MasterFormat - The International Coding System for Construction Resources Information :

MasterFormat is a master list of numbers and titles classified by work results or construction practices, primarily used to organize project manuals, organize detailed cost information and relate drawing notations to specifications.   

Construction projects use many different kinds of delivery methods, products, and installation methods, but one thing is common to all : the need for effective teamwork by the many parties involved to ensure the correct and timely completion of work.

The successful completion of projects requires effective communication amongst the people involved, and that in turn requires easy access to essential project information. Efficient information retrieval is only possible when a standard filing system is used by everyone. MasterFormat provides such a standard filing and retrieval system that can be used throughout the construction industry.       

MasterFormat is a product of The Construction Specifications Institute, USA, which, during the past 50 year’s period, has developed industry standard documents comprising:

• The Project Resource Manual– 5th Edition, Published by McGraw – Hill, USA.

• Formats – MasterFormat, UniFormat, SectionFormat, PageFormat and GreenFormat.

• Uniform Drawing System

MasterFormat - Adopted by the Government of Singapore:

The global consulting firm – AT Kearney, in its 5th Annual Foreign Policy Magazine Globalization Index , has rated Singapore as the most globalized nation in the world.

During the year 2002, the Government of Singapore had taken a decision to adopt MasterFormat as Singapore Standards CP 93: 2002 - Code of Practice for Classification of Construction Resources Information. This standard provides to the construction industry a uniform coding system for classifying information relating to construction products, materials, services and machinery.

As construction projects use a broad range of products and services, there is an even greater need for a classification standard to ensure a consistent and structured way of information exchange and storage to reduce any duplication of work.

The Government of Singapore had reviewed the following international standards before finalizing on MasterFormat.

• Unified Classification for the Construction Industry (Uniclass) Tables L, M and P
• CI / SfB (or SS 376:1995)
• United Nations – Central Product Classification
• United Nations – UN / SPSC
• CSI / CSC MasterFormat (1995 edition)

The Government of Singapore has published Singapore Standards CP 93 :2002 - Code of Practice for Classification of Construction Resources Information (Adpation of CSI / CSC MasterFormat)

MasterFormat - The History

MasterFormat - Singapore Standards CP 93 :2002 Frequently Asked Questions 

MasterFormat - Building Information Modeling

MasterFormat - ASTM E2129 - 10 “Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of Building Products”

MasterFormat - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

MasterFormat - The Manufacturer’s Friend