Construction Specifications Institute

The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) is an organization that maintains and advances the standarization of construction language as pertains to building specifications. The CSI provides structured guidelines for specification writing in their , (formerly called the Manual of Practice (MOP)).

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CSI authored MasterFormat, which is an indexing system for organizing construction data, specifically construction specifications. For more than 40 years MasterFormat consisted of 16 Divisions of construction, such as Masonry, Electrical, Finishes, or Mechanical. In November 2004, MasterFormat was expanded to 50 Divisions, reflecting the growing complexity of the construction industry, as well as the need to incorporate facility life cycle and maintenance information into the building knowledge base. In this way, MasterFormat facilitates Building Information Modeling (BIM). The standard serves as the organizational structure for construction industry publications such as the Sweets catalog, and MasterSpec, a popular specification software.

Related Topics:
MasterFormat - 16 Divisions - 50 Divisions - BIM

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CSI's Uniform Drawing System comprises the largest part of the National CAD Standard (NCS), together with the American Institute of Architects (AIA)'s CAD Layer Guidelines, and Tri-services Plotting Guidelines. Administered by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), the NCS coordinates these CAD-related publications to allow consistent and streamlined communication among owners and design/construction teams.

Related Topics:
NCS - AIA - NIBS

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