The next year, CSI’s board reviewed the first proposal on a division/section concept for a uniform construction document. Committee work was consequently approved, leading to the first “CSI Format for Building Specifications” in May 1963. Its structure was designed to serve as a checklist, simplifying the search for a particular material or process, and minimizing the risk of overlooking items. The initial divisions will be familiar to anyone who used MasterFormat 1995:
- Division 01-General Requirements
- Division 02-Site Work
- Division 03-Concrete
- Division 04-Masonry
- Division 05-Metals: Structural and Miscellaneous
- Division 06-Carpentry
- Division 07-Moisture Protection
- Division 08-Doors, Windows, and Glass
- Division 09-Finishes
- Division 10-Specialties
- Division 11-Equipment
- Division 12-Furnishings
- Division 13-Special Construction
- Division 14-Conveying Systems
- Division 15-Mechanical
- Division 16-Electrical
AIA approved the CSI Format, recommending it as the basis for their members’ future specifications. Similarly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks, and NASA adopted the system. CSI Format’s success served as a catalyst for further collaboration with other groups, including ASTM International, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), and the Specification Writers Association of Canada (SWAC). This last organization would later grow to become Construction Specifications Canada (CSC)—the co-publisher of the format’s descendent, MasterFormat.
Nelson A. Rockefeller, governor of New York, appreciated the uniformity promised by the CSI Format, demanding all state agencies responsible for design, planning, and construction to adopt its use.
“It … will mean greater accuracy of bidding, and improved control of project development, and greater use of time-saving techniques, while enabling improved cost accounting,” the future vice-president said. “Overall, use of the CSI Format will permit realization of greater efficiency in project development.”
In 1978, CSI and CSC unveiled MasterFormat, providing a master list of numbers and titles for organizing construction requirements, products, and activities into a standard sequence. It became the industry standard for storing, retrieving, and presenting information. Updated through the years, MasterFormat’s greatest overhaul came with the 2004 edition that moved from 16 divisions to 50 (some were left blank for future technologies). Conceived as a “living,” evolving document, MasterFormat 04 expanded the construction-focused “Dewey Decimal System” to include all aspects of the built environment, including site and infrastructure, facility services, and other facets across projects’ lifecycles.
