ROCKVILLE, MD — Robert W. FitzGerald, president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), has urged the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) to return to basic discussion on ways to adapt to change while preserving the overriding value of keeping Division 15 and 16 of the MasterFormat™ intact.

According to MCAA, the organization has commended CSI in its work in establishing the MasterFormat, the industry standard for building construction classification systems, and building it into the accepted standard-form document in its field. MCAA also says that it is eager to continue working with CSI to achieve the goal of revising the document without abandoning the current Division 15 and 16 structures.

FitzGerald believes that the proposed changes to the MasterFormat will promote a far greater fragmentation in project administration and delivery, which could lead to disputes and other negative outcomes.

MCAA’s primary recommendation is to preserve the current structure of the MasterFormat. The organization believes that Division 15 and 16 do not have to be eliminated, but can be expanded to accommodate changing technology.

FitzGerald says that the current structure is relied upon for many important uses and these should be accommodated in any revision of the MasterFormat. Some of the important and current uses include accounting systems, project scheduling, bid depositories, product catalogues, building code and enforcement classification, and more.

Publication date: 06/24/2002