A chaotic situation in construction prevailed in USA in 1947 after world war II. Substantial construction activities were undertaken to provide housing, offices, schools, infrastructure and other facilities. The rush from the drawing board to the field to meet with the increasing demand of construction made several government and engineering organizations to provide their own ways of preparing specifications, the basic language of construction. There was overall chaos in construction industry. The different practices among architects, engineers and others brought confusion with consequent waste of time and money. A common specification method was urgently needed to bring order out of chaos.

A group of concerned architects and others from the construction industry recognized the need to minimize the problems caused by lack of uniformity in construction documents. They were keen to bring order from chaos, and to enable the practitioners to be more efficient and to establish clear communication among all the participants of the construction, namely owner, designer, supplier and constructor. CSI USA was then established in 1948 to facilitate the speed, quality and cost effectiveness of construction. The current membership of CSI USA is over 18,000 strong. It has over 140 national chapters.

According to CSI USA, "Specifications define the quality of materials, products, and workmanship on construction requirements and activities, upon which the construction contract is based".

The Institute has over a period of years brought out standard publications on uniform system for organizing Project Cost Data, Drawing Objects, Filing Product and Technical Information and Construction Market Data. In addition to establishing a standardized system for construction industry, CSI USA expanded its mission of communication, education, research and services to become the leading association for construction documentation.

The Institute's Strategic Plan was finalized in 1999 and uses four planning horizons namely Ten-year assumptions, the 10-to 30-year strategic direction, the three-to five year strategic plan, and a one- to three-year operation plan. The Big, Audacious Goal states "CSI USA will be recognized worldwide as the indispensable resource for knowledge on the process of creating and sustaining the built environment".

The Institute's III stresses the enabling power of technology for integrating construction information. Its purpose is to improve communication of construction information between all participants permitting more informed decisions while improving the utilization of resources.

Master Format: This 16 - division format has been widely accepted by the construction industry in the US and Canada since its introduction in 1963. It fulfills the users' need for flexibility and consistency. The MasterFormat organizes construction requirements and activities in a standardized sequence. It is a master list of numbers and titles for arranging project manuals containing bidding requirements, contracting requirements and specifications. It is extensively used for identifying product data, cost estimating, drawing elements, construction market data and facility management. It is applicable to all categories of projects from residential to nuclear construction.

Section Format: It provides a format for the arrangement of specification text into a 3-part format. It describes clearly the function and content of each of the 3 parts. It includes a list of article titles and subject matter for each part.

Page Format: It recommends the arrangement of text on a specification page. It provides a system for designing articles, paragraphs, and subparagraphs. It includes guidance for page numbering, margin, and other aspects of formatting.

Uni Format: It is a classification system for organizing the basic systems and assemblies used to construct a project. It is designed for use during the early stages of development before particular materials or methods have been determined. It serves as a basis for organizing preliminary project descriptions and preliminary cost estimates. The UniFormat has a complementary relationship with MasterFormat in applications such as Project Manuals and Cost Estimating.

It provides the industry standard for the arrangement, terminology, and style of construction. The Manual is a comprehensive resource for organizing and preparing concise and accurate construction documents. It contains information on Construction Documents Fundamentals and Formats, Construction Specifications Practice, Construction Product Representation and Construction Contract Administration. The Manual of Practice is the required resource for CSI USA's Certification programs. The Manual refers to MasterFormat extensively.

It has various interrelated modules consisting of standards, guidelines and other tools for organization and presentation of manual and CAD drawings. It provides uniformity for graphical information in drawings used for the planning, design, construction and operation of facilities.