Expansion of the CSI MasterFormat

The Construction Specifications Institute is in the process of a significantly expanding its industry standard MasterFormat specification numbering system.

CSI's expansion team site provides access to draft documents, FAQs, the latest adoption timeline, and additional information on the process. As of this writing, the new MasterFormat 04 is expected to become available in the 3rd quarter of 2004.

Thankfully for architectural specification writers, the latest Draft 4 appears to make only minor organizational changes to the core architectural sections Divisions 3 through 14. On the other hand Divisions 2, 15, and 16 (Sitework, Mechanical, and Electrical) are being significantly revamped and relocated in the numbering system.

Also of interest, the basic numbering system appears to be changing from 5 digits to 6. For example, Section 03200 Concrete Reinforcement is being renamed Section 032000 Concrete Reinforcing.

Because the manuscript for the Fourth Edition of Fundamentals was completed over the summer of 2003, references in this edition are to the MasterFormat 95 system. See page 12 of the textbook for more about MasterFormat and its role in construction documentation.
(c) Joe Iano 2003