About ARCOM

ARCOM helps design and building professionals easily produce the most accurate, professional building and construction specifications in the industry. ARCOM offers users:

  • The only full-time specification development and support team with over 40 full-time professionals and 20 specification and software consultants
  • Over 30,000 hours of specification research and writing support annually
  • Over 300 years cumulative specification development experience and decades of teamwork with The AIA to continually improve MasterSpec
  • The SpecWare® family of software tools for automating construction specification development and editing
  • Free specification and technical support
  • Free continuing education opportunities

ARCOM specializes in master specifications, specification productivity software, and specification resources for the construction and building industries.

History

For more than 35 years, ARCOM has been a key player in the growth and automation of specifications in the construction and building industries.

ARCOM started as a division of a Salt Lake City architectural firm in the early 1970s. Its first services involved inputting MasterSpec® master guide specifications, developed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), into a mainframe computer to be edited and customized by A/E firms. ARCOM was split off as an independent company in 1987.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, AIA relied on ARCOM for increasing the automation available to design professionals using mini-computers and, subsequently, personal computers for specification production. ARCOM also worked with the Construction Sciences Research Foundation, Inc. (CSRF) in the 1980s to review SpecText® documents and prepare them for translation to multiple word processing formats. In addition, ARCOM developed the first generation of EditSpec (microComSpec) for CSRF’s SpecText and Masterworks for use with MasterSpec.

In 1995, AIA selected ARCOM to operate all aspects of MasterSpec including the maintenance and expansion of the master guide specifications, marketing and sales, production, fulfillment, and customer support to licensed users. ARCOM has continued to operate and expand MasterSpec for the AIA since then.

In the late 1990s, ARCOM transformed its automation expertise into the SpecWare® suite of industry-leading specification productivity software using its patented structured text technology (Linx). In 2010, ARCOM introduced SpecAgent®, an innovative online specification resource for design professionals that provides interactive integration of specifications with online product information. In 2011, ARCOM acquired the SpecText master guide specification system.

ARCOM is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, where it operates MasterSpec sales, marketing, fulfillment, and client support; MasterSpec research, writing, and editing are conducted in its Alexandria, Virginia office. ARCOM also operates the SpecText Support Center in Bel Air, Maryland, which provides sales, fulfillment, and customer support to SpecText users. ARCOM employs over 40 specification writers, architects, engineers, editors, researchers, software developers, and customer and technical support personnel. ARCOM’s full-time specification writers are the most experienced group of specification writers in the industry, with combined specification writing experience that exceeds 300 years.

Management

ARCOM’s management experience reflects a synergy of architectural specification and software development expertise.

Christopher G. Bushnell, AIA, FCSI, CCS, is ARCOM’s President.  Mr. Bushnell has been with ARCOM since 1996, serving as Architectural Specification Writer and as Director of MasterSpec Operations. Prior to joining ARCOM, he spent 16 years as a practicing architect in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. He holds a Master of Business Administration from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Washington State University. Mr. Bushnell’s experience along with his management skills and knowledge of specifications are invaluable assets to ARCOM and its success.

Angelica Matinkhah, M.Arch, CSI, ARCOM’s Corporate Vice President, serves as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. With more than 25 years experience in various aspects of specifications development, Ms. Matinkhah brings to ARCOM an understanding of construction technology and automated specification library development. Her architecture experience includes project design for private and commercial buildings in the Philippines. Ms. Matinkhah graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of the Philippines. As a recipient of a Rotary International Foundation scholarship, she moved to Salt Lake City and completed a Master of Architecture at the University of Utah, where she completed her Master’s thesis in specification automation.

Michael King, FCSI, CCS, ARCOM’s Corporate Secretary, serves as ARCOM’s Vice President of Engineering Specifications. He also worked nine years with MasterSpec at American Institute of Architects. Mr. King has over 45 years experience in HVAC design, specifications, and contract administration. He has been involved in the development of office master specifications for two large architectural/engineering firms, plus a master specification system for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, a $1.75 billion program to rebuild the railroad from Washington, DC to Boston, MA for high-speed train service. Mr. King has undergraduate studies in Math and English from Indiana University/Purdue University and in Business Law and Accounting from Roanoke College.

Paul Brosnahan, AIA, CSI, CCS, ARCOM’s Corporate Treasurer, serves as Vice President of Architectural Specifications. He began working on MasterSpec for the AIA in 1992 and has been with ARCOM since 1995 as Senior Architectural Specification Writer, Director of Architectural Specifications, and VP of Architectural Specifications. Mr. Brosnahan graduated from the School of Architecture, Auckland University, New Zealand, in 1974 and is a licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With more than 35 years international architectural and specifying experience as a project manager, construction administrator, and architectural specifier, Mr. Brosnahan brings a depth of construction specification experience to ARCOM.

ARCOM Products and Services:

ARCOM’s suite of products and services provides comprehensive specification solutions, productivity tools, and resources for construction.
MasterSpec® Master Guide Specifications

  • MasterSpec® - Comprehensive master guide specification text, as well as qualitative product overviews, editing instructions, reference standards, manufacturer and product comparisons, and drawing and specification coordination checklists. MasterSpec consists of more than 1600 full-length, short-form, and outline specification sections, organized into 14 practice-specific libraries.
  • MasterSpec Small Project™ - Abbreviated specifications including over 230 sections used for projects modest in size, scope, complexity, and duration.

SpecText® Master Guide Specifications

  • SpecText and SpecText II - Master specification system with streamlined specification language that provides a framework for writing specifications in less time; includes Notes to the Specifier, standards, choices, and Web links to manufacturer and product information. SpecText consists of more than 960 sections in full-length, abridged, and outline sections, organized into 12 practice libraries.

SpecWare® Specification Productivity Software

  • SpecWare for MasterSpec
    • Altarix™ - Provides the ability to create office masters using MasterSpec, automatically process updates, and create project specifications using questions and answers and an on-screen editor.
    • Linx™ - Automates MasterSpec editing by linking related paragraphs. The linking of paragraphs supports interactive editing, using questions and answers and on-screen editing.
    • Masterworks™ - Automates many of the word processing functions associated with MasterSpec specification editing and production.
    • e-SPECS Linx - Provides a paragraph-selector checklist and on-screen tools for editing MasterSpec.
    • e-SPECS® for Revit® - Integrates MasterSpec with Revit Building and Revit Structures, allowing designers to link specification sections to objects in Building Information Models. Changes in models are automatically reflected in the specifications.
  • SpecWare for SpecText
    • Editspec® - Simplifies the creation of project specifications using SpecText with Microsoft Word editing tools.
    • Editspec® PowerTools™ - Streamlines, simplifies, and significantly reduces editing time, eliminates errors, and produces more consistent SpecText-based specifications.

Specification Resources

    • SpecAgent - Comprehensive, dynamically updated product and manufacturer information including detailed product data, product catalogs, and product specifications; tools for sorting and importing selections back into the master specifications; and live chat with manufacturers.
    • Product MasterSpec - Customized product specifications based on MasterSpec.
    • Specifying LEED Requirements: The Best of Green from MasterSpec - Online, downloadable, and paper reference for incorporating LEED requirements and language into specifications.
    • MasterSpec Academy Continuing Education and Training Program - Free independent study programs that qualify for AIA (HSW and SD-eligible) and ASLA credit, seminars, hands-on Workshops.
    • SpecProduct - Customized product specifications based on SpecText.