by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

All the issues will never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction! We need to face that fact! But, at the same time we need to move toward resolution, in some reasonable compromise, and universally accepted understanding. Read More...

by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

Is anything in the design and construction of building projects getting easier? (Only it is much easier and faster to spend your pay check.) But in the work, more and more effort is required; more knowledge applied; more skill in manipulating elements; more needed to deal with added complexity and proper solutions; more imagination and creativity in design; more products and systems; more regulations and requirements; more and more. Read More...

by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA

I recently received an e-mail from my local IMI (International Masonry Institute) representative, saying that she would be retiring in a few weeks. Even though I had known her all the twenty-plus years I have been a CSI member, and knew we were about the same age, it was a bit of a shock. After trying to convince her not to retire (not very hard), I thought about other favorite product reps - my go-to guys, some of whom retired or lost their jobs in the past couple of years. Read More...

by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

Get 'em started, and they will burn your ear off! The problem is to find them all, and get them to really let go, from the gut. There are, apparently, a lot of really fine folks, who see the proverbial light and are dismayed at where that light is NOT shining!-- they are of the “silent minority”!!! Read More...

by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

Does a specifications consultant in private practice/business in Kansas have any educational responsibility for young architects [from students to emerging professionals]? Does an unregistered, but architecturally trained, specifications writer, in a firm of 9 people in Mississippi, have any such responsibility within that office? Does the long-experienced, full-time, registered, in-house specification writer in a firm of 110 or more in Oregon have any such responsibility? Read More...

by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

Getting time for “………SOME FOOTBALL!!!!!”, as the pros go to camp. But of the whole game, let‟s just hone in on the end run play-- the ol‟ USC “student body right/left”, or the Fightin‟ Irish “running 'round Chicago”!! Read More...

by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT, Cincinnati, OH

OK, you‟re all not architects! But you do work with, work for, or call upon architects. Despite a diminished role, architects are still part of the project and construction process. They program, design and document projects, create solutions and “put buildings together”. Agreed? Read More...

As I end my second term as Chapter President and get ready to turn the reigns over to Ken Raikowski I want to take a minute and thank the Board and Committee Chairs for all their hard work and dedication they committed to the Chapter. Time is the most valuable thing we can give to anyone or anything and I appreciate all you have done to make the past four years very successful. We have increased membership, having won the small chapter membership award twice and increased average attendance at the monthly meetings, no small task in these tough economic times. We now have a CSI Student Affiliate and the chapter remains financially healthy. All these items not achieved alone, but through a collective team effort working together for a cause we believe in – the mission of CSI. Thank you all for helping grow and improve the Long Island Chapter.

- Kenneth R. Gehringer, CSI, CCCA, AIA

by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA

We are approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of two seminal documents for the construction industry: "A Tentative Proposal for a Manual of Practice for Specification Writing Methods", and "The CSI Format for Building Specifications". The first led to the publication of CSI's first Manual of Practice (eventually becoming the Project Resource Manual), the second to MasterFormat. Read More...

The Anthony P. Bruno, FCSI Distinguished Service Award is presented by the Long Island Chapter in even numbered years for continuous service to the Chapter in the advancement of the Chapter's programs, administration and recognition in the construction industry.
This is the highest award the Long Island Chapter can bestow on an individual.

This year's honoree at the Annual Awards Banquet will be Kenneth R. Gehringer, CSI, CCCA.

by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA

Although there may be a few products that require little thought in specifying, most require some minimum amount of research, comparison of similar products, and determination of the right combination of characteristics best suited to a project. Read More...

By Walter T. Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE, Executive Director/CEO

The new www.csinet.org is built with our most important audience in mind - you. We know the needs of our 13,000 members vary, so we've found ways to help you detail CSINet to fit your interests. Read More...

Six CSI members were recently selected to Fellowship by the 2010 Jury of Fellows. The investitures will be held at the Gala, part of the CONSTRUCT2010 Show and the CSI Annual Convention in Philadelphia on Friday, May 14. Read More...

Metro New York CSI Announces 2010 Trade Show and Seminar Event
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Location: Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY Read More...

By Daniel Hargreaves, CSI, RAS

“The meeting’s too far
It’s not convenient,
My family comes first…” Read More...

by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA

We just went through another round of bylaws amendments, and unless we decide to throw everything out and start over, we should be about done. The reason behind many of the amendments goes back to the governance initiative recommended by the Board and approved by the members just a couple of years ago. As you may recall, one of the biggest changes was to reduce the board of directors from twenty-nine members to eighteen. We’re well on the way now; we soon will be down to twenty board members. Read More...