Many large design firms are likely to switch soon to the Construction Specification Institute's latest system for classifying construction information, known as MasterFormat 2004. But smaller firms will likely take a "wait-and-see" approach that could prolong the industry's transition to the new standard, according to a recent study by two Brigham Young University educators.

In a report written by professors Kevin R. Miller and D. Mark Hutchings, 76% of firms responding to a survey conducted last year said they plan to switch to the latest edition, mostly by the year-end. Researchers pulled a random sampling of 200 firms from ENR's Top 500 list (ENR 4/18 p. 42). Of them, 114 agreed to participate.

The study also draws a link between the size of a firm and its eagerness to change. As revenue decreases, the percentage of non-adopters increases. "They don't want to take all the time and money to switch their specs if it is going to flop like the metric thing did," Miller speculates.

Firms Planning To Adopt MasterFormat 2004
Category
Firms in Category
Using MF 1995 Adopting
MF 2004 		Not Adopting Don't Know

%
Adopting

 % Not
Adopting
A
20
18
11
5
2
61.1
27.8
AE
18
16
15
1
93.8
6.3
CE
40
20
13
6
1
65.0
30.0
E
4
3
1
2
33.3
66.7
EA
19
17
16
1
94.1
5.9
EC
4
1
1
100.0
0.0
0
9
4
3
1
75.0
Total
114
79
60
15
4
75.9
19.0
mf=MasterFormat; a=Architect; ae=architect-engineer; ce=contractor-engineer; e=Engineer; ea=engineer-architect; ec=engineer-contractor; o=other
SOURCE: Kevin R. Miller and D. Mark Hutchings, Brigham Young University

Nearly 94% of integrated architecture and engineering firms said they plan to adopt the new version, while only 61% of "pure" architecture firms may do so. Sources say one reason for this trend may be the necessity to share information among a variety of consultants that may not have adopted the new system. "A pure architecture firm is not in a position to effectively legislate the change," says Martin Bloomenthal, principal of Princeton, N.J.-based architecture firm Hillier Group. The firm officially switched to MasterFormat 2004 on Jan 1.

Karl Borgstrom, CSI's executive director, says the group expected adoption to take at least two to three years. "This [study] indicates that it is going a lot faster," he says.

Updated from 1995, the new version is a big change, users say. Previous editions focused on buildings, using five-digit placeholders organized into 16 divisions. But the new version, with six digits and 50 divisions, has "space" for more construction information, allowing the inclusion of civil, transportation and industrial projects.