The Missing BIM Link to getting Real BIM Bids

For Architects wondering the best implementations to set up to produce a model that will give the GC/Subs the necessary info; & for GC’s/Subs reproducing 2D-CAD DWG’s or even re-building a Revit model with their own “I” from an A/E/MEP firm & yourselves that had to get their feet wet in BIM for the first time because the Client DEMANDED it; the answer has been right in front of your face. Again it has been right in front of your face, & not under your noses or over your heads, well, maybe a little over your heads for some (doing little bim & not Big BIM). The little know fact in spitting out BIM Bids in minutes (for the GC’s with fairly advances Library of info using a “particular format”) to less than a day to the following day (for those that had that “Epiphany” not too long ago)

So what is this EPIPHANY; using UNIFORMAT Codes, plain and simple. Every time you edit a type family the Answer was staring you right  “IN DA FAIICCE” (I couldn’t resist using the reference from the Hangover, my Wolf-Pack & I never get tired of watching that, lol, but I digress…) So, just look for the parameter in the “Identity Data” Category called “Assembly Code”, nuff said.

The extent the Architects need to know Uniformat Codes is down to the first 3 Levels; anything past 4 to infinity are user defined. As for what BIM GC’s/Subs/Architects need to know if they’re still “lost in the cloud” is this:

…Masterformat tells you what the construction item is. Uniformat tells you where the construction item is. The presence of the construction item in the project defines the why. When a construction item is coded with a Masterformat number and a Uniformat number, you are given information as to what and where the construction item is. With Uniformat levels, the initial ones give you solely the where information. But as an item is assigned deeper levels, a blurring between where and what occurs and the increased detail provides the item with more and more what information. This is done by placing Masterformat numbers (or the user’s own codes) as portions of deeper level Uniformat numbers…

The feedback I’ve been getting from BIM GC’s is that “Design-Build & CM at Risk” type projects are their preferred. Now if you’re a genius or really keen on the business side of things then this short paragraph holds more within “reading between the lines” than what I’ve written in this post. To survive & be one more step ahead you must be, what Bruce Lee wisely once said when it come to Adapting, “Be Water my friend”. My own BIM Mantra, “Harness the “I’ in BIM”.

BIM Tools worth mentioning…

I first caught on to the existence of  Ideate when Steve Stafford posted an opening for them in his Revit Jobs blog. Then just a few weeks ago Gregory Arkin posted a link to Ideate’s own blog introducing its new tools.  In a way I see Ideate’s tools as bridging the gap from having to use M$ Office Tools with Revit DB Link tool down to more interaction within Revit itself.  I found that what Avatech attempted to create with “Model Review”, which Autodesk “acquisitioned” it before Avatech “merged” with Imaginit, was lacking a little more Imagination in which Ideate seems to capture from my perspective. I only wished I had these type of tools when I first started using Revit. Check out the links for these tools for yourself:

www.ideatexplorer.com or its Blog; available
www.ideatebimlink.com or its Blog; release date to be in December 2010

BIM Management Tips in a Multi-Office setting or not…

As I learn more about what’s going on in other BIG & Small firms one thing is apparent, and that is how well of an oiled BIM machine I created with my previous employer. The following are some ingredients to a “Well Oiled BIM Machine” with multiple offices.  The best philosophy I encountered is that, “we are all one firm, and not a firm of multiple offices”, and that is the key “spicy” ingredient.

As common the Network Drives should be the same in all satellite offices; Libraries, Projects, Secured Info, Departmental Info, Marketing, Training materials,  etc.  Also, usually there should be a server whose Content is used to update the Libraries of all the offices with all sorts of  “standards”  from CAD to Revit to MAX; so if the following is not the CASE it should go without saying because it will save lots of headaches & coordination issues. So in this Server there should be a Directory for the OOTB Families Autodesk provides, one from on-line downloads like from Seek/Arcat/RevitCity, and another one that are Certified to Office Standard, and finally one with Non-Certified (to be certified) along with Folders containing Project Specific Families in case those may want to be vetted  & classified as “Certified” later on.  Of course, the Project folder should have its own Families folder because every Project calls upon certain circumstances that will best be severed modifying a standard/certified family.

The best ally for a BIM Manager is to Record all training sessions using Camtasia whether it’s an in office training session or a Go-To-Meeting between multiple offices like a Lunch-n-Learn/Brown Bag Special or just a scheduled training session. That way the whole session can be stored on the network for future use of reeducation and you can then also create video clips of specific tasks discussed during the session and also used to have training manuals using hyper-links to it and also included within the Revit family, and finally also hyper-linked to the “Office WIKI” directing a user to all the office Content/Templates/Standards/Training Materials & How-To Manuals.

Next is something I just mentioned, the “Office WIKI” aka: The Office Intranet Home Site. Since I hate informing the public of things they have probably already came across (I like all my content to be “Original/Unique” to my perspective), but necessary in this case to keep it short you can go to the following Links from Aaron Maller that will get my point across: Office Wiki, Office Library

Next, is to form Committees with as many who want to attend, but with 3 Senior members per Office consisting of their BIM Managers & Model Managers (aka: Project BIM Leaders or Project BIM Coordinators) in charge of the wants & needs for their office. Then 3 members to Chair the whole Committee & having the authority to decide the final direction in a giving topic, because otherwise it’s “Death-by-Committee” . This “Model” will have the info going in both directions as well all directions from the BIM Chairs all the way down to the average user everyone is on the same page just like the “I” in BIM. Sometimes the most Clever Ideas will come from the people not competent enough to carry out what they propose, so the “Committee” can facilitate that. I recommend that in the beginning the group should meet once a week & as things get less creative then to every 2 weeks then to once a month. Also the group needs to adapt, so maybe there are times there is a meeting once every week of the month or twice a month; whatever the situation calls for.

People should be Identified in every niche of BIM that can problem solve in those areas; so if one is having issues solving a family from breaking there should be an email group for ones expert in Family Creation, for issues solving project errors, etc. Let the unusual be know & so their answers. The problem solvers should pass down their newly attained knowledge to the users as FYI emails. Don’t have anyone be afraid to send FYI’s to all the BIM Groups as issues are discovered and solved or for that matter situations.

Finally, Revitize as many standard details because the more time is spent  creating & redlining them than other items being coordinated. So now less time is spent coordinating & more adapting the details to the project.  Also, another very helpful BIM site for BIM details is from ArcXL, considering how much you’re paying the intern to build the details & a senior member who vets them for the project, it’s a very cost-efficient approach at reducing that cost.

Will Work for BIM

It looks like the firm I'm with hasn't won a “real” project in many months, therefore presenting the inevitable, less work to go around. It's hard for a big firm to win projects when others are bidding cents on the dollar, but as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for"; at least we kept them honest by being their Peer Review. As the other saying goes, "Life is like a Bowl of Chilli, what you do now, may Burn your A$$ later", lol. The only ones not affected were the “Designers”. Maybe I should go back into that line of work? You know it’s bad when the one’s that are left are the “cream of the crop” & they have to be let go.

So all this week I did lots of networking besides send out my resume. Just by chance a call to a fellow colleague to give him my new email (to replace my work email) & luck just happen to strike. So I'm praying daily for the opportunity to be fruitful to stay in Houston, because all my other friends have taken from 4 months to over a year to even get an interview, so I'm very thankful because I'm looking at having to move to NYC or LA to get a job ASAP with my talent. Even thou I have a family (a wife & 2 girls & one on the way) I'm fearless in pursuing avenues to other cities; you can say I have the "fortitude" (thank God the lessons learned from playing “Football” & from my Religion, I apply them well to my way of Life & Career). And as they say on the Streets, "sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, to survive".  So now with time on my hands after TCB, it's back to fine tuning my Revit Skills & praying for those calls or emails to come in. Oh, & one last thing in case nothing else pays off, I'm putting an APB that I'm for Hire & I wouldn't mind packing my bags whether you pay for my relocation or not. For me BIM "is a hell of a drug", I just can't wait to do it again, and again, and again, he he he. Peace & Hair Grease, I have to get back at learning new ways to utilize the Revit API. 

My Resume

The Revit API, the next Frontier for BIM, Part 2

I agree with "Lindsay and Parley" assessment in part 1. Where my "wishful thinking" is aiming its sights on is best describe by your comment, " I don't think however that the BIM group is large or organized enough to create TRUE open source application coding". I believe that getting the open source application coding started sooner rather than later may be more wishful thinking today, but in the near future, well you never know what the future holds. Unless a market is created for it like what Apple/ Android market did with their products where "there's an App for that" created everyday. That is where I would like the "community" (cough-cough AUGI, cough-cough Autodesk, lol) to start focusing some of their efforts towards. So yes get attention with a "paid version" (yeeaa for Capitalism), but please also release a simplified free version & or a niffty little tool along with its Code for the greater good of the "BIM Frontier".
I had to make Part 1 a little provacative so someone could get my juices flowing, and that's why I ended the post with "to be continued", lol. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I was having too many distractions. Maybe there can be a Part 3... Oh yeah, it will be outlined in my journey with the API.
So little ole me will be trying to duplicate some of the feasable "tools" out there along with my own inspirations, which I will gladly share the finer details of my journey.
Just had an idea pop in my head about "creating the market" of sorts. If Autodesk would have an open competition where the best, let's say up to five, get selected to be part of the "for subscription" only downloads. How's that for Capitalism. What say you Autodesk, and if only they would, lol.

The Revit API, the next Frontier for BIM

For the past few months I've been methodically researching & thinking (trying not to reinvent the wheel, if it's already out there) of ways to create Addins to increase workflow/productivity. I've ran into a few things from the AU classes that really pop out, which are CP322-1, CP222-2, & CP314-2. I've ran into using programs like C#, VB.Net, & best of all VSTA. The reason I concluded with using VSTA as my primary tool for building "Apps" for Revit is because it's 64bit compatability. The next runner up was VB.Net, but its flaw is that it runs in a 32bit mode & it has to jump through hoops to connect to 64bit, thus making the "Need for Speed" useless. The precursor for both of these tools are programs like C# or C++, basically any program that starts with a "C", LOL. Any Computer Science Majors out there wanting to fill me in on the origins of writing "Code", feel free to do so.
Now earlier I said the word "Apps" that comes from the term used form phone Apps market. Basically my vision for the future in BIM API is that when people begin to say if, "can BIM do this", people will start to say, "I have an App for that", LOL. The only area that I see BIM being "caged" is when it comes to "Intellectual Property" from the "Indedendent Programmers". All "I" have to say about that is, What ever happened to the "I" in the BIM philosiphy. If you're in it for BIM then you're in it to "Share Information". Of course, there are some out there that share like Jeremy Tammik that do so & "I" love seeing that, but others that develop an Addin that's like the next best thing since sliced bread keep it klinched. Now "I" understand this is "Capitalism", but we are talking about BIM here, the next frontier. What would you best be known for a "Pioneer" or just another "Capitalist" for BIM, and that's my rant, LOL.
Now the next best thing since sliced bread is using the Revit VSTA to develop your "App", which if you look at Session ID "CP314-2" it will inform you of its location. If you view "CP322-1", then you'll know the direction I'm wanting to go when it comes to the API Development (productivity) & "I" will joyfully "Share" the "Fruits of my Labor"; to be continued....

Update on DB Link - using 64bit ODBC drivers

Below is a step-by-step of using the ODBC option on Revit 2011 64bit & MS Office 2010 64bit. This is so much better than having to deal with the "SQL Server" option because of using MS Office 32bit with Revit 64bit . The only draw back I found is that since my office is using "Newforma", which is not 64bit compatible, we are held down to only using 32bit. So my current workaround is to set up a "Remote PC" using MS Office 2010 64bit to do the Export/Import process. I havn't got around to testing if we can Import from a PC that has a 32bit version of MS Office, but soon enough when my busy schedule subsides back to normal.

Step #1: Go to your Add-In Panel in Revit & click on External Tool & select the DB Link Tool

Step #2: Click on the ODBC Tab & select the "Select a new connection" & click Export

Step #3: In this Dial. Box select "New" (Creating the Data Source Name, its use could be like Per Project)

Step #4: Then select what I have highlighted "MS Access Driver" & click "Next"

Step #5: Click on "Browse"

Step #6: Then select its Location, give it a Name & Click "Save"

Step #7: Click on "Next" Then click on "Finish"

Step #8: Click on "Create" in the Database Column

Step #10: Creating the DB & giving it a Name; (the DSN could be to the Project as the DB is to a file; each file will have its own DB if you did understand that already) & click "OK"

Step #11: Click "OK", click "OK" again, click "OK" one more time & select the DSN that was started in Step #3 & finished on Step #7 & Click "OK"

Step #12: Click "OK" one last time & let the Exporting process run its course.

So when needing to Import the DB back in after Editing it from Access or a linked Excel file; from Step #2 you would select a recently used connection (representing that files DB) and select the "Edit & Import" button then an Editable Dial. Box showing the Database pops up then select "OK" & the Process will run after that & this would be the perfect place to verify changes or if by chance Access is not installed then can be Edited from there.