CI/SfB (Construction Indexing/Samarbetskommittén för Byggnadsfrågor) is a classification system used in the construction industry to organize and manage building information. It was originally developed in Sweden and introduced to the UK by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1961.

History

The CI/SfB system was derived from the Swedish system "Samarbetskommittén för Byggnadsfrågor" (SfB) (meaning "The Cooperation Committee for Building Issues"), which was created in the 1950s. The system was designed to provide a standardized method for indexing and retrieving construction-related information.

The system was adopted internationally by CIB (Conseil Internationale du Batiment) and recommended to members institutes. The RIBA took a licence to establish an Agency for SfB in the UK and recommended its use with UDC in 1961 for architects libraries.

The CIB (Conseil Internationale du Batiment) opted for a procedure for having a different name for each Country. Some versions are:

  • CI / SfB for Great Britain
  • SI / SfB for France
  • BRD / SfB for Germany
  • BB / SfB for Belgium
  • NL / SfB for The Netherlands

In 1968, the RIBA published a revised version called CI/SfB (Construction Index SfB) which dropped the use of UDC and added two new tables to SfB tables 1, 2 and 3. Table 0 was roughly based on UDC and Table 4 on the CIB Master List of Properties, with additions. There was a further revision in 1976.

In the UK, it was first implemented as the "SfB/UDC Building Filing Manual" and later evolved into the CI/SfB system. CI/SfB was superseded in the UK by the Uniclass system, first published in 1997, with the latest edition, Uniclass 2015, released in April 2015 and updated quarterly.

Usage

CI/SfB is used for various purposes in the construction industry, including:

  • Setting up office libraries
  • Collecting design information
  • Preparing reports, cost plans, drawings, and specifications
  • Organizing bills of quantities and other types of construction information.

List of CI/SfB Codes

Table 0: Physical Environment

Planning areas 0: Planning areas 01: Extra terrestrial areas 02: International, national scale planning areas 03: Regional, sub-regional scale planning areas 04 05: Rural, urban planning areas 06: Land use planning areas 07 08: Other planning areas 09: Common areas relevant to planning Facilities 1: Utilities, civil engineering facilities 11: Rail transport 12: Road transport 13: Water transport 14: Air transport, other transport 15: Communications 16: Power supply, mineral supply 17: Water supply, waste disposal 18: Other 2: Industrial facilities 21–25 26: Agricultural 27: Manufacturing 28: Other 3: Administrative, commercial, protective service facilities 31: Official administration, law courts 32: Offices 33: Commercial 34: Trading, shops 35–36 37: Protective services 38: Other 4: Health, welfare facilities 41: Hospitals 42: Other medical 43 44: Welfare, homes 45 46: Animal wellfare 47 48: Other5: Recreation facilities 51: Refreshment 52: Entertainment 53: Social recreation, clubs 54: Aquatic sports 55 56: Sports 57 58: Other 6: Religious facilities 61: Religious centres 62: Cathedrals 63: Churches, chapels 64: Mission halls, meeting houses 65: Temples, mosques, synagogues 66: Convents 67: Funerary, shrines 68: Other 7: Educational, scientific, information facilities 71: Schools 72: Universities, colleges 73: Scientific 74 75: Exhibitions, display 76: Information, libraries 77 78: Other 8: Residential facilities 81: Housing 82: One-off housing units, houses 83 84: Special housing 85: Communal residential 86: Historical residential 87: Temporary, mobile residential 88: Other 9: Common facilities, other facilities 91: Circulation 92: Rest, work 93: Culinary 94: Sanitary, hygiene 95: Cleaning, maintenance 96: Storage 97: Processing, plant, control 98: Other; cuildings other than function 99: Parts of facilities; other aspects of the physical environment; architecture, landscape

Table 1: Elements

  • (--) Sites, projects, building systems

Substructure

  • (1-) Ground, substructure (10) (11) Ground (12) (13) Floor beds (14) (15) (16) Retaining walls, foundations (17) Pile foundations (18) Other substructure elements (19) Parts of elements (11) to (18) Cost summary

Structure

  • (2-) Primary elements, carcass (20) (21) Walls, external walls (22) Internal walls, partitions (23) Floors, galleries (24) Stairs, ramps (25) (26) (27) Roofs (28) Building frames, other primary elements (29) Parts of elements (21) to (28) Cost summary
  • (3-) Secondary elements, completion if described separately from (2-) (30) (31) Secondary elements to external walls; external doors, windows (32) Secondary elements to internal walls; internal doors (33) Secondary elements to floors (34) Secondary elements to stairs (35) Suspended ceilings (36) (37) Secondary elements to roofs; rooflights, etc. (38) Other secondary elements (39) Parts of elements (31) to (38) Cost summary
  • (4-) Finishes if described separately (40) (41) Wall finishes, external (42) Wall finishes, internal (43) Floor finishes (44) Stair finishes (45) Ceiling finishes (46) (47) Roof finishes (48) Other finishes to structure (49) Parts of elements (41) to (48) Cost summary

Services

  • (5-) Services, mainly piped and ducted (50) (51) (52) Waste disposal, drainage (53) Liquids supply (54) Gases supply (55) Space cooling (56) Space heating (57) Air conditioning, ventilation (58) Other piped, ducted services (59) Parts of elements (51) to (58) Cost summary
  • (6-) Services, mainly electrical (60) (61) Electrical supply (62) Power (63) Lighting (64) Communications (65) (66) Transport (67) (68) Security, control, other services (69) Parts of elements (61) to (68) Cost summary

Fittings

  • (7-) Fittings (70) (71) Circulation fittings (72) Rest, work fittings (73) Culinary fittings (74) Sanitary, hygiene fittings (75) Cleaning, maintenance fittings (76) Storage, screening fittings (77) Special activity fittings (78) Other fittings (79) Parts of elements (71) to (78) Cost summary
  • (8-) Loose furniture, equipment (80) (81) Circulation loose equipment (82) Rest, work loose equipment (83) Culinary loose equipment (84) Sanitary, hygiene loose equipment (85) Cleaning, maintenance loose equipment (86) Storage, screening loose equipment (87) Special activity loose equipment (88) Other loose equipment (89) Parts of elements (81) to (88) Cost summary

External, other elements

  • (9-) External, other elements (90) External works (91) (92) (93) (94) (95) (96) (97) (98) Other elements (99) Parts of elements (91) to (98) Cost summary

Table 2: Constructions and Forms

  • A: Construction, forms
  • B:
  • C:
  • D:
  • E: Cast in situ work
  • F: Block work; blocks
  • G: Large block, panel work; large blocks, panels
  • H: Section work; sections
  • I: Pipe work; pipes
  • J: Wire work, mesh work; wires, meshes
  • K: Quilt work, quilts
  • L: Flexible sheet work (proofing); flexible sheets (proofing)
  • M: Malleable sheet work; malleable sheets
  • N: Rigid sheet overlap work; rigid sheets for overlapping
  • P: Thick coating work
  • Q
  • R: Rigid sheet work; rigid sheets
  • S: Rigid tile work; rigid tiles
  • T: Flexible sheet work; flexible sheets
  • U
  • V: Film coating and impregnation work
  • W: Planting work; plants, seeds
  • X: Work with components; components
  • Y: Formless work; Products
  • Z: Joints

Table 3: Materials

a: Materials b c d Formed materials e/o e: Natural stone f: Precast with binder g: Clay (dried, fired) h: Metal i: Wood j: Vegetable and animal materials k m: Inorganic fibres n: Rubbers, plastics, etc. o: GlassFormless materials p/s p: Aggregates, loose fills q: Lime and cement binders, mortars, concretes r: Clay, gypsum, magnesia and plastic binders, mortars s: Bitominous materials Functional materials t/w t: Fixing and jointing materials u: Protective and process/property modifying materials v: Paints w: Ancillary materials x y: Composite materials z: Substances

Table 4: Activities and Requirements

Activities, aids

  • (A) Administration and management activities, aids
  • (B) Construction plant, tools
  • (C)
  • (D) Construction operations

Requirements, properties

  • (E/G) Description
  • (H) Context, environment
  • (J/T) Performance factors
  • (U) Users, resources
  • (V) Working factors
  • (W) Operation, maintenance factors
  • (X) Change, movement, stability factors
  • (Y) Economic, commercial factors
  • (Z) Peripheral subjects; forms of presentation; time; space