INSIDE CSI
Brad Thurman, CSI, CDT
As the building/construction field is continually evolving, best practices and code compliance are moving targets. Therefore, it is important for architects, specifiers, contractors, and manufacturers alike to collaborate and share industry knowledge so building designs remain at peak performance levels. With this in mind, it was a natural step for CRL-U.S. Aluminum to become a member of CSI’s Corporate Partner Program.
The program provides several valuable benefits for participating companies. First and foremost, it grants access to a vast CSI membership base of more than 9000 construction industry professionals. This is a very important aspect of the program, as we are regularly looking for ways to improve our product portfolio to ensure we are providing architectural systems that are on-trend and code-compliant. What better way to accomplish this than to communicate with, and receive insight from, project stakeholders themselves?
When you join CSI’s Corporate Partner Program, you join an influential community of highly regarded architectural firms and building product manufacturers. The fundamental purpose of membership is to work together with peers to better the building industry as a whole. CSI has channels in place to help accomplish this, many of which my company uses with favorable results.
For example, you have the ability to provide webinars to the CSI community where product solutions to emerging challenges can be discussed. You also have access to educational programs, and to the Master Specifiers Retreat that grants one-on-one meetings with senior specification writers from across the country. You have direct involvement and communication with CSI National Committees and Team Members. Finally, the Corporate Partner Program gives us the opportunity to present our continuing education courses at CONSTRUCT & the CSI Annual Convention.
As a member of the CSI Corporate Partner Program, our company has taken advantage of various marketing perks. We’ve made use of the CSI contact database, via a third party, to mail information regarding our products and services. We’ve also engaged in brand placement initiatives on the CSI website and in CSI Weekly. Program benefits of particular value to us are the discounts on BSD SpecLink, and on Construction Documents Technologist (CDT) training and testing.
Having in-depth understanding of project stakeholder needs is key to providing expert assistance, so we have outside and inside technical sales teams of CDT professionals ready.
The CDT certificate gives instant credibility to our technical sales teams within the architecture and design community. When a team member earns the CDT or advanced certification, she or he joins an elite group of individuals who possess comprehensive knowledge of the writing and management of construction documents.
The CDT program is highly beneficial to all parties involved in building construction as it provides distinct competitive advantages. In our case, having our sales teams earn CDT certification conveys our commitment to maintaining our position in the marketplace by better serving project stakeholders. We believe in enhancing building performance and helping prepare quality construction documents—using CDT-certified professionals and becoming part of CSI’s Corporate Partner Program are tools to realize this objective.
To earn a CDT, candidates must pass a rigorous exam, covering subject matters that span the project documentation landscape. Our CDT sales teams are therefore able to effectively communicate with specification writers and construction professionals. They have a thorough understanding of the construction process, project specifying, and of specification documents like MasterFormat, UniFormat, and SectionFormat/PageFormat. CSI helped create a regimen and an in-house CDT boot camp, which included training sessions, study materials, and customized testing windows.
Brad Thurman, CSI, CDT, is C.R. Laurence Co.–U.S. Aluminum’s director of sales and marketing for Midwest and East Coast Regions. He has extensive knowledge of products interacting with architectural glass specified in Divisions 05, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 32. Having served 13 years promoting, educating, and interacting with the architectural community and contract glaziers, Thurman specializes in the development of content delivered to these channels. He can be reached at brad_thurman@crlaurence.com.
