MasterFormat

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MasterFormat is a standard for organizing specifications and other written information for commercial and institutional building projects in the U.S. and Canada. [1] Sometimes referred to as the "Dewey Decimal System" of building construction, MasterFormat is a product of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC). It provides a master list of Divisions, and Section numbers with associated titles within each Division, to organize information about a facility’s construction requirements and associated activities. [2]

Contents

MasterFormat is used throughout the construction industry to format specifications for construction contract documents. The purpose of this format is to assist the user in organizing information into distinct groups when creating contract documents, and to assist the user searching for specific information in consistent locations. The information contained in MasterFormat is organized in a standardized outline format within 50 Divisions (16 Divisions pre-2004). Each Division is subdivided into a number of Sections. [3]

History

After World War II, building construction specifications began to expand, as more advanced materials and choices were made available. [4] The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) was founded in 1948 and began to address the organization of specifications into a numbering system. In 1963, they published a format for construction specifications, with 16 major divisions of work. A 1975 CSI publication used the term MasterFormat. The last CSI MasterFormat publication to use the 16 divisions was in 1995, and this is no longer supported by CSI. In November 2004, MasterFormat expanded from 16 Divisions to 50 Divisions, reflecting innovations in the construction industry and expanding the coverage to a larger part of the construction industry. [5] Revised editions were published in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. [5]

Timeline

Advantages

Standardizing the presentation of such information improves communication among all parties involved in construction projects, which helps the project team deliver structures to owners according to their requirements, timelines, and budgets. The ASTM standard for sustainability assessment of building products relies on MasterFormat to organize the data. [6] MasterFormat is an organizational component of Building Systems Design - SpecLink, MasterSpec, SpecText, National Master Specification (NMS), and SpecsIntact systems. Manufacturers will often publish specifications for their products based on MasterFormat. Design teams may maintain office master section based on MasterFormat and pull specifications from multiple sources. MasterFormat provides the overall organizational structure that makes pulling sections from different sources possible.

MasterSpec and SpecText are specifications targeted to construction projects in the United States. NMS is targeted to construction projects in Canada. SpecsIntact is a specification processing system for preparing Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS). [7] UFGS is required for design teams to use on United States Department of Defense and NASA construction projects. Using MasterFormat provides the design and construction teams a familiar organizational structure.

Current Divisions (August 2020)

The current MasterFormat Divisions [8] [9] are:

PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS GROUP

SPECIFICATIONS GROUP

General Requirements Subgroup

Facility Construction Subgroup

Facility Services Subgroup:

Site and Infrastructure Subgroup:

Process Equipment Subgroup:

Pre-2020 Divisions

MASTERFORMAT 2018 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2016.

MASTERFORMAT 2016 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2014.

MASTERFORMAT 2014 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2012, except the following:

MASTERFORMAT 2012 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2010.

MASTERFORMAT 2010 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2004, except the following:

MASTERFORMAT 2004 EDITION

Changed to 50 Divisions. All divisions were revised.

MASTERFORMAT 1995 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 1988 except the following:

MASTERFORMAT 1988 EDITION

Before November 2004, MasterFormat was composed of 16 Divisions:

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The 16 Divisions of construction, as defined by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)'s MasterFormat, is the most widely used standard for organizing specifications and other written information for commercial and institutional building projects in the U.S. and Canada. In 2004, MasterFormat was updated and expanded to 50 Divisions. It provides a master list of divisions, and section numbers and titles within each division, to follow in organizing information about a facility's construction requirements and associated activities. Standardizing the presentation of such information improves communication among all parties involved in construction projects.

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References

  1. ↑ Mowrer, F. "Development of the fire Data Management System Archived 2017-01-25 at the Wayback Machine " Department of Fire Protection and Engineering, NIST-GCR-94-693, August 1993.
  2. ↑ Charette, R. and Marshall, A. "Uniformat II Elemental classification for Building Specifications, Cost Estimating, and Cost Analysis," NIST BFRL Office of applied Economics, NISTIR6389, October 1999.
  3. ↑ Ross Spiegel and Dru Meadows, Green Building Materials: A Guide to Product Selection and Specification, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999.
  4. ↑ Clendining, Warren (2009). "History of Specifications". Technical Expressions. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 "What's My MasterFormat Number?". CSI. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. ↑ ASTM Standard E2129-05, 2005, "Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of Building Products", ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2005, doi : 10.1520/E2129-05
  7. ↑ "Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS)" . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "NMS Table of Contents". 25 March 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "SpecText Table of Contents" (PDF). Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "SectionFormat/PageFormat" . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "SectionFormat/PageFormat" . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "OmniClass". OmniClass. OCCS Development Committee Secretariat. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
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