Today I had the honor of hosting the first meeting for CSI's
Specifying Practice Group. Nearly 200 people have joined the group and over 70
participated in the first meeting. CSI staff commented that this is an
excellent turnout. If you missed it, you may still join the group by
registering at http://bit.ly/8ZdfJK. Once registered you will receive notices of future meetings.
The topic, MasterFormat™ 2004, drew the crowd because the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)
announced that, effective January 1, 2010, the 1995 edition of the industry
standard format would no longer be supported. By removing all support, CSI is
encouraging the industry-wide adoption of the current standard - already
celebrating its fifth birthday, so it is hardly new anymore.
CSI's MasterFormat Maintenance Task Team will be publishing
the first of the future annual updates in February 2010. The update will
include new section numbers and titles requested by users to ensure the
document remains current with industry trends and general usage. Any interested
party can submit requests for revisions or additions to MasterFormat by
visiting http://masterformat.com.
The discussion during the group meeting was delightful. We
heard success stories and difficulties with unyielding bureaucratic government
agencies. Groups and individuals turned MasterFormat 2004 into an
educational opportunity to improve relations with their consultants, clients,
and other industry associations. We learned how one government agency Port of
Portland lead the way in adopting and implementing MasterFormat 2004.
For notes of the first meeting, visit the CSI Blog at http://blog.csinet.org.
The first meeting is history, my butterflies are gone, my recalcitrant mouse will be replaced. So, mark your calendar, for the first Thursday of each month. Join the Discussion. I invite everyone to attend. This is not just for
specifiers.
Here is the presentation that helped spur the discussion.
Scroll through using the arrow button below and share your comments here.