CEDAR RAPIDS, IA-A major proponent of the CSI MasterFormat 2004 (MF04) expansion and implementation since the revisions began eight years ago, NSCA has made a further commitment to increasing awareness of the new specification by developing a series of industry how-to tools with Hall Architects. The first educational offerings were launched in late September, and NSCA has already begun accrediting five instructors who will be available for custom training programs.
In collaboration with Dennis Hall of Hall Architects, who was chairman of the MasterFormat Expansion Task Team (MFETT) alongside Chuck Wilson, NSCA executive director and chairman of the Facility Services Workgroup, NSCA will provide four phases of educational offerings in its MasterFormat Program.
It is with the long-term outlook in mind that NSCA and Hall Architects are educating the industry on MF04 divisions 25, 27, and 28, those most pertaining to the electronic systems industry. The resources and training will be made available through NSCA's A/E Toolkit (www.aetoolkit.org), which also provides other tools and information for the architect and engineering community.
The first phase of the MasterFormat Program consists of the development of FAQs providing information on topics ranging from basic explanations of MF04 to very specific changes present in divisions 25, 27, and 28. Also in development is a "mini manual" which will provide MasterFormat history and the revision's effects on the commercial electronics industry. The mini manual will be separated by technological terms or by division title so that those used to locating information in MasterFormat 95 by either of these methods will be able to quickly locate the correlating information in MF04.
Phase two will result in the provision of MF04 guide specifications as reference points to all of those in the industry. The guide specifications will provide members with the framework to develop and/or respond to specifications in a standardized format.
Phase three will be a MasterFormat Program webinar series and accompanying study guides tailored to professionals within the commercial electronic systems industry, available late this fall.
The fourth phase of the MasterFormat program, custom on-site training for companies, is available to build into training schedules now.
