home pageThe Big Picture, part 5by Sheldon Wolfe, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA |
OCCS and MasterFormat |
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Now that we've looked at some of the issues related to MasterFormat - organization, consistency, and Level 4 identifiers - and to the proposed Overall Construction Classification System (OCCS), let's see if we can put all of them together. As noted before, it would be great if we could develop a completely new, all-encompassing, logical, and consistent system for identifying construction products and services. The result, however, would be extremely difficult to implement, as it would require throwing out most of what we now have. Our master guide specifications would have to be rewritten from scratch, and the financial impact on manufacturers and information aggregators would be overwhelming. In fact, if such a system were developed, I suspect it would be totally ignored. But what if most of the problems we discussed could be resolved by slight modification of MasterFormat? And what if the result could become one of the Tables in OCCS? Obviously, any change would require some work on the part of specifiers, manufacturers, and information aggregators, but the benefits could easily outweigh the costs. an interesting proposalConsider a section numbering system with this format:
where digits 11 represent the Division (the same as MasterFormat Level 1), digit 2 indicates Level 2, 33 indicates Level 3, and 444 indicates Level 4. An example of such a number would be 08210-246. Depending on how the Level 4 numbers were assigned, this could represent a flush wood door with some other specific characteristics. Adding three digits (which is allowed by MasterFormat) creates a possible 1,000 Level 4 identifiers for each Level 3 category. Some rearrangement of sections and numbers might be required to increase consistency, but this relatively simple solution would go a long way toward addressing the problems we discussed. These numbers could be used with aecXML (extended markup language for the architecture-engineering-construction community) as hidden attributes. They could also be used as part of the formal section title - or it could be truncated at five digits, the result being section titles and numbers that vary little from what we now use. If we extend this thinking, we can go to five, six, or more Levels. None of them would need to appear in the section title, but would be carried in the hidden attributes of the file. Consider this format:
An example of such a number would be 08210-AAA-11011-01010-AA. It isn't hard to see that the sixth Level could be used by manufacturers to designate specific combinations of model and options, with the seventh Level used to denote revision numbers. The number of distinct identifiers runs into the millions! And again, the numbers could be truncated at five or even eight digits for people, while the computers dealt with the whole string. With this degree of consistency and granularity, MasterFormat would be adaptable as a table in a larger classification system. bringing in the mavericksWe also discussed the perceived needs of other design professionals, notably those in horizontal construction, process engineering, and telecommunications. Adding a few more Divisions, and shifting a relatively small number of existing sections would incorporate those needs in a logical way, one that would satisfy them yet have minimal impact on those who already use MasterFormat. Consider these new Divisions:
Some sections, primarily in Divisions 2, 15, and 16, would be relocated to the new divisions for consistency, and some might have to be changed to fit better into a hierarchy, but for the most part, MasterFormat would look much like it does now. This proposal is not whimsical. It addresses all of the problems we discussed, with little impact on existing MasterFormat when compared to the benefits. Obviously, it can be refined, and other proposals might accomplish the same end. It also seems possible to use MasterFormat as part of the OCCS, which means that adoption of a new classification system would not require abandoning everything we have and starting over. The point is that we can accommodate, with relatively little pain, construction work that is presently done outside of MasterFormat. To continue merrily on our way without incorporating that work will result in a multiplicity of organization systems, and MasterFormat will be ignored by those who are ignored by CSI. © 2001 Sheldon Wolfe, RA, CSI,
CCS, CCCA, swolfe@bwbr.com |
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