Review Committee - Article
This article was written with permission of the Construction Specifications Institute 99 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314 from the Construction Specifier.
A Quiet Group with a Big Impact
Four times each year, a group of men and women gather in an upstairs room near our nation’s capitol and spend several long days pouring over documents that most U.S. citizens would find undecipherable. They do this of their own accord. The results of their efforts are not kept secret; in fact, they are published throughout our industry. This particular group of men and women are members of the MasterSpec® Architectural Review Committee (MARC), a standing committee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that has worked for over 35 years to help develop and refine this library of specification documents and the related hypertext reference materials known as the Supporting Documents. In the adjoining windowless room, a similar group known only as the MasterSpec Engineering Review Committee (MERC) often meets simultaneously. These groups, unknown to many in the industry, are the subject of the following expose. We begin by explaining the focus and result of their efforts.
What is MasterSpec?
MasterSpec is a subscription master guide specification library. It is owned by the American Institute of Architects and is written and published under a licensing agreement by ARCOM, Architectural Computer Systems, Inc., who is responsible for MasterSpec content and distribution. ARCOM has been associated with MasterSpec for over 30 years. The MasterSpec library consists of over 360 architectural and 200 engineering master guide specifications sections and supporting documents that assist specifiers in evaluating products and properly specifying them. Each section is published in Full Language, Short Form, and Outline versions, constituting a library of over 2,200 documents. The sections are updated on a three- to four- year cycle, with the updates, interim revisions, and new sections included in quarterly issues to licensed users. There are over 10,000 MasterSpec licensed users in the US and abroad. Construction projects developed by these design professionals total over one-half trillion US dollars annually.
Who writes MasterSpec?
ARCOM’s staff writers are highly experienced architects, engineers, and specifiers who are subject matter experts and specialists in their selected topics. They represent the design professions on industry standards committees and participate in industry research. They are also frequently involved in CSI activities on a chapter and national level; several have been elevated to Fellow. ARCOM staff writers are regularly assisted by consultant specialists who may focus on developing new sections addressing evolving areas of construction practice.
Whose products are listed in MasterSpec?
Many MasterSpec sections include lists of national manufacturers offering products that may meet the requirements of the section. Manufacturers whose qualifying products are distributed throughout the US may be included in MasterSpec. To protect the objectivity of specification content, no manufacturer fees are involved. Products are classified according to CSI MasterFormat.
Who serves on the review committees?
All review committee members are MasterSpec licensed users, with adequate experience and passion for specifications and quality architectural practice. They are architects, engineers, interior designers, and specifiers, large and small firm members, and independent specifications consultants, with widely varying practices located throughout the country. In addition to the 6 MARC committee members appointed by the AIA each year, meetings frequently include from 6 to 8 alternate members, participants who donate their time and fund their own expenses in order to contribute to the review and development of MasterSpec. Younger practitioners are often invited to observe and participate; in fact, the committee is often referred to as a “graduate school of specifying.” Most members and attendees are CSI members with CCS credentials.
Representatives of the AIA staff attend opening sessions of the MARC and MERC in order to assist in communication between the committees and other groups, including the AIA Contract Documents Committee. MasterSpec is developed in close coordination with the components of AIA contract documents, utilizing the same language, definitions, and details of contractual relationships.
When new sections are developed or major enhancements proposed to specialized sections, it is not uncommon for the committee to invite subject matter experts to assist in the review of draft sections. Such consultants have recently assisted in review of masonry rehabilitation, security glazing, and detention sections.
What is the review process like?
Committee members devote many hours to reviewing existing sections and new section drafts prior to the committee meeting. Member reviews often include seeking input from their regional manufacturer representatives, who bring insight in applications, comparable products, and project-specific issues. In making comments on the content of the sections and their supporting documents, members apply CSI’s “Four Cs” of clear, complete, concise, and correct in seeking to make MasterSpec section content more understandable, less prone to error by inexperienced users, and reflective of current market conditions. ARCOM and MARC make necessary judgments on appropriate section content, and remain aware of the varying levels of quality and differing emphases that manufacturers address when developing and marketing products, but seek to avoid any semblance of advantage or disadvantage toward certain products. The committee makes recommendations on the content of a section’s Editor’s Notes, which assist the specifier in selecting built-in options and choosing materials and products. We also review the content of the Supplementary Documents. These include the Evaluations, which are invaluable aids to understanding materials and products, and the Drawing and Specification Coordination Sheets, which many users use as part of their project quality control programs. The ultimate focus of the review is service to the MasterSpec licensed user.
The committee frequently recommends the development of new sections, such as the soon-to-be published Division 7 sections on air barriers. They occasionally recommend retirement of sections featuring materials no longer in use. Sections are sometimes combined to reflect specifier use, and sometimes split due to evolving complexity in the marketplace. They discuss emerging areas of product development, current best practices, and risk management issues. In recent years, the committee has participated in major upgrades to Division 1 sections, integration of LEED requirements, development of a Detention Library, and beta testing of MasterSpec’s electronic editing tools,
In a typical MARC meeting, the committee will review 20 specifications sections and supplementary documents totaling over 1,000 pages. Most pages will receive attention. For efficiency’s sake, they review standard and repeated text only once. Occasionally, a hot topic will emerge resulting in lengthy discussion, even continuing to ongoing email conversation following the meeting. Members sometimes prepare presentations on topics they feel need special attention from the committee. The committee, like any such group, has its own culture, inside humor (yes, there is humor to be found in specifications), and a propensity for chocolate supplied by ARCOM staff.
Given the impact of MARC efforts on the construction industry, it sometimes feels a little daunting to participate in this process. Like architectural and engineering practice, the committee’s efforts are never perfect and always changing. As an evolutionary process, the resulting product is always improving, while remaining responsive to an industry undergoing rapid change. But every member agrees that it is an enormously worthwhile experience and a vital part of their professional development to interact with this group of specifications professionals and to participate in such valuable industry service. It strikes to the core of CSI’s values.
Philip W. Kabza, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA, is a principal and director of technical services with SpecGuy, providing specifications consulting, continuing education program development, and training services to architects, engineers, and building product manufacturers at www.SpecGuy.com. Specguy is the publisher of CDT One Day at a Time and is an authorized MasterSpec trainer.
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