A list of BIM Standards

I wrote this post, Revit Standards - Getting Started Guides, back in 2009 when I incorporated Revit into my CAD Standards here at the hospital.

There is A LOT more information out there these days. I have been collecting things in a reference folder on my hard drive whenever I've come across them, but, I hadn't gone so far as to list them and share them with you.

Luckily, today I was looking for an answer to another question on the AUGI forums and ran across this post, BIM Standard and Example Sharing.

In that post, Marti shared this great table:
http://www.cad-addict.com/2013/02/list-of-existing-bim-standards.html


I have been continuing to collect this data myself since I still need to expand my Revit Standards (I don't control the process, but, I do need to control the documentation through the lifecycle, so it is not a BIM Standard for me so much as a long-term QC checklist of deliverables).
As only about 10% of my campus is currently modeled, I am still evaluating which things about existing models I can live with and which I'd like to change, that will be further affected by our current CMMS upgrade. We're currently undergoing a massive campus overhaul, tearing down buildings and putting new ones up, and they will all be turned over to us as models. I've been really impressed with our design team so far and am looking forward to making this big leap ahead which doesn't happen often in a Facility. We tend to move fairly slow, due to the massive scale of any initiative I choose to take on.

Enjoy the resources and feel free to share more, or your experiences and caveats.

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How to approach BIM for Renovations?

I just saw this post "Useful Approaches to BIM for Renovations" by Jose Oliveira.

He talks about the approach to modeling a project in an existing building (by using existing documentation, CAD or hardcopy, and filling in the blanks with laser scanning), as well as the benefits of doing so.


Obviously, coming from the owner side, my approach is different for projects. If we have a model (RVT), and we make a small change in-house, or notice an inaccuracy, I update that. If we only have CAD and need to make a small change, I update that. If we only have blueprint documentation of a specific area, I'll draw it up on our CAD plans, using a PDF underlay as a reference.
We don't create these DWGs or RVTs from scratch in-house, they are all done as a part of construction projects. We have budgets for new construction, but, we do not have budgets for documenting existing spaces, so we often have to wait a long while to get updated electronic files.

As appalled as most on the design side are, that I say we're still about 12 years out from completing our CAD to BIM transition, I have to point out that things do not happen fast in Facilities this big. It took us 15 years to get the majority transitioned from paper to CAD.

Our spaces are renovated an average of every 15 years (with revenue-generating spaces being reno'd more often, and support spaces being renovated much less often).

A space being renovated today is prepared in the Revit family, and will be used with Maximo for CMMS (and the existing conditions were turned over to the design team on CAD).

The last time this space was renovated, it was done with AutoCAD, and was used with MP2 for CMMS (and the existing conditions were turned over to the design team on paper).

The preceding 70 years? All on paper.

It does make one curious to know what technology we'll be transitioning to in another 15 years.

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Guest Post: Greenwashing

I haven't had a guest post in awhile, so, I am pleased to share a writeup from one of my tweeps, Andrew Michler. He has provided the content and images in today's post.
Long-time readers of my blog might have noticed that I rarely post negative or critical commentary here. I am a firm believer that we bring about positive things by having a positive attitude, and I hope that my offbeat critiques about software and events are well couched in the positive light in which I tend to view them. I know this lack of overt negativity has occasionally earned me the somewhat derisive term of 'fangirl' from some readers (which bemused me enough to include in my blog's description -> ).
However, you will notice that today's topic is more overtly critical. I prefer to think of it as 'critical thinking' and 'questioning a status quo' rather than a complete condemnation, and I hope you do, too.

BIMwashing is a term I have had to introduce my management team to in recent years, because they (as facility owners) have been promised the moon... and received a telescope. Greenwashing can easily fall into the same trap of 'good enough' and 'at least we tried.'

Do you have a story you'd like to share about BIMwashing or challenging the status quo? If so, please contact me to be a guest poster.

Postcard from Ft Collins: Winds of Architecture Greenwash 

The quaint City of Fort Collins, a university town an hour north of Denver, curled up under the great peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park, is the quintessential American environmentally friendly place to grow your roots. They have the greenest beer and the greenest University and a downtown that Disney’s Main Street is modeled on. Just a block up from the bicycle bars and free range restaurants is perhaps the city’s most singularly impressive contribution to sustainability. 

Formally known as the Colorado State University Engine & Energy Conversion Lab, the now rebranded (that seems to happen a lot around these parts) Powerhouse Energy Institute claims some of the great innovations of energy conservation and technology to come to market. Ironically, yet fittingly, housed in a long defunct coal plant’s steel and brick shell are enormous natural gas engines. The lab first got their feet wet by developing a state-of-the-art retrofitted fuel injection system and a laser ignition. They shrunk the tech to make fuel injection conversion kits for the filthy 2 stroke motorcycles popular in the streets of smoggy Manila. Envirofit, the most successful rocket stove in production was ignited under this roof. The largest-of-its-kind electrical smart grid simulation was developed here, as well as Solix’s state of the art algae fuel technology. Basically, this is the home of really smart people who are pushing the limits of what is attainable into a very busy and complex marketplace.

When the plans to expand the research center were announced, things started to fall down. I first saw this rendering when visiting the winning firm that just happens to be located in the same town. The fact that they were chosen to both design and build the project looks, at first blush, to have a nepotistic feel. But, my mind was quickly diverted by a poster of the proposal as I was walking out. It had four Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) where the old smokestacks once belched their black fog. My second thought was, “Cute, I get it, you’re saying that renewables are the new standard.” My last thought, as the poster left my field of vision was, “No way will those VAWTs stay in the renderings for long, haven’t we seen enough of this greenwashing by now?”

Urban VAWTs were the darling technology ten years ago. For a variety of technical and economic reasons, they have never proven to work as promised. Witness comments of HOK’s Chicago wind powered parking lot or the demise of Helix Wind. I have made it a rule not to write about a building which has one, an exception I am making in this case. Writing about sustainable architecture, I am happy to report I rarely see them stuck on roofs anymore, especially as an ‘architectural statement’. 

I promptly took the opportunity to make an [expletive removed] of myself last year by cornering the Institute’s Director with this rant. It is funny that we ran into each other again at Greenbuild this year, at an outdoor window shading manufacturer’s booth. CSU also has a terrific wind lab, and a quick survey and wind rose from those good folks would probably show that, not only is it hard to VAWTs to perform well, they don’t work at all in a river valley adjacent to very big cottonwood trees. That conversation was apparently forgotten, as when the design build firm recently contacted me to write on the project, they sent the pretty picture with the VAWTs still spinless-ly crowning the newly rebranded plant. I couldn’t help but wonder how this feature survived the design rounds? 

Adjacent to the site is a new pseudo-retro office building whose only visual nod to this century is a ring of overhangs for shade. The addition is, amazingly, less contemporary than the original plant. My response to them follows: “A nod to contemporary sensibilities would have shown the EECL to be a real player in 21st century technology, but instead, the design is a soft generalization of the original building telling me that good enough is the lay of the land.” That’s me pretending to be an architecture critic.I also stated my anti VAWT-on-buildings policy and got the reply that the turbines are for student research. Which begs the question, why four of the same? And, are they researching how VAWTs don’t work well next to trees in river valleys? If I were asked, my advice is to blow the budget by installing the outdoor window louvers and kibosh the pricy hood ornaments. 

There is some great stuff happening here, with an evaporative cooling system night chilling the floor and LEDs using the building as a heatsink. There is bit of confusion about the R-value and U-value of the windows and how they are measured (center of glass vs whole unit) but I am sure they are pretty good. Sadly, these attributes are obscured by a design that is like a kid who is dressing for church in hand-me-downs. 

Architecture, for better or worse, is very much about messaging so we get ‘it’. Cue the success of firms like BIGwho go bold just about every chance they get, whether in the end it turns out to be a good idea or not. They take risks via innovation. This particular project belittles the mission of the client by running away from risk and into the arms of mediocrity, handing the community and owners a collective sigh… “It’s good enough, but at $200 a square foot, at least it’s cheap”. 

Innovation is about not about pointless tech or even seeking LEED Platinum certification. After all, you only get a few points for innovation in their rating system. Innovation is about identifying and pushing the limits of what we know and pursuing the perfection of low impact design. Then use that design to announce we are building for a better century. Our buildings, quite simply, are the largest contributor to global warming so ‘good enough’ signals premature life on Earth failure. A community who imagines themselves as green and pats each other on the back for ‘good enough’, rather than pushing each other forward, will struggle to become a vital place for the necessary architecture of this century.

Andrew Michler is currently working on the book 

 [ours] Hyper-Localization of Sustainable Architecture

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You've been using Navisworks Too Long When...

You know you've been using Navisworks too long when...

... you organize your kitchen into selection sets. Spices, baking goods, plates, glasses, silverware, sauces.

... you're driving down the road on a rainy night, can hardly see in front of you and you wish you could adjust your clipping planes to see what's further up the road.

... you see someone talking on the cellaphone while driving and think "There should be a rule against that!" and then you start figuring out the selection sets in your head to make the rules.

... you have 13,300+ clashes in your model, you create a rule that narrows down one process pipe and the insulation on it that's causing 5,100 clashes and when you get excited about your results, you can't find anyone that understands you.

... you've ever been to a New Balance shoe store and asked the attendant if they have one with a Green N on the side.

... you've just read through this list and at least 3 of them apply to you.



Thanks to Paul Jordan for sharing these with me. Anyone else have anything to add to Paul's list?


Looking for some more laughs?

You know you've been using AutoCAD too long when... 

You  might be a Redneck CAD Tech if...

You might be a Design Diva if...

If Poe did CAD... 

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What does an Owner want with BIM?

Question: What does an owner want from BIM?
Answer: Essentially, the same thing they wanted from CAD.

In reality, the answer is actually another question.

Who is the owner?

When people talk about the owner and what they want and what they need, it always varies, because they all seem to be speaking about different stakeholders.

This list breaking down each type of owner is from the perspective of *my* company. If there are other owners who would like to chime in, please feel free to comment. Add some areas that I've missed or tell me how each of these different stakeholders functions in your company.

Owner Breakdown: 

Project Manager: Oversees the bidding, budget, implementation and communication of construction projects. May have been an architect in a past life. Balances a lot of pressures from company leadership, finance and occupants and manages supports (such as walk-throughs from occupants and facilities staff, to space numbering for CAFM and signage for wayfinding).
Needs: Timely documentation to keep all design, review, occupant, support and construction personnel on the same page.
Wants: Anything that will reduce RFI's and help keep the project on-time and on-budget.

Occupant: Will be working in the space. The only one who knows how their workflow should and could happen. Also, one major part of 'owner' that does not have a background in design, construction or engineering.
Needs: A space that will operate as needed for the foreseeable future. A pretty rendering, probably delivered on paper in a project meeting, that helps reassure them that's what they are getting.
Wants: A space that will operate as needed for the foreseeable future, but, may not always be able to communicate precisely what that is, or what it will cost.

Finance: Is petitioned for projects by occupants and project managers and facilities staff and various support services, and balances the needs of the many over the long-term.
Needs: An accurate estimate of scope and price. A pretty rendering, probably delivered in powerpoint, that tries to make a renovation look as tempting to fund as the purchase of fancy Radiology equipment that will actually generate revenue directly.
Wants: Precision and documentation.
(other stakeholders such as the legal department and administrative boards would fall under the same basic description)

Real Estate: Manages space. Ensures that all departments are functioning and accessible in locations with adequate resources to perform their primary duties. Manages departmental moves, from simple to complex, and takes care of leases (whether we are leasing to others, or renting space for our departments).
Needs: Scope of proposed projects, accurate inventory of existing functions and their supplies.
Wants: Scope and schedule to stay as close as possible, so that the shuffleboard game of freeing up spaces for future projects can continue.

This section of the list is often what is referenced by the designers I network with. They are not technical gurus when it comes to Revit MEP or AutoCAD or CAFM or CMMS. They are the ones that wield the most power or get the most facetime with Architects and GC's, though.

Facilities Sub-Breakdown: 

Maintenance Staff: Repairs breaks, performs preventative maintenance to ensure maximum up-time and equipment and systems functioning long beyond their original design specs. In smaller hospitals, this will be a generally educated maintenance staff, in larger facilities, this will be broken down according to skilled craft (Building Finishes/Carpentry, HVAC/R, Plumbing, Electrical, Major Mechanical, Plant).
Needs: Accurate documentation that will help them perform their work as quickly as possible to minimize damage, or the downtime of a revenue-producing department, or future infection concerns for patients, visitors and staff.
Wants: Want the information to be where it says. Looking for a shut-off valve, the zones on a floor need to be called out on the plans. Looking for a section or detail mark and then getting to the details page and realizing there is no corresponding details means that a room gets taken out of service and holes get cut into walls or ceiling tiles get popped out, again causing infection control concerns.
Older staff prefer to look at paper drawings, younger staff expect electronic access to cut down on constant running back and forth across a large campus.

Operations Administration: Schedules preventative maintenance tasks to ensure uptime on all systems and long-term system performance. Sets baselines for all equipment and tracks maintenance history for a myriad of uses. Takes information from new projects and inserts it into a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) and/or a Computerized Aided-Facilities Management (CAFM) system. This history helps the Engineers or Facility Managers to make the best specifications (with regard to expected performance and reliable materials and brands).
Needs: Accurate documentation.
Wants: Something which is as simple as possible to import into programs like Maximo and Archibus.

Engineering Staff / Facility Manager: Sets material and equipment specifications, reviews proposed projects during the design phase, tours construction sites during construction, commissions buildings prior to occupancy, uses long years of experience to spot problems (as well as deviations from specified materials or necessary system redundancies).
When new projects do not perform as expected, these are the folks who trouble-shoot the systems and tweak/retrofit them until they perform as needed. They also oversee projects such as system upgrades (happening outside of renovations) and major equipment replacements (such as chillers, air handling units, major pumps and utility loops).
Needs: Accurate documentation that is easy to access and simple to read.
Wants: They don't really care how they get their information (paper, PDF, DWG, RVT), so long as they have it when they need it, and they like the option to carry it out to the site.

CAD / BIM Management Coordination: Sometimes, this role is held by a facility manager or engineer, but, larger companies will have an archivist of some sort.
This person sets the CAD/BIM Standards for the new construction and any special projects that occur. Their first involvement in a construction project is during closeout when they review documents for electronic deliverables compliance. When files are rejected for being sloppy or incomplete, noob designers at other companies protest to their project managers that the owners are idiots who don't know what they need, then this Coordinator attends a meeting with their project manager and eventually convinces the other design monkey that they do, in fact, know quite a bit about CAD/BIM and the long-term needs of their facility (because this is such a great and productive way to spend one's time).
They take in new data, archive it as a project, then patchwork the MEPFP system information into a working set of drawings for ease of use by the engineers, mechanics/skilled maintenance personnel and future renovation and planning needs.
This role manages the technology transitions, such as paper to CAD and CAD to BIM or plotting stations to tablet computers, as transparently as possible for the end users and any random stakeholders.
This person, of practicality and necessity, cares more about basic drawing neatness and clarity than about superficial things like fonts and dimension styles.
Needs: Accurate and EDITABLE documents that can be kept alive and updated throughout the life of a building (in many cases, over 100 years) in formats that they have the ability to work with. In our case, this is DWG or RVT.
Wants: Neatness, clarity, progress.

We also have other support services (Information Systems, Telecommunications, Key Control, Security, Clinical Engineering, etc) that might need to use our CAD/BIM files as they plan and maintain their systems across the campus and across the rest of the healthcare system. These other stakeholders are generally not of concern to the design and construction contractors, as they will get their information directly from the Facilities staff.

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AUGI 2012 Salary Survey is Revamped!

As promised last year, I decided to take a fresh look at the AUGI Salary Survey this time around. The questions hadn't changed much from the original format I inherited when I started with the 3rd survey, so the whole thing was pretty much scrapped, and we've started with a clean slate.
I appreciate all of the input from fellow AUGI members, as well as my instructors and professors at SLU.

This year's survey consists of 24 questions, roughly broken down into four areas:
Your demographic
Your role
Your company demographic
Your industry's state

As always, this is an anonymous survey. I am the only one who will ever have access to the database of individual entries, the answers cannot be tied back to you or your company in any way, and the information will only be reported in broad groups.

I did bring back some popular questions that will enable us to trend back for a couple of years. But, there will also be some new questions to help focus on the state of our industries.

Did you receive an increase or decrease in pay? Are you thinking about leaving your job? If so, why?
What market does your company serve or how do they specialize? Has your workload increased or decreased this year? Has your outsourcing increased or decreased this year? Have you let subscriptions lapse or purchased new software and hardware? What percentage of your projects are BIM, and, if you are doing BIM, why? Is cloud computing a go or no-go? How did you find your current role, through networking or advertising?

The AUGI Annual Salary Survey is about so much more than just salaries.
BUT! Of course, we all need to participate in order to have data from which we can draw valid conclusions about which industries are performing the best, which have the happiest and most secure employees and so much more.

Application Engineers, Programmers, Architects, Designers, Managers and Coordinators (CAD/BIM/Project, etc), Drafters, Trainers, Interns, etc... speak and be heard!

The survey ends August 4th, get your answers in now and see the results in the September 2012 issue of AUGIWorld Magazine!!! 

(wordle mashup of markets served and specialties)

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Medical Facility Moves from AutoCAD to BIM

This is the first article in a series, documenting the process that a multi-million square foot hospital went through to make the big move from 2d to 3d.

Moving from AutoCAD to BIM for Building Floor Plans – The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University’s BIM Implementation Project

By Joe Porostosky, Senior Manager of Facilities Information and Technology Services at The Ohio State University

The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University is reaching the end of  a project to convert all of our buildings from 2D AutoCAD drawings to 3D Building Information Models.  This project covers 53 buildings and slightly more than six million square feet.  Over the next five blog posts, my colleague, Brian Skripac, and I will share how the project was initiated, how it was executed, and the impact it has had on the Medical Center.

At that time, we identified the following as the immediate benefits of the implementation:

    High quality 3D visualizations
    Energy analysis and modeling
    Improved planning in the areas of space, operations, security, and others
    Improved drawing accuracy via field verification and further use of as-built documentation
    Time savings in updating to the BIM model following construction or renovation projects versus AutoCAD
    Utilizing industry standard drawing standards
    Improved communication with leadership and customers as it relates to space usage and layout

I encourage you to read the entire article. I'll try to remember to comment and link when the next installments are posted.

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AGC's St. Louis BIM Expo

The AGC hosted a BIM Expo at SIUE last week (I found out about it through the STCCC.).

Pretty good time, I thought. There was an exhibit hall with over a dozen software and hardware vendors. Some folks I had used, some folks I hadn't heard of. (I appreciate all of the vendors, since this was a great seminar, which was offered for free to the approximately 140 attendees, and the food was decent as well.)


I only attended 3 of the 4 sessions I'd intended to, because I'd gotten caught up talking with a lot of interesting people in the exhibit hall.


I saw Tad Fry give a talk 'From the Owner's Perspective' on his experiences with BIM overall, but, as applied at A-B-InBev (this guy was just a really engaging speaker, too, expertise notwithstanding, fantastic.).


I missed Jim Scott (GHG), Donovan Olliff (HOK) and John Limbaugh (Jacobs) discuss legal perspectives surrounding BIM.


Then there were two panel discussions in the afternoon that were quite good, covering many viewpoints:


BIM in the Real World:
Tad Fry - Owner
Mike Hartmann - Engineer
Kevin Cook - Subcontractor
Brok Howard - Architect
Scott Green - Contractor
Chris Gordon - Educator


Future Trends of BIM:
Jason Steele - Autodesk
Andy Dickey - Tekla
Rob Riley - Bentley
John Rodolico - Graphisoft


I did tweet from the event using the hashtag #BIMExpo , but, of course, my ancient phone's battery couldn't make it through to the end of the day.

We were out in the middle of nowhere, so there weren't too many people hanging around chatting afterward.

I've heard they're planning on holding another event next year, and I asked that it be in a more convenient location to allow for an early evening mixer, giving more of a chance for folks to network. I really would have loved to hear more about what people are doing these days with their technology.

(There was also a lot of talk by various attendees about the draw of the RTC - http://www.revitconference.com.au/ )


It was really great to see a lot of folks I hadn't worked with in awhile, and to reconnect with a few folks from GAUG.

If anyone else attended, feel free to share your thoughts, please (here or in the GAUG forum)! I'd love to hear about the session I missed

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Recent Random AUGI resources

Alright, you all know I love AUGI and all of it's talented volunteers, right?

Well, just in case you're not a big dork, and do not follow me on Twitter, here is a list of resources I recently shared there, just to ensure that everyone gets to see them. Have a scroll through and see if someone has shared some news or tips for the products you use.

Hot Forum Topics: 

Navisworks: setting up object enablers http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=85131

CAD Management: CAD vs. Creativity http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=18562 

CAD Management: working with laptop users http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=128352

BIM Management: startup costs for #Revit http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=129552

BIM Management: job descriptions? http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=97134

CAD Standards: NCS in contract requirements http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=125587

Training: New users vs. old users #CAD #BIM http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=84092

AutoCAD MEP: changing conduit bends http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=129194

Discussion @AUGI #AutoCAD Architecture: 2012 release discussion http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=128699

Revit Architecture: 2012 Stability http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=129259

Revit MEP: relinquishing issues http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=83117 #RMEP

Facilities Management: Project Management software http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=110350 #CAFM #FM

AutoCAD LT: What will I miss (if anything) using LT? http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=129191

AutoCAD: what's the most obscure command you can think of? http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=74304

Civil3D: adjusting settings for better performance http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=128539

Map3D: using LIDAR data http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=127571

Inventor: Moving parts into a new assembly http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=128105

3DSMax: Resource list http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=57818

AutoLISP: Leaning Lisp http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=4657

AutoLISP: What API Should I learn? http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=67675

Revit FAQ's:  http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=160

AutoCAD Customization http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118

Vault: so many unanswered questions, help out http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=292

HotNews Articles:

An Interview with @AutoCADLT 's Kate Morrical http://tinyurl.com/3bpkh7n

TIPniques: Parametrics in AutoCAD, Part 1 http://tinyurl.com/3ewy969 

- by Brian Benton

TIPniques: Parametrics in AutoCAD, Part 2 http://tinyurl.com/3gscb6u

- by Brian Benton 

CAD Management: How to Impress Your Boss http://tinyurl.com/43a2d55

- by Mark Kiker

Is the CAD Classroom Obsolete? http://tinyurl.com/3myvoyo

- by Shaun Bryant

TIPniques: A Few of my Favorite AutoCAD Things http://tinyurl.com/3h5wxnq

- by Brian Benton 

The Civil Side: Six Smart Tips http://tinyurl.com/3q36yv4

- by Christian Barrett

AUGIWorld Magazine Articles:

May Issue:

(The links below all point to specific pages in the same pdf document)

First Impressions with AutoCAD MAP http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=5

- by Andra Marquardt

Implementing AutoCAD 2012 http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=8

- by Brian Benton

Project Naviator Ultimately Organized in ACA http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=12

- by Melinda Heavrin

1...2...Civil3D Implement http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=17

- by Tench Tilghman

BUILT - BIM to FM http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=21

- by James Salmon

BIG Questions in Revit Architecture http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=24

- by Joe Eichenseer and Scott Burke

The Interior Side of Revit http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=28

- by Miriam Ganesh and Damian Serrano

Implementing & Integrating Factory Design Suite http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=36

- by Mark Flayler

Implementation Concepts and Processes in Navisworks http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=42

- by Will Harris

Setting up filters in Revit MEP http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=48

- by Casey Eckhard

Inside Track - software development news http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=51

- by Erik Lewis

Revit Structure Assembly & Part Commands http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=52

- by Marcello Sgambelluri

Scanline Renderer simulating in 3dsMax http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=56

- by Tom Cipolla

Heads Up! - updates, services packs, known issues http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=59

- by William Troeak

AutoCAD MEP Implementation Part 1 http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=62

- by Beth Powell

Interview with Autodesk's Volker Joseph http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/augiworld_issues/AW0511_lr.pdf#page=68

- by David Mills

April Issue:

(The links below all point to specific pages in the same pdf document)

AutoCAD MEP 2012 Streamlined http://tinyurl.com/3korqas  

- by Beth Powell

AutoCAD 2012 Productivity Boost http://tinyurl.com/3hnxzve

- by Brian Benton

AutoCAD 2012 New API's http://tinyurl.com/3q7mwjt 

- by Stephen Preston

What's New in AutoCAD WS (cloud-based autocad for smartphones and tablets)? http://tinyurl.com/3gpxs8q

- by Brian Benton

Interview with #Revit 's Harlan Brumm http://tinyurl.com/3pc7qu3

- by Steve Stafford

Civil 3D 2012: Life's a Beach http://tinyurl.com/3gr526f 

- by Chris Fugitt

#Revit Architecture & platform 2012 Score! http://tinyurl.com/3txkkx2

- by Lonnie Cumpton

Introducing #Revit MEP 2012 #RMEP http://tinyurl.com/3owna3b 

- by R. Robert Bell

What's New in #Revit Structure 2012 http://tinyurl.com/449nze2

- by Phil Russo

Navisworks 2012 - What's New http://tinyurl.com/448nvnd 

- by Richard Parker

New Features in Autodesk Inventor 2012 http://tinyurl.com/44mvzyq 

- by John Evans

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Moving forward (when your company won’t)

I've got a guest poster today, Matt Stachoni. Thanks for sharing, Matt! 

I hope my readers enjoy his practical advice. 

Q: My company is refusing to move to Revit because they think… (there’s a huge learning curve)(training costs too much)(we’ve got too much work to have people out of the office for a decent amount of training)(BIM is a fad)(Autodesk sucks)(etc).

I feel like I’m being left behind everyone else in the industry by using outdated tools and methodology.

How do I keep myself educated/efficient/marketable when I don’t have the financial resources of my company behind me?

A: I very much sympathize with your situation, because falling behind the technology curve is a terrible feeling. Even working for a reseller, I often feel behind the cutting edge, especially reading some of the BIM and Revit blogs I scan on a daily basis. The stuff people are doing with the product is really crazy nowadays.

I’ve seen many instances where a few people were interested in it, but the attitudes of managers and principals made it all but impossible to be on any sort of cutting edge. In this economy, firms are faced with a real problem... Spend a ton of money to FINALLY get on Revit – and use it - or simply miss out on project work because you fail to move ahead. I've seen it happen in this area. Two years ago, no one used Revit. No one wanted to. No one felt they needed to. Now, it's a completely different story. Many of the subcontractors are using Revit and Navisworks just to make sure their designs work.

Everyone knows it's rolling over the area like a huge tidal wave. If you want to survive, you want to be out of the crashing surf, riding the waves up and down. And if you are still standing on the beach, you at least need to be looking in the right direction.

Yeah, it's expensive. But how expensive are cause delays and interoperability problems with your projects due to your current software? Using old, outdated CAD applications probably hurts your people more than anything else. This artificially limits your employees' progress and overall market worth, and it makes it harder to find quality new employees, because no one wants to work for someone who is still stuck in 1992.

Learning Revit? First get yourself a copy of the software. Download and install Revit Architecture 2012, then after 60 days, get Revit MEP, then Structure. After six months of diligent work, you’ll understand all three applications and be the most valuable person on the planet. If you can still get 2011, get that first; now you have a complete years’ worth of Revit fun.

Then download the Architecture, MEP and Structural tutorials for 2010 from the Autodesk support site. They really do help get you off the ground and understanding the program's thought pattern. The online videos, while helpful, only give a very cursory introduction to the software. YouTube is your best friend – there are lots of Revit videos full of tips and tricks.

Then get a copy of Navisworks Manage and learn that. Download a copy of my “Introduction to Navisworks Manage” class from last year's AU, 'cause it totally rocks, here: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=class&session_id=6765.

Get two books: “Introducing Revit Architecture” by Patrick Davis, Charlie Busa, Steve Stafford, et al, and “Mastering Revit Architecture” by Eddy Krygiel, Phil Read, and James Vandezande. Read the Introducing book first, and do all of the exercises. Then read the Mastering book to reinforce how it all comes together, as well as learn valuable out of the box techniques.

For the first few weeks, build a project a day. Nothing special, but concentrate on one aspect, such as creating compound walls with articulation (regions, sweeps and reveals), roofs of various kinds with fascia, gutters and soffits, and stairs. Build lots and lots and lots of stairs.

Get Paul Aubin's DVDs series on Mastering the Family Editor and creating parametric families. These are really good instructional videos. http://paulaubin.com/blog/master-the-family-editor-series-available-on-dvd/ I also liked his Revit Essentials videos as well.

Download and read AUGIWorld Magazine, which has some of the bestup to date Revit/BIM Info anywhere.

Subscribe to all of the Revit blogs you can find. Here are just a few of the ones I like:

http://insidethefactory.typepad.com/

http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/

http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/

http://www.architecture-tech.com/

http://whatrevitwants.blogspot.com/

http://therevitkid.blogspot.com/

http://dorevit.blogspot.com/

http://www.revitzone.com/

http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.com/

http://buildz.blogspot.com/

http://revit-detail.blogspot.com/ (follow the details tutorials from day one)

http://blogs.rand.com/architectural/

http://revit.blogspot.com/

http://do-u-revit.blogspot.com/

http://bimtroublemaker.blogspot.com/

http://cad-notes.com/category/revit-architecture/revit-architecture-tutorial/

http://bimboom.blogspot.com/

http://allthingsbim.blogspot.com/

http://mep-cad.blogspot.com/

http://ductductpipe.blogspot.com/

http://inside-the-system.typepad.com/

http://doddsandends.typepad.com/blog/

http://jasongrant.squarespace.com/

http://www.goodrevit.com/viewforum.php?f=9

http://thesustainabledesigntoolbox.typepad.com/blog/

http://sites.google.com/site/revitblogdirectory/

http://www.revitup.co.za/_mgxroot/page_10937.php

Regards,
Matt Stachoni
Senior AEC Applications Technical Specialist
CADapult LTD

3 Mill Park Court, Suite A

Newark, DE 19713

(302) 733-0477

matt.stachoni@cadapult.net

http://www.cadapult.net

AEC Blog: http://www.cadapult.net/aecblog

Matt Stachoni is the senior AEC Applications Technical Specialist and BIM implementation consultant for CADapult LTD, an Authorized Autodesk Silver reseller in Northern Delaware, and has over 20 years’ experience working with Autodesk applications.

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