CI/SfB. 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.

Structure 

The CI/SfB system is composed of several tables that classify different aspects of construction:

 Table 0: Physical environment (e.g., hospitals, schools)
 Table 1: Elements (e.g., walls, roofs)
 Table 2: Constructions and forms (e.g., brickwork, concrete)
 Table 3: Materials (e.g., fired clay, ceramics)
 Table 4: Activities and requirements (e.g., sound insulation, fire resistance)

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.

Legacy and Evolution 

Although CI/SfB has been largely replaced by more modern classification systems like Uniclass, it is still in use in some areas, particularly for product literature and historical data. The limitations of CI/SfB, such as its complexity and difficulty in computerization, led to the development of newer systems.

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: Other

5: 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: Glass

Formless 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) Adminsitration 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

References 

Trade and industrial classification systems
Construction documents