Goose Eggs, part 2

consistency in the Formats series?

The three formats series documents - MasterFormat, SectionFormat, and PageFormat - are used sequentially. MasterFormat organizes construction information on a large scale, first defining large groups of products by Division, then breaking those groups down into successively smaller groups until Level 4 is reached. At that level, a particular type of product or unit of work, such as a flush wood door or a dishwasher, is defined by a Section.

It is at this point that SectionFormat comes into play. Using the flush wood door as an example, it divides required information into three groups - administrative (general), physical (products), and productive (execution). This organization is not hierarchical; it is simply a division of convenience, though there is a sense of progression from beginning to end of each of the three main parts. PageFormat, which deals with page layout, is of no interest in this discussion.

Although there is general agreement between CSI and CSC on MasterFormat titles, the two organizations use slightly different guidelines for SectionFormat and PageFormat. And SectionFormat, unlike MasterFormat, allows a number of options in its numbering scheme.

Parts

The highest level of organization divides information about a product into three "parts". They appear as PART 1 GENERAL, PART 2 PRODUCTS, and PART 3 EXECUTION - at least in the United States. In Canada, they are 1 General, 2 Products, and 3 Execution. Both countries typically fix the number of parts at three, though some people use a Part 4 for schedules.

No leading zero is used. If a Part is not used, the statement “Not used” is required.

Articles

Articles in specification sections may be numbered in many ways. The most popular are: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3…; 1.01, 1.02, 1.03…; and simply numbering each line. The first and third formats provide open series, while the second limits the number of articles to ninety-nine. The line numbering scheme is also limited if the number of digits is fixed.

PageFormat used to require two digits after the decimal point, but that format is now optional. It is interesting to note that the introduction of computers both made the X.XX format both more useful and more difficult. Numbers in that format are sorted correctly by computers, but more difficult because automatic numbering could not produce such numbers until recently.

Unused addresses are simply left out; a "Not used" statement is not required for article titles. Articles that remain are numbered sequentially, leaving no gaps between adjacent articles.

Paragraphs

Addresses for paragraphs and subparagraphs also vary. One format uses traditional outline addressing: A., 1., a., 1), a)

Another format uses all digits: .1, .1.1, .1.1.1

Finally, using line numbers obviates the need for outline levels and formats. At the same time, it eliminates obvious subordination of information.

None of these addresses use leading zeros, and unused addresses are simply omitted.

And what does all of this mean? Not much, but it does suggest that some of the rules could be made simpler without any loss of functionality. Does it really help to use the note "Not used" for Divisions that are omitted? Or for SectionFormat parts that are not used? Doesn't the use of two-digit Division numbers make it easier to sort sections into directories? Didn't we really change article numbers just because our computers weren't as smart as we were?

And does it really make sense that AA, BB, CC, DD... - instead of AA, AB, AC, AD... - follow Z?

Material from CSI Chapter newsletters used with permission.