004 - Cherise Lakeside

Cherise Lakeside, FCSI, CDT is a Senior Specification Writer at RDH Building Science in Portland, Oregon and has experience with many facets of the project team in the built environment. She has worked mostly in architecture with stints in construction, MEP Engineering, and now building science during her career. 

In this wide-ranging episode we discuss:

• Cherise’s journey to Senior Specification Writer at RDH
• being heard in a traditionally male-dominated profession
• creating processes for successful specifications on projects that encourage the team to start project specifications sooner
• the scarcity of the role of a trained Specifier
• the current state of specifications in the industry
• the actual role versus the perception of a Specifier
• how Specifiers bridge the gap between supply and demand
• the current challenges our industry is facing in the gap
• the importance of relationships between supply and demand
• the problems that the lack of understanding of other roles on a project lead to
• the issues of blindly copying & pasting risk into a firm’s project specification
• what the supply side needs to understand about design professionals to be more effective
• the importance of a properly written specification
• why it’s a problem to put warranty requirements in part 3 of the specification, and where they actually belong
• the problem of dictating means and methods in specifications
• correct locating information in the contract documents versus simply throwing everything in the spec with “CYA language”
• the importance for the supply side to understand the project context a design professional is operating within
• the problem of ill-timed information delivered at lunch n’ learns
• insight into the specification writing process during design
• the one thing that drives design professionals and specifiers insane about manufacturer’s websites
• the thing product manufacturers know better than anybody and why they are an undeniable resource
• how product manufacturers can make valuable connections inside architectural firms under current circumstances (offices reopening)
• what certification product reps can use to get in the door faster than those without
• what attributes define a quality specification for design professionals
• the opportunities and benefits of designing a modern specifications workflow within a firm
• the necessity of creating a feedback loop via lessons learned throughout construction to increase the efficacy, reliability, and quality of office standard documents
• and other topics

Episode Links

• Cherise on Twitter 
• Cherise on LinkedIn 
• List of CSI Fellows 
• RDH Building Science website 
• Portland Chapter - Construction Specifications Institute
• Portland CSI CDT certification course
• Arcat AEC podcast: Detailed
• Advice for the Next Generation of AEC Professionals (YouTube)
• Contractor's Guide to Change Orders by Andrew M. Civitello Jr. (2nd Edition) (Amazon)
• Tect
• Peopleverse