On October 13, at its national conference in Denver, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) formally launched its first-ever end-user software, Crosswalk® for Microsoft Word®. The product, a user-friendly add-in for Word, promises to make construction planning more accurate, convenient, and efficient. 

The product places CSI’s core library of construction standards, MasterFormat®, UniFormat® and OmniClass® directly into Microsoft Word. Using a search tool that appears in Microsoft Word, users can search numbers and titles across each of these standards. By connecting Microsoft Word with CSI’s three primary standards, construction professionals can save countless hours and avoid costly inaccuracies.  

“Until now, our customers depended on a printed book or a massive PDF to do their project classifications,” explains Hugh Seaton, who has led the design and development of the add-in. “But now, with Crosswalk for Microsoft Word, construction professionals can access CSI standards directly inside their daily workflow.”  

Crosswalk has, for years, provided CSI standards and classifications via enterprise-level software integrations. Many architect, engineer,  and construction (AEC) professionals are already quite familiar with Crosswalk because it’s the API (application programming interface) that connects their design/planning software with the core CSI library.  

But Crosswalk for Microsoft Word is the first out-of-the-box, turnkey solution that doesn’t require custom development or integrations.  

Users simply buy the product license, download the add-in, enter their access key, and the add-in appears every time they open Microsoft Word. Users search a number or title, find the correct classification, and drop it directly into the planning document. With Crosswalk for Microsoft Word, searching partial numbers and titles is a breeze - the search function returns all related terms, and you can use the Crosswalk function to translate a number or title between standards. The tool is the first time individual end- users can get all three of CSI’s core standards in a single place, and revolutionizes how users interact with all three standards.  

“We don’t say ‘game-changer’ too often. But this product is going to change the game,” says Mark Dorsey, CEO of CSI. “We’ve been publishing MasterFormat since the late 1960s. Today, it leaps into the future. Crosswalk for Microsoft Word makes our classifications instantly findable and usable. And it’s further proof that CSI is laser-focused on identifying what our members need and then creating and delivering it to them.” 

Crosswalk for Microsoft Word is designed to enhance how you interact with CSI standards. By simplifying search for numbers and titles, the title makes it quick and easy to double-check classifications in your documents. Navigating between multiple standards within your planning documents streamlines project collaboration and reduces time spent on manually translating project information from MasterFormat to UniFormat, for example. No matter what standard your client, consultant, or team is working with -- you’re able to rise to any occasion with Crosswalk for Microsoft Word.  

Crosswalk for Microsoft Word is available for purchase from the Crosswalk website at www.crosswalk.biz/crosswalk-for-microsoft-word. The product is available for $495/year for members of CSI and $795/year for non-members.  “This is just the beginning,” Dorsey explains. “We’re thrilled to make this product for construction and design professionals. But we’re already working to develop other consumer-friendly products, including integrations with other popular productivity software. You’ll be hearing a lot more about Crosswalk in the coming months and years.”    

About Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)  

Founded in 1948, CSI is a national not-for-profit association of more than 6,500 members dedicated to improving the communication of construction information throughout continuous development and transformation of standards and formats, and education and certification of professionals to improve project delivery processes. CSI members work tirelessly to effectively communicate the designers’ vision, the material producers’ solutions and the constructors’ techniques to create outstanding facilities that meet facility owners’ objectives. For more information visit: http://www.csiresources.org/home.