TACS (Division 17) Efforts Heat Up
Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM
Technology and communication systems and civil engineering were among the groups asked to present proposals on expanding the 2002 version of the construction classification system MasterFormat. The MasterFormat Expansion Task Team asked representatives to present their ideas to the group on September 21, 2001, in Alexandria, Virginia.
From hundreds of proposals, the task team chose to hear more information on the following:
Representing the interests of the NSCA, BICSI, the Building Owners and Managers Association, and the Electronic Systems Alliance was the proposal to list TACS as an independent division.
Representing the interests of NECA was a proposal to redefine the current Division 16 to include TACS.
Representing the interests of numerous civil engineering groups was a proposal to list site preparation, green space preservation and others as independent divisions.
Representing MasterFormat itself was the fiat to ensure that the revised document is compatible with the Overall Construction Classification System.
According to Chuck Wilson, “There is still some uncertainty on how to expand the MasterFormat in a way that is most beneficial to the client. The task team must be very thorough and open to all ideas before making a recommendation to the Construction Specifications Institute Executive Committee.” Several other groups requesting a move or change to their classification will be a part of the task team’s recommendation without needing to present.
After listening to the proposals, the task team must make their final recommendation by December 31. Then it is up to the CSI Executive Committee to make the final decision on how the 2002 MasterFormat will categorize the construction specifications. The approved document will be ratified at the Emergent Building Technologies Conference in February, 2002. Workshops on the revised document will be conducted at the NSCA Expo April 25-27, 2002, in Denver.
The MasterFormat is revised every seven years by CSI with the help of the NSCA and the commercial technology and communication systems industry. More information can be found at www.division17.net.
