MasterFormat

MasterFormat is a standard for organizing specifications and other written information for commercial and institutional building
projects in the U.S. and Canada.[1] Sometimes referred to as the "Dewey Decimal System" of building construction,
MasterFormat is a product of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (http://www.
csc-dcc.ca/) (CSC). It provides a master list of Divisions, and Section numbers with associated titles within each Division, to
organize information about a facility’s construction requirements and associated activities.[2]

MasterFormat is used throughout the construction industry to format specifications for construction contract documents. The
purpose of this format is to assist the user to organize information into distinct groups when creating contract documents, and to
assist the user searching for specific information in consistent locations. The information contained in MasterFormat is organized
in a standardized outline format within 50 Divisions (16 Divisions pre-2004). Each Division is subdivided into a number of
Sections.[3]

Contents
History
Advantages
Current Divisions (June 2018)
Pre-2012 Divisions
Related Organizational Formats
References
External links

History
After World War II, building construction specifications began to expand, as more advanced materials and choices were made
available.[4] The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) was founded in 1948 and began to address the organization of
specifications into a numbering system. In 1963, they published a format for construction specifications, with 16 major divisions
of work. A 1975 CSI publication used the term MasterFormat. The last CSI MasterFormat publication to use the 16 divisions was
in 1995, and this is no longer supported by CSI. In November 2004, MasterFormat expanded from 16 Divisions to 50 Divisions,
reflecting innovations in the construction industry and expanding the coverage to a larger part of the construction industry.[5]
Revised editions were published in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018.[5]

Advantages
Standardizing the presentation of such information improves communication among all parties involved in construction projects.
That helps the project team deliver structures to owners according to their requirements, timelines, and budgets. An indication of
the widespread acceptance of MasterFormat is that the ASTM standard for sustainability assessment of building products relies
on MasterFormat to organize the data.[6] MasterFormat is an integral component of the SpecsIntact system. SpecsIntact
(Specifications Kept Intact), is an automated specification processing system for preparing certain government facility
construction projects using standard master specifications, called Master Text or Masters, supplied by each of three government
agencies. SpecsIntact was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and designed for use by
engineers, architects, interior designers, specification writers, project managers and construction managers. The Naval Facilities
Engineering Command (NAVFAC) and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has also adopted SpecsIntact as their standard
specifications system, greatly facilitating the effort to standardize construction specifications throughout these agencies.[7] These
services utilize MasterFormat from UFGS (United Facilities Guide Specification) sections found on the Whole Building Design
Guide website.

Current Divisions (June 2018)

The current MasterFormat Divisions are:

PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS GROUP

Division 00 — Procurement and Contracting Requirements

SPECIFICATIONS GROUP

General Requirements Subgroup

Division 01 — General Requirements

Facility Construction Subgroup

Division 02 — Existing Conditions

Division 03 — Concrete
Division 04 — Masonry
Division 05 — Metals
Division 06 — Wood, Plastics, and Composites
Division 07 — Thermal and Moisture Protection
Division 08 — Openings
Division 09 — Finishes
Division 10 — Specialties
Division 11 — Equipment
Division 12 — Furnishings
Division 13 — Special Construction
Division 14 — Conveying Equipment
Division 15 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 16 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 17 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 18 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 19 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Facility Services Subgroup:

Division 20 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION

Division 21 — Fire Suppression
Division 22 — Plumbing
Division 23 — Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Division 24 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 25 — Integrated Automation
Division 26 — Electrical
Division 27 — Communications
Division 28 — Electronic Safety and Security
Division 29 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Site and Infrastructure Subgroup:
 Division 30 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 31 — Earthwork
Division 32 — Exterior Improvements
Division 33 — Utilities
Division 34 — Transportation
Division 35 — Waterway and Marine Construction
Division 36 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 37 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 38 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 39 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Process Equipment Subgroup:

Division 40 — Process Interconnections

Division 41 — Material Processing and Handling Equipment
Division 42 — Process Heating, Cooling, and Drying Equipment
Division 43 — Process Gas and Liquid Handling, Purification and Storage Equipment
Division 44 — Pollution and Waste Control Equipment
Division 45 — Industry-Specific Manufacturing Equipment
Division 46 — Water and Wastewater Equipment
Division 47 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Division 48 — Electrical Power Generation
Division 49 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION

Pre-2012 Divisions
MASTERFORMAT 2004 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 2014, except the following:

Division 40 — Process Integration

MASTERFORMAT 1988 EDITION

Same as MasterFormat 1995 except the following:

Division 2 — Sitework
MASTERFORMAT 1995 EDITION

Before November 2004, MasterFormat was composed of 16 Divisions:

Division 1 — General Requirements

Division 2 — Site Construction
Division 3 — Concrete
Division 4 — Masonry
Division 5 — Metals
Division 6 — Wood and Plastics
Division 7 — Thermal and Moisture Protection
Division 8 — Doors and Windows
Division 9 — Finishes
Division 10 — Specialties
Division 11 — Equipment
Division 12 — Furnishings
Division 13 — Special Construction
Division 14 — Conveying Systems
 Division 15 — Mechanical (Ex. Plumbing and HVAC)
Division 16 — Electrical

Related Organizational Formats

SectionFormat is a standard for organizing information within each Section. A Section is divided into three Parts—"general,"
"products," and "execution." Each Part is further organized into a system of Articles and Paragraphs.

A relatively new strategy to classify the built environment, named OmniClass,[8] incorporates the work results classification in its
Table 22 Work Results.

References
1. Mowrer, F. "Development of the fire Data Management System (http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire94/PDF/f9402
9.pdf)" Department of Fire Protection and Engineering, NIST-GCR-94-693, August 1993.
2. Charette, R. and Marshall, A. "Uniformat II Elemental classification for Building Specifications, Cost Estimating,
and Cost Analysis (http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build99/PDF/b99080.pdf)," NIST BFRL Office of applied
Economics, NISTIR6389, October 1999.
3. Ross Spiegel and Dru Meadows, Green Building Materials: A Guide to Product Selection and Specification, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999.
4. Clendining, Warren (2009). "History of Specifications" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130322234436/http://www.t
echnical-expressions.com/mf/spec-history/index.html). Technical Expressions. Archived from the original (http://w
ww.technical-expressions.com:80/mf/spec-history/index.html) on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
5. "What's My MasterFormat Number?" (https://www.csiresources.org/practice/standards/masterformat/masterforma
t-number). CSI. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
6. ASTM Standard E2129-05, 2005, "Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of
Building Products (http://www.astm.org/Standards/E2129.htm)", ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA,
2005, doi:10.1520/E2129-05 (https://doi.org/10.1520%2FE2129-05)
7. Morales, M. "SpecsIntact" National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center, FL
32899, website last accessed May 4, 2009. [1] (http://specsintact.ksc.nasa.gov/webhelp/SIgeneral/MasterFormat
_2004_Edition.htm)
8. "OmniClass" (http://www.omniclass.org/). OmniClass. OCCS Development Committee Secretariat. Retrieved
28 May 2017.

External links
Official website (http://www.masterformat.com)
CSI's Latest information on MasterFormat (https://www.csiresources.org/practice/standards/masterformat)

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This page was last edited on 26 September 2019, at 01:04 (UTC).

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