MasterFormat is a standard for organizing specifications and other written information for commercial and institutional building projects in the U.S. and Canada. 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 (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.
8-544: MasterFormat is used throughout the construction industry to format specifications for construction contract documents. The purpose of this format is to assist the user in organizing 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
16-455: Is subdivided into a number of Sections. After World War II, building construction specifications began to expand, as more advanced materials and choices were made available. 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
24-520: The 50 divisions of construction information, as defined by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)'s MasterFormat beginning in 2004. Before 2004, MasterFormat consisted of 16 Divisions . MasterFormat has continued to be updated and revised since 2004, with new numbers, titles, and a new division added in 2010 and additional updates completed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. "50 Divisions"
32-543: The design and construction teams a familiar organizational structure. The current MasterFormat Divisions are: PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS GROUP SPECIFICATIONS GROUP General Requirements Subgroup Facility Construction Subgroup Facility Services Subgroup : Site and Infrastructure Subgroup : Process Equipment Subgroup : MASTERFORMAT 2018 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 2016. MASTERFORMAT 2016 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 2014. MASTERFORMAT 2014 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 2012, except
40-466: The following: MASTERFORMAT 2012 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 2010. MASTERFORMAT 2010 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 2004, except the following: MASTERFORMAT 2004 EDITION Changed to 50 Divisions. All divisions were revised. MASTERFORMAT 1995 EDITION Same as MasterFormat 1988 except the following: MASTERFORMAT 1988 EDITION Before November 2004, MasterFormat was composed of 16 Divisions: 50 Divisions 50 Divisions refers to
48-624: The overall organizational structure that makes pulling sections from different sources possible. MasterSpec and SpecText are specifications targeted to construction projects in the United States . NMS is targeted to construction projects in Canada . SpecsIntact is a specification processing system for preparing Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS). UFGS is required for design teams to use on United States Department of Defense and NASA construction projects. Using MasterFormat provides
56-743: The presentation of such information improves communication among all parties involved in construction projects, which helps the project team deliver structures to owners according to their requirements, timelines, and budgets. The ASTM standard for sustainability assessment of building products relies on MasterFormat to organize the data. MasterFormat is an organizational component of Building Systems Design - SpecLink , MasterSpec , SpecText, National Master Specification (NMS), and SpecsIntact systems. Manufacturers will often publish specifications for their products based on MasterFormat. Design teams may maintain office master section based on MasterFormat and pull specifications from multiple sources. MasterFormat provides
64-440: 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. Revised editions were published in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Standardizing
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