Explore the different coding schemas used in the construction industry, including OmniClass, Uniformat, and Master Format, and understand their relevance to different stages of design and development. Learn about the transition from the 16 division coding schema CSI-95 to the 50 divisions of Master Format, and why it's essential to be familiar with both systems despite CSI-95's lack of continued support.
Key Insights
- OmniClass is a schema provided with Revit, a building information modeling software that offers a significant amount of metadata to support construction projects.
- Uniformat is used in conceptual estimating, allowing costs to be calculated based on metrics like surface area, but eventually needs to transition to Master Format, the final coding category for any estimate.
- Although the 16 division coding schema CSI-95 is no longer supported, it's crucial to understand it as it occasionally appears on bid forms, and professionals may need to translate it into the more widely used 50 division Master Format system.
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Let's take a look at format types. Although there's several coding schemas that are widely used throughout the country and designed in the construction industry, many of them are related to different stages of design and development, also known as LODs. One of them that's provided with Revit is called OmniClass.
It provides a suitable structure to some extent, and Autodesk Revit is the actual building information modeling that not only has the three dimensions of anything in construction, but it also has a significant amount of metadata that will support the project going forward. Uniformat would be one that's utilized by conceptual estimating, where actually instead of everything being a square foot cost of the building, it could be a square foot cost based on surface area, just as an example. Now the uniformat can be utilized throughout conceptual estimating, but at some point needs to migrate towards master format, which is going to be the final coding category for any estimate.
CSI-95 is the 16 division coding schema that has been utilized strictly up to the year 2004, where then migrated into the 50 divisions for master format. It's no longer supported. It still shows up from time to time on bid forms and so on.
It's important to understand it, even though it's not typically going to be used. Every now and then you're going to come across a client that uses 16 division. It's important that you understand what that is and if you can even cross-reference it into a master format 50 division.
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Then again, we have the 2016 master format, which is widely used throughout the entire industry, with the exception of designers per se. Master format is the industry standard for code structure and will be the system used in our introduction for construction estimating class.
