Can all sorts of Brains handle complex BIM models?

Does everyone have the capacity to handle complex 3D models?
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Not so long ago I was talking to an architect, owner of a small firm, telling him he should seriously consider transitioning to a BIM platform. The only argument I couldn't refute was the one when he said "Everything sounds great to me, but if I wanted to implement BIM tomorrow, I wouldn't find skilled staff to do it" [in Spain]. Point taken, and I do believe it is true right now in Spain. As far as I have seen in the last 6 months, very few companies are using it, and what is most discouraging, students seem to come out of Architecture School with almost no BIM skills. (they ALL know SketchUp and AutoCAD to a relatively decent level, some know Rhino, all "Have heard" about Revit...).

This is a bit discouraging if you think about it, what if we get a huge project that requires us to set up a team of BIMable professionals? Will we find them, will they earn more than management? Questions I am asking myself these days, I guess we will find out soon if things work out.

On the other hand, and with a job market that sucks especially for Architects. Being able to work on a timely manner with complex BIM models might be in the future a very unique selling point on a CV. I have been working on a relatively complex BIM model (around 17000m2, with some 12 different levels, mezzanines, etc) and realized how complex it can be sometimes to navigate the model, to understand and visualize the different spaces inside the building. I am not sure everyone can do that, it requires a set of skills that differ completely with traditional CAD working in 2D dimensions, or even working on 3D for representation (where things can be fudged and faked just so they look good).


Proper BIM models to be used for Estimating, require a capacity to have the building in your brain in 3D to be able to see, find, detect possible errors or missing parts of the building. Shouldn't there be a slab? Isn't the drop ceiling missing here?

I am not very optimistic on the role of the Architect in the industry, and think that if the service delivered by Architects doesn't improve many functions will be taken from architects and delivered by other professionals with better quality.

But here is my bit of hopefulness for Architects. We as architects have learned for many years to think in 3D, to understand spaces, volumes, etc, so we have a slight advantage when it comes to working with complex 3D models. So BIM might be an opportunity for Architects to show they are more then just CAD monkeys drafting lines, and show their peers, bosses, etc that they can be of great help by being able to understand, model, compare, error check, etc complex BIM models.


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SketchUp Plugins: Greeble2

Creating a Slum from scratch in 5 minutes thanks to this plugin and a bit of smart thinking
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My friend Aarti just shared this with me about using the Greeble2 Plugin to create a randomly looking slum for a project she is working on.

"I desperately needed to show slums in my project and i have been struggling for way to show it in my sketchup model...
image mapping looked shit... and i dont have the time to DRAW a darn slum...

SO i just made a grid in cad, trimmed it to the slum boundaries and imported to sketchup, did intersect, then used the make faces tool, and THEN used GREEBLE (plugin) and VOILA - a randomized height grid shows a beautiful slum made in 5 minutes..."

She even shared an image of the "quick slum" she created.


I of course felt like trying the plugin to see for myself how it works and produced also a 5 minute slum quite easily thanks to this plugin.



You can download the Plugin here.

Remember to check the List of SketchUp Plugins, you might find something useful.

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Revit: Using Building Pads Properly - Part II

A second not eon using Revit Building Pads the right way
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On the previous post I talked about one of the issues I recurrently found when using Building Pads, their incorrect visual representation if you don't create them in a certain way. On this post I'd like to share a few points on how to use them properly to be able to get Cut and Fill counts, to be able to estimate the amount of Cubic Meters of Excavation of a project. On the documentation about Buiding Pads, there is information on how to create them and so on, but I think a few points are missing that are key to be able to use them the right way.

First of all, before creating any Building Pad, set the phase of the Topography to a Phase (I assume Existing would be the right one) and then set the phase of the view to the next one. Then, click on Graded Surface (on the massing & site Tab) select the topography, and on the dialog that appears, select the first option, see below, and simply accept the graded region like that pressing on the green "accept" symbol.


This will create an almost identical Topography to the existing one. If you don't do this first step, you will not get Cut and Fill counts when you create Building Pads. As I understand it, the count works as a comparison between one topography and the other, so without this step there is no topography to compare with.


At this point, you should have two identical surfaces, on on the Existing phase and one on the next one. I would hide the original topography at this point (Select it -> right click -> Hide in View -> Elements) so you know always that you are working with the new one that is the one you should modify.

All set until here. Now it is time to create the Building Pads. Very important point no to miss here. Revit allows you to create Building Pads by simply clicking on the Building Pad Button on the Massing & Site Tab. Don't do that. Be sure that first you select the Topography, then click on the Building Pad Button on the Massing & Site Tab. Otherwise, the Pad will be created, but sometimes (I haven't figured out why and how this happens) the Cut and Fill will not be reported on the Topography Schedule.


Create your Buidling Pad now, I am not going to describe this much because I think it is very simple and the documentation is good enough.

Next point, create a Topography Schedule if you don't have one (ideally your template should include one so you don't have to create one for each project). Then go to it and check what is being reported there. You will see probably three lines on the schedule, but you will not be able to know what is what. An important point to consider is Naming each Topography element differently. You should Name the existing Topo as "Existing" for instance, The copy as "Modified" or something like that and then each Topography created by adding the Building Pad with a different name that will allow you to identify it on the schedule. This is an example of a Schedule with the elements already named properly.


There is a Cut and Fill count on the "Modified" surface which I think comes from the slight difference between the two copies (the existing and modified topos) which might create a slight error on the total count, but my experience is that this amount is always negligible, compared to the total cut and fill counts obtained from the different topos related to the Building Pads.

Last two points to consider: First, creating a Buiding Pad, creates a Topography Element. It's important to understand that these are two separate but interrelated elements, if you delete one, the other will be deleted two (and the Modified topo will recover its previous shape).

Second, if you want to modify the Building Pad, you need to select the Building Pad Element (not the Topography Element) and then click on the "Edit Boundary" button that will appear on the ribbon. Unfortunately (as of Revit 2012) the Edit Boundary button does not appear if you are on a 3D view, so you will have to select the Pad from a Floor Plan view or similar. Since this might not be easy because all the elements that might show on that Floor plan view. I would select the Building Pad on any view where it is easy to select (I always have an Excavation 3D View with just Topos and Building Pads visible) deselect it, go to the Floor plan view and use the Select Previous function.

I think with this post and the previous one you can perfectly work with Topography and Building Pads and get accurate Cut and Fill quantities and the right visual representation. Hope this helps.

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Revit: Using Building Pads Properly - Part I

There are a few things you need to consider when using Building Pads.
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I've been using Revit Building Pads a lot recently to show the excavation needed for a project were are working on. The point was not only to show it visually, but also to use it to get the quantities for the excavation and so to be able to get an accurate budget for the works needed to build the underground levels of the building. This post deals with one of two different topics, the two topics are: one about some issues related with visual representation (on this post), the other about some issues related to the true BIM use of building pads, getting accurate quantity take-offs (on the next post).

Visual Issues: I realized that when using sloped building pads sometimes you get this sort of effect.


Getting this sort of "side wall" that shouldn't be there happens if you set the reference level of the Building Pad to be the top level and then slope it to go down to the level below.

If instead of that you place the Building Pad on the lower level and set it to go up to a higher elevation, then you will get the right effect, or to be accurate, a better visual effect. I think Building Pads can be still improved quite a lot.



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Brief Introduction to the benefits of Lean Construction implementation by Glenn Ballard

A short video with some insight on Lean Construction by Glenn Ballard
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For those who don't know about Lean Construction (and for those who do) I think this video is a nice way to learn a bit about it from one of the initiators of these way of working that is rapidly spreading all over the world. It is just a short conversation with Glenn Ballard, but it highlights some of the principles behind Lean Construction, specially the need for a change in mentality rather than a simple change in tools and software.


Of course the savings of 15-20% being accomplished by using this methodology should not be forgotten. At the end, some AEC professionals are only driven by cost, and it is logical.

via Lean Construction Spain

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HOK's Approach to Social Media

Ken Young, Chief Information Officer at HOK explains HOK’s experience using social media.
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Social media is a hot topic. Architecture Firms (and most of the other players in the AEC Industry) seem to lag behind those from other industries, but some of the big players are doing a lot of use of these tools, and it is good to learn from them. On the video below, Ken Young explains how HOK is using Social Media for Internal and External Purposes. Pretty interesting to watch.


One of the interesting points in the video is how HOK is using a second domain www.hoklife.com to show what the life working at HOK is. Many people might not be interested on the oficial corporate website, too serious, too focused on marketing purposes. The HOK Life website allows better understanding of the company and it is all made by HOK employees, and it is basically uncensored, meaning almost anything might get published there without prior approval of some top manager. Pure Social.

I am not sure how much of the Social Media Boom is a bubble or if it is all here to stay. In any case, I think that specially now with this recession, any way to improve communication internally or with customers, clients, potential employees, etc should be considered.

via David Light.


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Revit: Show Grid and Reference Planes in All Views

Sometimes, reference planes or grid lines are not visible on all views, how do we get them to show everywhere?
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I just had the experience of creating a reference plane and some structural grid lines, then adding some extra levels to my project, and not being able to see those reference planes and grid lines on the new levels views.

I assume this is because when we create grid lines or ref planes this just extent up to the levels we already have, so if we create a new level, these elements don't reach the new levels. Luckily, I also found how to solve this and have al ref planes and grid lines to show on all level views.


Simply select the element you are having problems visualizing and then press the right click button of the mouse and select "Maximize 3D Extents" (See above). This will slightly modify the representation of the plane on the current view, but it will make it visible in all other views.

Simple


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Revit Basics: Select Previous

How do you select the previous object again?
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Sometimes the little tricks and shortcuts are what make your workflow really efficient. That applies also to the BIM workflow, and of course to using Revit. One of the things that you notice when you start using a new software is that your speed doing certain things goes way down compared to the "other" software you previously used (if you were proficient with that other software".

One of the things I missed when starting to use revit was the option I used many times in AutoCAD of Select Previous. That is in AutoCAD to select the last object you had selected by entering "p" + ENTER while you are promted to select objects. This very simple shortcut, made working with AutoCAD very fast. How to do it in Revit?

Revit has also a way to select the previous selected object. I found it through HOK BIM Solutions (well actually through Google) and it is as simple as pressin Ctrl + Left Arrow. It saves loads of time, specially with complicated models where finding an object amongst a "jungle" of objects might take a while.


My last words are to say, that the same way I googled for a solution to my inquiry, anyone can. Sometimes it might take 1 minute to find the solution, sometimes it might take more. But if you are going to use some piece of software for many years isn't it worth it to spend once in awhile time searching for the way to work faster? Believe it is, do not keep working slowly if you think there might be a way to do it better, there always is. Actually that is how this website started, trying to find ways to work faster and recording them into a blog to find them later easily.

Cheers

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Master Thesis Abstracts of the IPM course available online

The HfT has a repository of all (or most) of the abstracts of the students master thesis available online.Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Not so long ago, I published here the summary of my Master Thesis on the Topic of BIM for Project Management. We have been told today that all abstracts are now available on the School website, so I thought I'd share the link to it so you can see the summary in pdf and properly edited form.

You can see the Abstract of my Master Thesis named "Using BIM as a Project Management Tool - How can BIM help the delivery of complex construction projects" here.

For all the other abstracts, see this page. The quality of the Master Thesis varies as it happens in any course. Two of the ones I know where pretty well done (besides mine ;P) are the ones by Jürgen M. Volm on Risk Management (focused in Germany) and the one from Ralf Schulmeister on how to implement Lean Management in Germany.

Since I posted the summary and references I got a lot of inquiries about the Master Thesis and I am very happy to answer those questions. If you need any help writing or researching a similar topic, please contact me and I'll do my best to guide you on the hard process of academic research.

Cheers.

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Presentations of the First Meeting of the Spanish Group for Lean Construction

Now available online the presentations of the first meeting of the Spanish Group for Lean Construction.
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As I recently published, I recently attended the first meeting of the Spanish Group for Lean Construction. The presentations of this first meeting are now available online.

The two that I found most interesting were undoubtedly the one by Paul Napolitano from General Contractor Herrero of the United States on the theme of the Last Planner System (Last Planner System). A very interesting introduction to this method of collaborative planning. Unfortunately this one is not available online.

The one that you can see online is that of Antonio Rodriguez, from the firm BECS on the same topic. Here are the slides of the presentation (in Spanish).

Primera Reunión del SGLC. Antonio Rodríguez

View more presentations from SGLC

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Revit: Calculating the weight of structural members (and how to Fix that "Inconsistent Units" Problem)

Calculated values give sometimes "inconsistent units" errors. there is a fix for that of course.
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I recently blogged about using Revit for Quantity Take Off. One of the things I was mentioning was the need to obtain the total steel weight to be able to estimate the costs of a steel structure. This is how I did it.

The main idea was to obtain the weight of the steel members. I will use the beams and bracing elements schedule for this example. I had families for the structural members with a weight per lineal meter parameter in them (I introduced that parameter myself from steel catalogs). I still needed to get Revit to calculate the total weight of each element with a fórmula. To do that, we need to add a new column on the schedule with a calculated value (length of the structural element times the weight per linear meter). On the Schedule view, click the Edit button near the "Fields" text in the properties palette. Then you will get a dialog like the one below (I am assuming you already have created a Schedule for Structural Beams and Bracing, and added the W parameter were you have entered the Weight per Linear Meter for each type of structural member).


The value we want is a calculated value of the default Length parameter times the W parameter we have created (Weight per linear meter). So we click on Calculated Value and we get the following dialog.


Logic seems to ask for a simple formula like "Length * W", but if we use this formula, we will get an error saying "Inconsistent Units". Well, this point turned me crazy for some hours until I found a solution here. Apparently, since Length has meters as units, you can't get a calculated value unless you "neutralize" those units. The formula in this case to be able to get the calculated value is "Length / 1 m * W". By dividing Length by 1 m, we eliminate the units from the formula and we are able to obtain the much wanted total weight for each element.


After doing this, my structural elements schedule looked like this, ready to be exported with all the information I needed to be able to do some estimations on the building structure (the right colored column shows the weight of each structural member).




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Some basic CAD organization is necessary!!

You can0t work on a project with all your drawings on a single file, seriously, you are not a student anymore, and if you are, better start training for the real world.
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I am lately working more often with BIM than I am with CAD, but recently opening and analyzing some CAD drawings recieved from an architect made me think about writing this post. The thing is, while there might be no way to organize a CAD (or BIM) project without any flaws, there are some basics that I find essential if you want to keep certain quality standards and ease of use.

If we talk about quality, there is a basic standard people should aim for, and that is about consistency of information between drawings. That is, if two walls are 6,50m apart in one drawing, the same walls should be 6,50m a part in another drawing. Does it sound too basic, well, believe me, I've seen very basic drawings not accomplishing even that. The reasons might be many, but, as I see it, you can't expect quality if you have ALL YOUR PROJECT DRAWINGS ON A SINGLE FILE AND WORK ON THIS SINGLE FILE!!
Sorry for the shouting, but this has been making me waste a lot of time.

Why would you work with all your drawings on a single file? I have no clue other than "because you haven't thought about a better way". Let's ask ourselves a few questions. If we work with all project drawings in one CAD file:

• What happens if you want to split work amongst two people? You can't.
• How do you check that columns, walls on other buidling elementsare on the same position in all floorplans? Well I assume you basically draw some help lines and go check if they allign, but doing this you only check in one direction...
• What happens if you accidentally delete, loose, can't find or get a Fatal Error on your AutoCAD file? Well, instead of loosing or having to redo information about one floorplan or elevation, you might need to redo stuff in ALL your drawings

I guess I could come with even more questions that should make those who work this way stop and look for an improved process. I have work in quite big projects over the past 4 years, and none of those projects could be done having all drawings in a single file.
If you are an All Drawings in One File (ADIOF) Architect, maybe you think your projects are small enough to not require a file organization standard, well you are wrong. Any project works better if you split files. My little list for ADIOF Architects of what you could do as a minimum to increase quality and workability of your drawaing standards:

• One file, one drawing: Anytime corrections need to be done you could have more than one people working on it
• All floor plan drawings are on the same position in each drawing: this way you can easily use the other drawings as XREFs (External References)to check the consistency between them (the same way you would have done long ago putting one drawing on top of the other using transparent paper)
• Use the same prefix for all files of the same sort (FL for Floor plans, EL for elevations, etc): This way your project folder will be organised by type of drawing.
• Use a single file inserted as an External Reference for those elements such as column grids, elevator cores, stairs, etc that go vertically through the building: instead of modifying those elements once in each drawing, you will save time by changing them once only.

I think only with this 4 points, a project can start being something more workable, and checking consistency between drawings is simplified quite a lot. There are many more ways to improve how people work with CAD, but this came to me as the most basic file organization points everyone should follow.

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