Architects design buildings. Contractors build buildings. Developers orchestrate the building of buildings and owners deal with the consequences.
We are all creatures of habit and real estate players are no different. Architects and GCs will often design the specifications (‘specs’) of a building based on the last building they built. Contractors will build in a fashion they’re comfortable and know. Developers will rely on their consultants and partners that they trust and owners then expect a certain outcome.
When it comes to the specifications of a newer category, most owners will unquestionably accept the spec. They don’t do this out of disregard but rather out of trust - trusting that the expert they had design or build the building is knowledgeable enough to make the best decision for the building. That might be true for well-entrenched parts of the specs but might not be for the newer industries. If a spec calls for quarter inch pipe for the plumbing system, you might not question your plumber but when a new category like EV charging makes its way into the specs, you might have to ask a few more questions as to ‘why’ something was chosen as the default solution by your contractor.
Many times we are sent building specifications from a prospective customer that specs out one of our more established competitors. This makes sense, they might have been around for over a decade and their product was one of the only solutions on the market. Kudos to those players as they helped blaze the trail of the category and in turn they’re often spec’d into architectural plans. This lays some of the infrastructure of defensibility for any business but when it comes to building materials and equipment, getting ‘spec’d’ into plans is the ultimate goal and jockey position. When our clients ask us to review the existing specs, what they’re really asking us is whether or not we can meet the technical requirements and ‘flip the spec.’
One of the challenges as a disrupter to any industry is the education process needed to get people to listen and change their approach. With EV charging however, the space is changing so quickly that luckily many of the architects, contractors, developers and owners are open and willing to learn and understand the best approach and thus willing to flip the spec.
Many of our trusted advisors have told us that we have to find our way into more specs. While this advice won’t yield immediate results, what it will do is create value in 2-4 years from now when those buildings are built and the purchase orders from those specifications come through. If today’s needs are addressed in the retrofitting of America’s buildings, then tomorrow’s needs lay in the specifications of the developments. Flipping the Spec might be synonymous with “Breaking from the norm” but it’s an evolving process of not accepting status quo.
Flipping The Spec
I agree. As a trusted EV charging advisor, I work diligently to get a call with the Multifamily building owner to walk them through the options for monetizing another portion of their asset, while helping them improve Net Operating Income (NOI). Many simply see the EV charger as a necessary amenity capital expense and they haven't been educated on the true value of having EV charging at their property. Just following a spec simply makes you a price-driven commodity provider; bringing the dialogue to the strategic level and aligning the EV charging solution with their business value-hypothesis makes you a Trusted Advisor.