Uniclass

Uniclass is a voluntary classification system for the construction industry that can be used for all aspects of the design and construction process, including; organising documents in libraries, structuring project information, cost information, specifications, and so on. It was created in 1997 by Construction Project Information committee (CPIC).

Uniclass consists of 16 tables, some of which are derived from other classification systems such as CAWS, EPIC and CI/SfB:

A - Form of information
B - Subject disciplines
C - Management
D - Facilities
E - Construction entities
F - Spaces
G - Elements for buildings
H - Elements for civil engineering works
J - Work sections for buildings
K - Work sections for civil engineering works
L - Construction Products
M - Construction aids
N - Properties and characteristics
P - Materials
Q - Universal Decimal Classification
Z - Computer Aided Draughting

Uniclass Online a digitised, free edition of the Uniclass was made available by the The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the CPI in 2012. Uniclass Online was funded by the Technology Strategy Board and intended to provide “…a free and integrated construction classification system to assist construction professionals, particularly those committed to Building Information Modelling (BIM) …” (Ref RIBA News)

However, Uniclass has been criticised for not being genuinely unified, for inconsistencies between the labelling and depth of tables, for poor integration of civil engineering and building works and for being an essentially paper-based system. CPI undertook a consultation on proposed changes to address some of these issues, and published a new version, Uniclass 2 based on the following classification:

Co - Complexes
En - Entities
Ac - Activities
Sp - Spaces
EF - Entities by Form
Ee - Elements
Ss - Systems
Pr - Products
Zz - CAD
PP - Project Phases

See Uniclass 2 for more information.

However, Following feedback received about Uniclass 2, changes were made, and a new version, Uniclass 2015 released. The most significant change is the removal of the Work Results table.

NB the New Rules of Measurement (NRM2) has moved away from the common arrangement of work sections (CAWS - now incorporated into Table J of Uniclass) that was adopted by the Standard Method of Measurement (SMM7) and has adopted its own system of indexing.