Engineers working on construction projects have been following differing editions of a specification standard. The confusion may finally be coming to an end.
by Dennis J. Hall

When you’re putting together a factory, an office high-rise, or a shopping mall, it’s important that everybody, from the mechanical engineer to the guy installing the switchplates, is on the same page. Or at least in the same book. That’s why there’s a standard for organizing technical specifications in the nonresidential design and construction industry. That standard, MasterFormat, was first published 40 years ago. Like most standards, it goes through periodic updates, overseen by two groups, the Construction Specifications Institute in the United States and its northern counterpart, Construction Specifications Canada.

More than 70 percent of the commercial and institutional construction projects in the United States and Canada use MasterFormat’s standard numbering system to ensure that everyone on the project team has a common reference for communicating technical information, work practices, and work results. The system provides a structure so that critical information is located in the same place within the project manual on every construction project. This lets contractors, manufacturers, owners, and other document users readily find, store, and retrieve needed information.

The organizational structure is updated every few years by CSI and CSC to accommodate changes in the industry. The most recent change was made almost four years ago, in the MasterFormat 2004 edition. That edition contained more new features than any since the standard’s introduction in the 1960s. Numerous design firms, specifications consultants, state and federal agencies, and other information providers have gradually made the transition to the 2004 edition. But the changeover so far has not been not universal. Many professionals have continued to use the previous version, which was published in 1995.

One reason is that the older format is widely familiar to owners, architects, builders, and engineers. Although we believe the 2004 edition is easier to use and more engineering-friendly, industry adoption has been proceeding slowly. As architects gradually make the change, engineers using MasterFormat 95 are encountering a revised organizational structure. Using two different versions makes communicating work results challenging, and ironically creates a problem that MasterFormat intended to solve.

Currently, all major master specifications providers offer their electronic master guide specifications documents in the MasterFormat 2004 edition, but some continue to offer MasterFormat 95 as well. However, soon they will be phasing out the use of MasterFormat 95, and mechanical engineering and other disciplines will have no choice but to adopt the new and improved version.

CSI and engineering organizations like ASHRAE are promoting the change, but many engineers are continuing to organize information using their long-held ways in an industry that is changing rapidly. The transition is gradually picking up speed, but it needs to gain momentum. If the entire industry made the switch, it would avoid confusion and costly mistakes.

Responding to Needs

Building projects are becoming much more complex. Properly managing a lot of information is crucial to success. As information management continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly important that the commercial construction industry use a single format across all disciplines, particularly for integrated practice concepts where architects, engineers, and contractors work together more closely.

MasterFormat 2004 features an expanded structure intended to make it easier for engineers and other users to correctly classify work results. The number of divisions increased from 16 to 50, with many of them reserved for future expansion, because MasterFormat 95 was running out of space and no longer adequately met the needs of the changing industry.

The 16 divisions of MasterFormat 95 were consecutive and provided no room for expansion. Many users classified specifications for building automation controls, information technology systems, and fire suppression systems by creating their own “Division 17,” because these subjects were not specifically identified in the structure or there was no space left in the five-digit numbering system of more appropriate divisions. This caused confusion because the extra division often was used inconsistently by different organizations.

CSI and CSC worked with representatives from all sectors of the industry to update MasterFormat. Many of the changes significantly clarify work results for building engineering and facility services.

The new edition has brought significant changes to the building engineering and facility services areas, including rearrangement of Division 15 subject matter into new section numbers and titles, a numbering system that accommodates future expansion, and a new six-digit classification system.

In the past, mechanical and plumbing subjects were categorized under Division 15. For MasterFormat 2004, general construction topics are organized under the Facility Construction Subgroup, comprising Divisions 2 through 14, followed by several divisions reserved for future expansion. CSI and CSC expanded all facility services—including mechanical, HVAC, and plumbing—by assigning each one its own division under the new Facility Services Subgroup. Now that each subject has a unique location, mechanical engineers can be more specific when organizing project information.

The Facility Services Subgroup contains all of the facility services subjects previously found in Divisions 13, 15, and 16. It also includes the following new information technology subjects:

Division 21 – Fire suppression

Division 22 – Plumbing

Division 23 – HVAC

Division 24 – Reserved for future expansion

Division 25 – Integrated automation

Division 26 – Electrical

Division 27 – Communications

Division 28 – Electronic safety and security

Mechanical engineers and others also should be aware that CSI and CSC replaced the five-digit system from previous editions with a six-digit system in MasterFormat 2004. To ease the transition, the new six-digit system respects the previous version by continuing to designate three levels of subordination. Yet it greatly expands MasterFormat 95’s capacity. In MasterFormat 2004, the six digits are arranged in pairs, with three levels of classification (the new digit was added in the middle of the old five-digit system).

For example, under the old system, air distribution was designated by five digits, 15800. Now, HVAC air distribution is classified as 23 30 00. Similarly, fuel piping was 15190, but now 23 10 00 is facility fuel piping. Hydraulic elevator was 14200, and now is 14 24 00.

Using three pairs of digits provides space for 100 times more subjects at the second and third levels of classification.

The need to adopt the new system gains importance as more owners, design firms, and consultants adopt MasterFormat 2004 to help reduce building costs through more accurate specifications. CSI and CSC regularly offer MasterFormat educational programs and provide other resources to help stakeholders make the switch.

To Learn More CSI and CSC, the professional societies behind MasterFormat and many other critical construction documents and certifications, have set up a Web site devoted to MasterFormat 2004—www.MasterFormat.com— where users can purchase the latest edition, access real-time updates, and convert MasterFormat 95 numbers. Additional information is available at www.csinet.org/mechengineering.

Dennis Hall, a former vice president of the Construction Specifications Institute, is national president of Specifications Consultants in Independent Practice, and a principal in Hall Architects Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a Fellow of the Construction Specifications Institute.