engineering

Uniformat

Uniformat is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Uniformat rather than just read about it. In short: Uniformat is a standard for classifying building specifications, cost estimating, and cost analysis in the U.S. and Canada. The elements are major components common to most buildings.

Key takeaways

Uniformat belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Uniformat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Uniformat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Uniformat is a standard for classifying building specifications, cost estimating, and cost analysis in the U.S. and Canada. The elements are major components common to most buildings. The system can be used to provide consistency in the economic evaluation of building projects. It was developed through an industry and government consensus and has been widely accepted as an ASTM standard.

History Hanscomb Associates, a cost consultant, developed a system called MASTERCOST in 1973 for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which is responsible for government buildings, was also developing a system. The AIA and GSA agreed on a system and named it UNIFORMAT. The AIA included it in their practice on construction management, and the GSA included it in their project estimating requirements. In 1989, ASTM International began developing a standard for classifying building elements, based on UNIFORMAT. It was renamed to UNIFORMAT II. In 1995, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) began to revise Uniformat. UniFormat is now a registered trademark of CSI and CSC and was most recently published in 2010. A new strategy to classify the built environment, named OmniClass, incorporates the elemental building classification in its Table 21 Elements. The numbering system is changed in OmniClass.

Uniformat level 1 categories A SUBSTRUCTURE B SHELL C INTERIORS D SERVICES E EQUIPMENT AND FURNISHINGS F SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION G BUILDING SITEWORK Z GENERAL

Uniformat levels 2 and 3 categories An example of how the numbering system expands to provide additional detail below level 1 is shown for A SUBSTRUCTURE

A10 FOUNDATIONS A1010 Standard Foundations A1020 Special Foundations A40 SLABS-ON-GRADE A4010 Standard Slabs-on-Grade A4020 Structural Slabs-on-Grade A4030 Slab Trenches A4040 Pits and Bases A4090 Slab-on-Grade Supplementary Components

CSI/CSC UniFormat level 1 numbers and titles PROJECT DESCRIPTION A SUBSTRUCTURE B SHELL C INTERIORS D SERVICES E EQUIPMENT AND FURNISHINGS F SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION G BUILDING SITEWORK Z GENERAL

References

External links Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) Specifications Institute (CSI)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Uniformat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Uniformat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Uniformat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Uniformat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Uniformat

In research: Uniformat appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Uniformat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Uniformat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1973 introductions, American Institute of Architects, Construction Specifications Institute, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Uniformat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Uniformat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Uniformat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Uniformat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Uniformat in simple terms?

Uniformat is a standard for classifying building specifications, cost estimating, and cost analysis in the U.S. and Canada. The elements are major components common to most buildings.

Why does Uniformat matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Uniformat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Uniformat.