Unveiling The New MasterFormat 2004 Edition

Expanded and Reorganized, the New MasterFormat Provides Architects and Owners with Tools that Save Time and Money
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Why MasterFormat 1995 Needed Updating
  • A proliferation of various versions of "Division 17" that were beingdeveloped in building automation and controls, information technology systems, communications, railroad construction, subway construction, and heavy civil engineering. This indicated that MasterFormat 1995 was not meeting the needs of the industry.


  • MasterFormat 1995 was overcrowded in many Divisions

  • MasterFormat 1995 would not continue to be able to adequately address the needs of building engineering and facility services

  • MasterFormat 1995 did not adequately address facility management and operations activities for the whole life cycle of construction projects

  • MasterFormat 1995 did not adequately address the needs of construction other than building construction, such as civil engineering or construction for process engineering

  • MasterFormat 1995 did not adequately address electronic communications and controls

  • MasterFormat 1995 had inconsistencies in its structure and organization

  • MasterFormat 1995 had in some Divisions become more of a product listing system than a system for organizing project manuals, as was originally intended

Users also have tacked non-standard divisions, such as Division 17, on to the 1995 edition's 16 divisions. Officially, there is no such thing as Division 17, but many different versions of it have been created in organizations across the country. They cover everything from telecommunications to railway track work to traffic signaling devices. The evolution of Division 17 reflects the inability of some users to properly determine subject matter locations, or to find a location that suited what they were attempting to specify.

Even with a Band-Aid like Division 17, critical project information could be misplaced or left out entirely, resulting in costly and time-consuming change orders, errors, and omissions. The inconsistent use of non-standard MasterFormat numbers for subjects not covered by the 16-division structure diminishes construction coordination, and users of construction documents pay for the inconsistencies in time spent searching for information, or the consequences of overlooking information that is improperly located. The old 16-division format, designed for buildings 40 years ago, also proved to be inadequate for horizontal construction work and the complex process engineering construction of today. Consequently, the 2004 Edition has expanded the existing 16-structure division and provided specification locations for categories not offered before, such as heavy civil engineering projects (roads, bridges, tunnels, utilities, etc.), and industrial construction (factories and power plants).

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record.
Originally published in March 2005

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