ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) announced the 2012 updates to MasterFormat®, their flagship product used to organize construction documents for commercial, industrial and institutional building projects in the United States and Canada.

CSI and CSC added 76 new numbers/titles, changed 18 of the existing numbers/titles and deleted three that duplicated other existing numbers/titles.

“After reviewing the latest changes to MasterFormat proposed by its users, CSI and CSC experts made a number of updates, making it even easier to organize project manuals, or store and retrieve project information,” said CSI Executive Director and CEO Walter Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE.

“These changes further refine MasterFormat, ensuring that this standard filing system reflects the evolving needs of the industry and facilitates effective communication between project team members,” said CSC President Bruce J. Gillham, CTR, CCCA.

One of the most significant updates to MasterFormat involves the addition of numerous titles in Division 33 – Utilities. The additions expand coverage of sanitary sewerage and septic systems work:

• Utility Drainage Field (33 36 33) is now Utility Septic Tank Drainage Field (33 36 33), with Utility Septic Tank Tile Drainage Field (33 36 33.13) and Utility Septic Tank Shallow Pressurized Dispersal System (33 36 19.16) added as “children” under it.

• Sanitary Sewerage Lagoons (33 47 23) is now Treatment Lagoons (33 38 00), with the following “children” added: Municipal Wastewater Treatment Lagoons (33 38 13), Industrial Waste Lagoons (33 38 16), Agricultural Waste Lagoons (33 38 23) and Residential Sewerage Lagoons (33 38 26).

• A number of new titles address septic tanks, filters and pumps.

Among the other refinements, CSI and CSC:

• Added three new titles to Division 09 – Finishes: Concrete Staining (09 61 19), Interior Wall Paneling (09 78 00) and Metal Interior Wall Paneling (09 78 13).

• Amended Theater and Stage Equipment (11 61 00) to Broadcast, Theater and Stage Equipment, and added titles to address Lighting Rigging Systems (11 61 33.11), Scenery Rigging Systems (11 61 33.16) and Curtain Systems (11 61 33.19).

• Expanded Operation and Maintenance of Plumbing Piping and Pumps (22 01 10) to include Video Piping Instructions (22 01 10.16), Plumbing Piping Cleaning (22 01 10.51), Plumbing Piping Repairs (22 01 10.61) and Plumbing Piping Relining (22 01 10.62).

The MasterFormat Maintenance Task Team conducts the annual revision cycle process. The team is a committee of volunteers appointed by CSI, CSC and MasterFormat stakeholders ARCAT, ARCOM, Building Systems Design, Inc., Specification Consultants in Independent Practice (SCIP), Digicon and Canadian National Master Specifications (NMS).

The task team’s next annual meeting will take place in August, and results from that meeting are expected to be announced in early 2013.

MasterFormat is a master list of numbers and titles classified by work results or construction practices, used to organize project manuals, detail cost information and relate drawing notations to specifications. By fostering fuller and more detailed construction specifications, MasterFormat is designed to reduce costly changes and delays in projects due to incomplete, misplaced or missing information.

For more information, visit www.masterformat.com.