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NBS Training

Forthcoming
NBS Engineering Services
public training dates:

25 March 2010
10am – 4pm
Newcastle
£330+VAT

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NBS Engineering Services

NBS Engineering Services

NBS Engineering Services enables you to write concise, technically accurate and up to date specifications for building services projects.

 

NBS Engineering Services: Enables technical accuracy

With a subscription to NBS Engineering Services, you benefit from the work of our in house team of engineers, who are continually researching to provide the best technical guidance and clause options to people writing building services specifications.

NBS Engineering Services: It will keep you up-to-date

Clauses, guidance and product information are updated regularly. Customers receive updates on CD-ROM three times a year, and incremental updates are available to download online, so the information you are using is always up-to-date.

NBS Engineering Services: It will save you time

Clauses are pre-written so you don’t have to type much, and the guidance for each clause appears beside it on screen for speedy referral. You can add product specification information with a single click, and many clauses have drop-down lists of commonly specified values enabling you to add them more quickly. A template library is also offered for writing project schedules where multiple items are to be specified.

NBS Engineering Services: It will maintain quality control

By using NBS Engineering Services you can be assured you are using the industry standard specification system that conforms to best practice. It provides extensive guidance to help you select and edit the right clauses for your project. In NBS Engineering Services you can set permissions, monitor progress and track revisions.

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Up to date information

When you use NBS Engineering Services, the software will let you know if you are using the most up to date information. If updated material is available, it will prompt you to download it.

Pre-written clauses

NBS Engineering Services contains pre-written technical specification clauses and preliminaries for selection and editing to produce project specifications. Clauses are authored by our team of in-house engineers to be concise and robust. As the clauses are pre-written, very little typing is involved. Some clauses require additional information which you can either type in or complete with the use of drop-down lists of suggested solutions. Clauses are provided for both prescriptive and performance specification.

Guidance

General guidance with information on materials and design, including workmanship advice and tips on how to avoid pitfalls is provided for each work section. Extensive technical guidance is also provided to help you complete individual clauses.

Guidance provides access to technical information resources including websites and The Construction Information Service*.

Building product specification

NBS Engineering Services contains building product information to help create accurate and detailed building specifications. Manufacturer product information has been written specifically for NBS clauses and is checked for currency at each update.

Office standards

If you regularly work on similar projects, there is a facility to create, manage and update your own office standard specifications.

Printing and issuing

Flexible formatting options mean that you can present your documents using your corporate style. They can then be printed or exported to PDF.

Intuitive user interface

NBS Engineering Services has been designed to be intuitive and simple to use. Specifications and NBS Libraries are organised on the left-hand side of the screen. The centre of the screen is used for editing work sections. The right-hand side of the screen displays Guidance, NBS Plus, Help, and links to other information resources.

* The Construction Information Service is a searchable database of full text documents from publishers such as BRE and BSI. It is available as an online subscription service from IHS, telephone 01344 404434, email marketing@ihsti.com or visit www.ihsti.com.

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NBS Engineering Services is a subscription service. As part of the subscription you will receive updates on CD-ROM three times a year. Additional updates can be downloaded from the NBS website when available.

NBS Engineering Services is available in two levels of service:

Full Service

Includes Specialist, Core and Domestic libraries. This service is intended for those who require specialist technical specifications covering systems that are installed complex buildings. All procurement methods are supported, including contractor design and prescriptive specification.

Abridged Service

Includes Core and Domestic libraries. This service provides technical specifications covering the building services commonly installed in residential, light industrial and commercial projects. All procurement methods are supported, including contractor design and prescriptive specification.


Download a brochure

For more information on how to subscribe, including pricing, download a PDF brochure now.

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NBS Engineering Services is a library of pre-written technical specifications offering clauses for both prescriptive and performance specification. Preliminaries and templates for the creation of project schedules are also included.

NBS Engineering Services is available in two levels of service. The Full Service contains Core, Domestic and Specialist libraries to support complex systems. The Abridged Service contains Core and Domestic libraries and is suitable for specifying commonly installed building services.  Extensive NBS Guidance accompanies all content.

The scope and contents of NBS Engineering Services are listed below:

Current at November 2009
(NBS Engineering Services Update 2009-3)

Preliminaries/general conditions for the following contracts

ECC Short Contract
 
JCT 2005 Intermediate contract with contractor design
JCT 2005 Minor works contract with contractor design
JCT With Quantities Contractor's Designed Portion Supplement
JCT With Quantities Contractor's Designed Portion Sectional Completion Supplement
JCT Without Quantities Contractor’s Designed Portion supplement
JCT Without Quantities Composite Contractor’s Designed Portion and Sectional Completion supplement
JCT With Contractor’s Design
JCT With Contractor’s Design Sectional Completion
JCT Subcontract (IFC) NAM/T
 
SBCC Contractor’s Designed Portion with Quantities
SBCC Contractor’s Designed Portion Sectional Completion Edition with Quantities
SBCC Contractor’s Designed Portion without Quantities
SBCC Contractor’s Designed Portion Sectional Completion without Quantities
SBCC with Contractor’s Design
SBCC with Contractor’s Design Sectional Completion Edition
 
Work Packages

Work Sections

C = Core, S = Specialist, D = Domestic

Complete buildings/ structures/ units
C     B06 Engineering services general description

Existing site, buildings and services
C     C12 Underground services survey
C     C14 Building services survey
C     C20 Demolition

Linings/ Sheathing/ Dry partitioning
C     K45 Suspended ceilings alterations
C     K46 Raised access floor system alterations

Windows/ Doors/ Stairs
C     L35 Fixed utilitarian access systems

Furniture and equipment
C     N13 Sanitary appliances and fittings
C     N15 Fire and safety signage systems

Building fabric sundries
C     P12 Firestopping
C     P30 Trenches, pipeways and pits for buried engineering services
C     P31 Holes, chases, covers and supports for services
C     P32 Services painting
C     P33 Plinths and bund systems

Disposal systems
C     R10 Above ground rainwater drainage systems
C     R11 Above ground foul drainage systems
  S   R12 Below ground drainage systems
  S   R16 Groundwater pressure relief drainage
  S   R17 Soakaway, septic tank and sewage treatment units
  S   R18 Pumping stations and pressure pipelines

Piped supply systems
C     S10 Hot and cold water supply systems
C     S12 Water treatment equipment
  S   S17 Water reclamation systems
  S   S18 Swimming pool water treatment systems
  S   S20 Medical oxygen supply systems
  S   S21 Medical nitrous oxide supply systems
  S   S22 Medical compressed air supply systems
  S   S23 Medical vacuum supply systems
  S   S24 Medical entonox supply systems
  S   S25 Medical anaesthetic gas scavenging systems
  S   S29 Medical gas equipment
  S   S30 Compressed air supply systems
C     S32 Natural gas supply systems
C     S33 LPG supply
  S   S34 Laboratory gas supply systems
  S   S35 Biogas supply systems
  S   S40 Petrol and diesel supply systems
C     S41 Fuel oil supply
  S   S42 Liquid biofuel supply systems
  S   S51 Steam and condensate systems
C     S60 Fire hose reels
C     S61 Dry riser systems
C     S62 Wet risers
C     S63 Sprinkler systems
  S   S64 Deluge systems
C     S65 Fire hydrant systems
  S   S66 Water mist systems
  S   S70 Gaseous fire-extinguishing systems
  S   S76 Foam fire fighting systems
    D S90 Hot and cold water supply systems - domestic
    D S91 Gas supply systems - domestic
    D S92 Sprinkler systems - domestic

Mechanical heating, cooling and refrigeration systems
C     T10 Heating systems
C     T20 Gas and oil fired boilers
  S   T23 Steam boilers and equipment 
  S   T24 Solid fuel boilers
  S   T25 Combined heat and power units 
  S   T26 Solar collectors
C     T30 Heat emitters
C     T36 Direct gas fired heating units
C     T40 Heat pump systems
C     T41 Variable refrigerant flow systems
C     T42 Underfloor heating and cooling
C     T50 Chilled water systems
C     T51 Climatic ceiling and beam systems
C     T60 Central refrigeration plant
  S   T71 Cold room systems
    D T90 Heating systems – domestic

Ventilation and air conditioning systems
C     U10 Ventilation systems
C     U12 Kitchen extract equipment
  S   U13 Car park ventilation systems
  S   U14 Smoke extract and smoke control systems
  S   U21 Safety cabinet extract systems
  S   U24 Industrial fume extract systems
C     U30 Air conditioning systems
  S   U40 Induction units
C     U41 Fan-coil units
C     U42 VAV units
C     U60 Local air conditioning units
C     U80 Air ductlines and ancillaries
C     U81 Air handling units
C     U82 Fans
C     U83 Air filtration
C     U84 Heating and cooling coils
C     U85 Heat recovery
C     U86 Air treatment
C     U87 Silencers and acoustic treatment
C     U88 Air terminal devices
    D U90 Ventilation systems - domestic

Electrical systems
  S   V10 High voltage connection
C     V11 Low voltage connection
  S   V12 Generator systems
  S   V13 Small scale wind generating systems
  S   V14 Photovoltaic systems
  S   V20 High voltage distribution systems
  S   V21 High voltage switchgear
  S   V22 Fluid immersed transformers
  S   V23 Dry-type transformers
  S   V24 High voltage cabling
C     V30 Low voltage distribution systems
C     V31 Low voltage switchgear
C     V32 Low voltage cabling
  S   V33 Busbar trunking
C     V34 Controls and starters
  S   V36 Automatic power factor correction equipment 
  S   V37 Harmonic filtering equipment
C     V39 Electrical inspection and testing
C     V40 Small power systems
  S   V44 Uninterruptible power supplies
C     V50 General lighting systems
  S   V51 Automatic lighting controls
C     V55 Self contained emergency lighting and signage systems
C     V56 Central battery emergency lighting and signage systems
  S   V57 Static inverter emergency lighting and signage
C     V59 General luminaires and lamps
  S   V60 External lighting systems
  S   V67 Underwater lighting systems
C     V80 Electrical identification
C     V81 Earthing and bonding systems
    D V90 Electrical systems - domestic

Communications, security, safety and protection systems
C     W11 Public address systems 
  S   W16 Induction loop systems 
  S   W17 Infrared listening systems
  S   W20 Television and radio distribution systems
C     W30 Telecommunications
  S   W31 Data distribution systems 
C     W40 Access control systems
C     W41 Intruder detection and alarm systems
C     W44 Closed circuit television systems
C     W50 Fire detection and alarm systems
  S   W51 Voice alarm systems
C     W53 Assistance call systems
  S   W55 Nurse call systems
  S   W57 Gas detection and alarm systems 
  S   W58 Water leak detection and alarm systems 
C     W60 Lightning protection systems
  S   W73 Swimming pool timing and scoring systems
    D W90 Communications and security systems - domestic

Transport systems
C     X10 Lift Systems
C     X12 Vertical platform lift systems
C     X13 Stairlifts
  S   X15 Escalator and moving walk systems
  S   X31 Pneumatic document conveying systems

General engineering services
C     Y10 Pipelines
C     Y11 Pipeline ancillaries
C     Y12 Mechanical cleaning and chemical treatment
C     Y20 Pumps
C     Y21 Tanks and cisterns
C     Y22 Heat exhangers
C     Y24 Trace heating tapes
C     Y30 Mechanical thermal insulation
C     Y31 Vibration isolation mountings
C     Y32 Mechanical plant and equipment identification
C     Y35 Flues and chimneys
C     Y40 Mechanical engineering services control and management systems
  S   Y41 Building monitoring and management systems
C     Y50 Mechanical commissioning
C     Y60 Conduit and trunking
C     Y63 Cable supports
C     Y65 Electrical accessories
  S   Y67 Transient over-voltage surge suppression devices

Building fabric reference specifications
C     Z11 Purpose made metalwork
C     Z20 Fixings and adhesives
C     Z22 Sealants

Schedules

Electrical:
  S   Amenity lighting performance schedule
C     Circuit schedule (single phase)
C     Circuit schedule (three phase)
C     Electrical accessory finishes schedule
C     Lighting performance schedule
C     Luminaire schedule
  S   Patch cord schedule
  S   Roadway lighting performance schedule
C     Small power schedule
  S   Telecommunications outlet schedule
C     Three phase power units
  S   Voice alarm system schedule

Mechanical:
C     Air curtain schedule
C     Air handling unit schedule
C     Design temperature schedule
C     Fan coil unit schedule
C     Fan convector schedule
C     Fan schedule
C     Filter schedule
C     Floor heating and cooling system schedule
C     Gas fired cabinet direct heater schedule
C     Gas fired cabinet indirect heater schedule
C     Gas fired radiant luminous heater schedule
C     Gas fired radiant tube heater schedule
C     Gas fired unit heater schedule
C     Grille and diffuser schedule
C     Heat recovery schedule
C     Heating and cooling coil schedule
C     Humidifier schedule
  S   Induction unit schedule
C     Local air conditioning unit schedule
C     Louvre schedule
C     Mechanical thermal insulation schedule
C     Natural convector schedule
C     Pipeline insulation thickness schedule
C     Public address system schedule
C     Pump schedule
C     Radiator schedule
C     Room heater schedule
C     Silencer schedule
C     Tank and cistern schedule
C     Thermal storage heater schedule
C     Towel rail schedule
C     Trench heating schedule
C     Unit heater schedule
C     Valve schedule
C     Variable air volume unit schedule

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NBS Software Licensing

NBS software can be licensed for use on standalone PCs, or for use on a network. When running on a standalone PC the software will be licence locked for use only on that machine.

For network installations, the software will be licence locked to the server PC. Other PCs on the network may access the licence on the server for concurrent use, up to the number of licences subscribed to.

System requirements

NBS software requires the following components in order to run:

  1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) or higher (download here) (Included with Windows XP/Vista/7)
  2. Microsoft .NET framework 2.0 (download here) (Included with Windows Vista/Windows 7)

All products require a CD-ROM drive if installing the software from CD.

In addition the software will run on the following platforms:

  1. Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  2. Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit (SP2)
  3. Windows XP Professional (SP3)
  4. Windows XP Home (SP3)
  5. Windows XP Pro x64 (SP2)
  6. Windows 2000 (SP4 with Update Rollup 1 – see MS KB891861)
  7. Windows 2000 Server and above (for Server PCs).

Full instructions for installation are contained in the Getting Started Guide and help files provided in the software. Our software support team also provide assistance, and you can contact them on 0845 456 9594 (+44 191 232 9594 from outside the UK) and at support@theNBS.com.

Please note that the speed of running any software application depends upon several factors. The following specification is an approximate guide only.

Recommended minimum requirements for all NBS software:

  1. Processor: Pentium III 1.0GHz
  2. Memory: 256 MB (For Windows 2000/XP) 512Mb (For Windows Vista/7)
  3. Free disk space: 1Gb
  4. Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 in 32 bit colour.
     

Apple Macintosh

We have recently tested the compatibility of NBS software with Apple Boot Camp. The specification of the machine tested on is as follows:

  1. iMac 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
  2. 17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440x900 resolution
  3. 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 cache
  4. 2.0Gb 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
  5. 160GB Serial ATA hard drive
  6. Slot-load 8x double-layer SuperDrive
  7. ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory
  8. Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0

Please Note: In order to run NBS software using Apple Boot Camp users will require a bona fide full version of Microsoft Windows: XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate with Service Pack 2, Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate (no upgrade or multi-disc versions).

NBS have tested the Specification Family portfolio software (NBS Building, NBS Landscape, NBS Engineering Services), NBS Contract Administrator and NBS Scheduler successfully for standalone and network installations and the platform appears to be very stable.

Although the software has been successfully tested on this platform we cannot guarantee that the software will react the same with another specification Mac. Therefore, we cannot guarantee performance of our software when using Windows on a Mac. Support will be limited for any customers using our software on Mac as we will not be able to determine that the encountered problems are due to our software or the system used.

Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME and NT4

Microsoft has retired support for:

  1. Windows 95
  2. Windows 98
  3. Windows 98SE
  4. Windows ME
  5. Windows NT4

Microsoft state that these operating systems are outdated and can expose customers to security risks. NBS do not support these operating systems and recommend that customers who are still running the above upgrade to a newer, more secure Microsoft operating system, such as Windows 7, as soon as possible.

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Product enquiry form

If you would like us to provide you with further details on NBS Engineering Services, please complete the contact form below:

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If you would like information on additional NBS products or would like someone to call you back with a quote, please provide some further information:

RIBA Enterprises, of which NBS is a part, may like to email you from time to time with details of products and services that may be of interest to you, is this okay? 
 

If you would prefer not to receive this information by mail or telephone, please tick here.

  

Fact

NBS Engineering Services contains a wealth of guidance on sustainability, including work sections on combined heat and power systems, heat pump systems, photovoltaic systems, water reclamation, solar collectors, and small scale wind generating systems.

Client Testimonials

Specification writing makes me lose the will to live - it's now much better with NBS Engineering Services.

John Withers, Derbyshire County Council

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Next steps

Contact NBS

Call us
0845 456 9594

Email us
info@theNBS.com

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Solutions

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