About Specifi

Our story

It began as a conversation between two friends more than 15 years ago.

While studying engineering at the University of Canterbury, Jade Kirk and Damian McMillan were simply looking for a way to streamline the repetitive calculations involved in structural engineering projects.

This idea evolved during the day-to-day operations of their established engineering consultancy firm, Kirk Roberts, where the pair became increasingly aware of a need for engineering to be designed smarter and more efficiently.

Kirk Roberts sought feedback from their clients, asking, ‘What stops you using an engineer?’ – the most common responses were ‘We haven’t got time to wait’, followed by ‘High perceived costs associated with using an engineer’.

For Jade and Damian, the answer became clear – developing an online engineering platform to meet their clients’ needs.

As a result, Kirk Roberts undertook five years of research, development, innovation, industry engagement with territorial authorities, architects, architectural designers and building companies.

With a big idea to revolutionise the industry through the development of an online engineering platform, they sought a programmer who could bring their vision to life – and found the perfect match in Alistair Ashcroft.

With his software development experience, and Damian and Jade’s industry expertise, the trio worked extensively to create functioning, user-friendly, online design tools.

It’s from their collective know-how and passion that Specifi was born.

This highly intelligent online tool can decrease time delays and provides a cost-efficient option when clients are looking to engage with an engineer’s expertise – yet maintaining the same quality assurance as if you were dealing with them in person.

The idea that was generated 15 years ago is now being realised, with users working on innovative designs in Specifi across New Zealand.