The institute is dedicated to improving the communication of construction information through a diversified membership base of allied professionals involved in the creation and management of the built environment, continuous development and transformation of standards and formats, education and certification of professionals to improve project delivery processes, and creation of practice tools to assist users throughout the facility life-cycle.
BSD is involved in the development and maintenance of several of CSI format documents including MasterFormat, UniFormat, and OmniClass, all of which relate to specifications and cost estimating.
In 2017, BSD was the subject of a management buy-out backed by Caltius, leaving CSI with a minority stake in the business.
[4] In June 2019, BSD was acquired by Germany-based RIB Software, but will maintain its relationships with CSI and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC).
Since its debut under another title in 1963, MasterFormat consisted of 16 Divisions representing broad categories of construction, such as Masonry, Concrete, Electrical, Finishes, or Mechanical.
In November 2004, a revised edition of MasterFormat was published that expanded the categories to 50 Divisions, reflecting the growing complexity of the construction industry, incorporation of a broader array of construction project types, and addition of facility life cycle and maintenance information into the classification.
With this expansion, MasterFormat was positioned to help facilitate Building Information Modeling (BIM) to contain project specifications.
PageFormat provides a recommended style guide for presenting the titles and content of construction specifications sections as described by SectionFormat.
The identification of the criteria, standards, and applicable certifications using GreenFormat provides designers, constructors, and building operators an effective way to evaluate the sustainable characteristics of materials, products, and processes for selection purposes.
Administered by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), the NCS coordinates these CAD-related publications to allow consistent and streamlined communication among owners and design/construction teams.
The successful communication of a project design depends on the creation of a complete and coordinated set of construction documents both graphical and written.
First awarded in 1986, the CDT is a comprehensive overview for anyone who writes, interprets, enforces, or manages construction documents.
Awarded since 1978, the Certified Construction Specifier (CCS) certification demonstrates excellence and experience in specifications and contract document preparation.