MasterFormat™, the 16-division construction products and services organizing structure for 39 years, is on schedule to change in one of two proposed ways by July 2004, according to the Construction Specifications Institute.

With available MasterFormat™ division numbers running low and design-professional services on the rise, CSI is considering either renaming divisions and expanding them into the 20s, 30s, and 40s or changing the system entirely, Dennis Hall, AIA, FCSI, told attendees November 1 at the AIA Building Performance Professional Interest Area conference, "Building Performance: Improving the Quality of the Built Environment." Hall serves as the chair of the CSI MasterFormat™ Expansion Task Team.

To date, the CSI "Version A" draft of MasterFormat™ version 4.0 has been through one review and redrafting and is currently in its second draft review. Version A calls for, most dramatically, elimination of the mechanical and electrical divisions (15 and 16) and expansion of the engineering divisions into: 20–29, civil; 30–39, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications; and 40–49, process engineering.

The guiding principles for Version A have been to:
1. Impose as little change as possible into the divisions that have composed the architectural building subjects
2. Drop MasterFormat's™ product classification function
3. Make MasterFormat™ more acceptable to building engineering disciplines
4. Expand MasterFormat™ to cover other than building construction adequately
5. Revise MasterFormat™ to follow classification principles
6. Provide space for expansion within each division
7. Maintain organizational consistency among divisions
8. Expand MasterFormat™ to have the capacity to comprehend the full life cycle, including use by owners and facility managers.

During commentary from the earlier drafts of Version A, the CSI task team heard a call for more dramatic change. The result of that input is Version B, a total reworking of the organizational system. The proposed divisions for Version B are currently:
• Procurement and Contract Requirements
• Common Requirements
• Common Construction
• Infrastructure and Exterior Construction
• Building Construction, Equipment and Furnishings
• Mechanical
• Electrical and Communications
• Processes

"These super divisions will serve as subject matter 'umbrellas' and are designed to promote similarity in the way the built environment is created and sustained," Hall said. "There are a minimum of numbers assigned, just enough to provide guidance for commentary from the industry."

Second draft under review
The development schedule for the ongoing review of CSI's flagship document includes a third and final Stakeholders' Symposium January 24, 2003, in San Francisco, to which members of the design professions and construction industry are invited for commentary. A third draft is due out in March 2003. CSI plans to have MasterFormat™ Version 4 available by July 2004, Hall said.

"We applaud the comprehensive approach you are taking," AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, wrote October 22 to CSI Interim Executive Director Tony Keane. "All too often, solutions within our industry have been prepared piecemeal, and as a result, fall short. The four-step modification process CSI has undertaken should result in a trustworthy system when properly implemented.

"Timely input and acknowledgement of the roles of different stakeholders—such as design professionals, contractors, suppliers, and manufactures—can encourage responses that will enhance the system without negative impact. Taking into account the considerations and opinions from these sectors will inform the concept development, enable a smooth adoption, and result in a more reliable and inspired built environment."

A blue-ribbon committee of AIA-member representatives is scheduled to meet with CSI representatives December 16 to review the progress to date, seek a clear understanding of the content and schedule for implementation, and share views on the proposed modifications. MasterFormat™ is the organizing system around which is built MasterSpec®, the AIA's master guide specification system for more than 30 years.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.