and design-build contractors need to complete their projects are included within the inSpec platform,” added Eric Loferski, Zurn Director of Marketing. “inSpec is also designed to be collaborative. Users can share projects with colleagues or email output documents to other influencers on the project. Ultimately, inSpec will save specifiers time by getting them to a completed submittal package faster than traditional methods.”
More reasons it’s a work (and sanity) saver? The editing, sharing and copying capabilities. With a few clicks, project owners can share projects with colleagues, gather feedback and collaborate. The project sharing function is secured, requiring the same company email address as the original project owner/user. Projects cannot be shared with any user who uses a public email domain (gmail, Hotmail, etc.) Users can also download their project’s submittal package, send p-schedules, build off a basis of design for a similar configuration, and duplicate an existing project to start a new one (instead of starting from square one again). At the end, the p-schedules can be sent to any individual with any email domain, no matter if it’s outside the company or public address.
Technology is a part of the customer journey, from reviewing a selection to long after purchase. Years back, Zurn launched an innovative specification solution for its time, called the Zurn One System specifier. This cracked the door for developing a comprehensive digital specification platform (inSpec). After spending nearly a year with various engineering firms to understand their wants and requirements, Zurn brought inSpec to market in July 2018.
Essentially, engineers are empowered like never before. Now projects can happen at their pace instead of a race against the clock with every obstacle possible out in front of them. Users can be confident that the work they put in will work in the end. inSpec, powered by Zurn, simplifies plumbing projects (and their job), from spec to finish.
Engineers’ input continues to be the biggest catalyst for future phases of the specification tool. Plumbing engineers are the experts actually using inSpec on a regular basis. The tool will continue to evolve with technology and the company.