ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Construction Specifications Institute’s (CSI’s) Executive Committee recently adopted a concept for revising and expanding the organization’s flagship document, the 16-division Master-Format™ specifications system, based on a recommendation from CSI’s MasterFormat Expansion task team.

MasterFormat, which functions as a “Dewey Decimal System” for the commercial construction industry, provides the organizational framework of the written instructions for construction of commercial buildings.

Under the concept approved by the executive committee:

Divisions 3-14 will remain largely intact.

Divisions 15 (Mechanical) and 16 (Electrical) will be eliminated, and their content will be divided among a proposed group of new divisions containing expanded content for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing.

Two new divisions, covering Communications and Life Safety and Facility Protection, will be created.

Divisions 15 through 20, and other divisions throughout the proposed expansion, will be left blank as placeholders for new divisions dedicated to topics that may arise in the future.

For further details, go to www.csinet.org (website).

Publication date: 03/25/2002