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**1. History and Acquisitions:**
– CSI founded in March 1948 by government specification writers
– Efforts focused on improving construction specifications quality
– Quickly expanded to include private sector writers
– Acquired Building Systems Design in November 2010
– BSD acquired by RIB Software in June 2019

**2. CSI Standards:**
– MasterFormat: Standardized classification for construction information
– Originally had 16 Divisions, expanded to 50 in 2004
– Facilitates Building Information Modeling (BIM)
– Used in publications like Sweets catalog and MasterSpec
– Helps classify work results and reference safety requirements

**3. CSI Standards Continued:**
– UniFormat: Organized by functional elements in a construction project
– Describes elements without specific means of achievement
– First edition published in 1992
– Levels 1-3 applicable to most project descriptions
– Detailed breakdown provided in Levels 4 and below

**4. CSI Standards Continued:**
– SectionFormat/PageFormat: Arranges construction specification sections into three parts
– Part 1: General, Part 2: Products, Part 3: Execution
– Commonplace in North American construction industry
– SectionFormat published in 1969, updated in 2008
– PageFormat style guide published in 1975, combined with SectionFormat in 2008

**5. CSI Practice Guides:**
– CSI Practice Guide series started in 2011
– Replaced CSI Project Resource Manual and CSI Manual of Practice
– Best practice references for construction professionals
– Provide guidance on various aspects of construction projects
– Third edition of Project Delivery Practice Guide published in 2020
– Construction Specifications Practice Guide, Construction Contract Administration Practice Guide, and Construction Product Representation Practice Guide each focus on specific areas of construction project management and communication.