Green building is an accelerating trend in school construction. According to McGraw-Hill’s Green Outlook 2011 report, education is showing significant increases in green building, particularly with bigger projects. The report attributes green building’s rapid expansion largely to growing public awareness and an increase in local and federal government regulations.
Sustainable buildings benefit educational institutions by leading to healthier learning environments and lower energy and water use. However, the trend toward environmental sustainability involves a learning curve for architects, engineers, construction managers and other professionals involved in institutional building projects. When design and construction professionals communicate and collaborate more effectively, it can make project delivery, including green building, more efficient.
For decades, MasterFormat has facilitated communication among building professionals to make the project delivery process smoother. Often called the “Dewey Decimal System” of the construction industry, MasterFormat’s original purpose was to provide a standard framework for organizing construction documents. Today, in addition to serving that purpose, it is used to index, organize and retrieve information throughout a project’s life-cycle. It is also a necessary component in all of the Building Information Management initiatives.
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) maintain this tool for organizing construction documents to reflect changes in industry practices.
Evolving Standard
During the process of designing and constructing an institutional building, many parties need to exchange design and construction data, so they can coordinate their activities. Green building often adds standards and regulations, as well as new building materials and practices. In order to communicate efficiently on building projects, including green buildings, design and construction professionals need a detailed, standard set of construction documents that keeps pace with the changing industry.
In the spring of 2010, CSI and CSC released the latest update of MasterFormat, which helps architects, engineers, specifiers, and other professionals organize project specifications, including environmentally-related specifications, with greater precision. MasterFormat 2010 Update builds on the progress that CSI and CSC made when they released the 50-division overhaul of MasterFormat in 2004. And many firms are adopting the latest updates. Industry estimates place the adoption rate of the latest edition of MasterFormat at 65 percent.
The 2010 update incrementally changes MasterFormat 2004 to further improve communication on a project. (CSI and CSC designed the 50-division format of MasterFormat 2004 to easily accommodate new divisions and changes.)
MasterFormat evolves as project delivery methods and materials advance. When changes are made to the way the construction industry operates, CSI and CSC respond by updating MasterFormat. As a result of the changes in 2004 and the 2010 update, more issues can be addressed at the beginning of a project via better specifications, which may help reduce the number of change orders and delays during construction.
More Complete Specifications
Many educational institutions have recognized the value that MasterFormat adds to their construction projects. They are using the standard to specify the products they will need, and to help all of the professionals involved in their projects communicate more efficiently.
A white paper published by CSI and CSC about the implementation of MasterFormat 2004 included examples of those who have adopted the 50-division format in the education sector. The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which assists with construction and renovation of K-12 educational facilities, used MasterFormat numbers and titles to organize the Ohio School Design Manual released in August 2006. In addition, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities defined specification requirements based on MasterFormat in its October 2005 edition of the Facilities Design Standards.
The white paper also cited a testimonial from Schenkel & Shultz, Inc., a design firm that has helped K-12 schools systems in Florida convert their guideline specifications to MasterFormat. According to the firm, MasterFormat has provided several benefits, including the clarification of work results between plumbing and HVAC. In addition, the firm could better define facility services infrastructure, because MasterFormat included separate Communications and Electronic Safety and Security divisions outside of the Electrical Work division.
MasterFormat 2010 Update is the first version of the guide to be released under its new annual revision cycle. In the future, MasterFormat will continue to be updated on an annual schedule, ensuring that it continues to meet the evolving construction industry’s needs. The annual revision process allows CSI to respond to industry needs quickly, and it allows users to anticipate changes and suggest revisions to MasterFormat. The results of the latest annual revision review workshop will be announced this spring.
As green building standards continue to be adopted by A/E firms and educational institutions all over the United States and Canada, MasterFormat will help aid project delivery by making it easier for industry professionals to communicate with each other with more complete specifications. To learn more about MasterFormat, order a copy of the standard, or suggest changes to its next edition, please visit www.masterformat.com.
Robert S. Weygant, CSI, CDT, SCIP, is President of the Construction Specifications Institute’s New Hampshire Chapter and Chair of CSI’s BIM Practice Group, and he serves on CSI’s Technical Committee.