How many "easy questions" do BIM Managers receive from their staff; that can be answered with a simple 1-2 sentence answer?
These questions provide BIM Managers with "Teachable Moments" for their staff or "Moments of Learning" for both staff and the BIM Manager.
I can assure you --staff members will be back to ask the same questions for future projects. New staff members will have the same questions or variations of similar situations.
Repetition is how we ALL learn.
So, if "Time is Money"; you can't afford to waste the time of your staff, the project, the company and/or your own daily schedule.
Proactively building a Revit video library of short 2-4 minute support and training videos; will help save everyone's time.
Create videos to answer common process-based questions. It puts the BIM Manager in control of their time; while delivering on-demand self-learning & technical support.
For camera-shy BIM Managers, you don't need to use cameras or be on camera.
Camtasia records your mouse movements on your computer screen; while you are using a feature or performing a process in the application software (Revit, Excel, AutoCAD).
It also records your voice as you explain and train on a short procedure.
Once you complete the recording, save the recorded screen-capture to a Camtasia project file.
Next, select the "Produce and Share" command to create a video file in Windows (AVI\WMV) or MAC (MP4) video formats. Consider the following tips and procedures to use, store and protoect your video content.
Many architectural, engineering and construction job postings; require applicants to have proficient BIM software and project experience with Revit, ArchiCAD, Bentley, or Vectorworks. The BIM skill-set is now in higher demand; then the CAD skill-set.
Here are 3 sites, I personally use and continue to refer to my colleagues; if they are looking for jobs that require Revit experience OR advertising their open Revit job positions.
LinkedIn is a highly respected, networking portal; with millions of global members from all professions. Post a job, maintain your resume in your profile while searching for jobs or key contacts within the organization you are researching.
Last night, I found 17 Revit-BIM based jobs in LinkedIn Job Search using the keyword "revit". They were posted within the last 24 hours. More than 45 Revit BIM-based jobs were posted in the last 2-7 days. Use the left margin "Filter Tools" to refine the search results. Unlike many job sites; LinkedIn jobs are highly detailed in the job position description.
Another benefit, LinkedIn will also scan your contacts/connections and list possible ways you might leverage your connections to contact or engage in a job's submittal process.
The Bradley BIM Team maintained time and cost records for building the Bradley Revit Family Library from the summer of 2009 to December 2011.When I survey the Revit family modeling costs, relative to the processes we used to build Bradley's 1000 Revit Families; it reveals the "real value" in cost savings for each pre-built Bradley Revit Family Model.
Each pre-built, Bradley Revit model, can typically save a trained and knowledgeable BIM Manager between $150-$250 of labor costs.
Whoa! How did you arrive at that dollar value?
I arrive at this value, by combining these 2 assumptions with our 7 standard steps (below) for properly constructing a Revit family model. In fact, these are the initial steps I teach every professional; that needs to properly create Revit family models.
Assumption #1:I set my BIM Manager costs at $75 / hour; realizing the manager has real costs for hourly wage, software, equipment and benefits. The manager should have a billable rate (cost) for creating project Revit families (project billing cost) AND company standard Revit family library (billed back as overhead to reduce future project costs). I identify these costs as an organization's BIM Assets.
Andersen Windows - Revit models were my first exposure to a Building Product Manufacturer (BPM) supporting the Revit - BIM process.
For several years I implemented clients' Autodesk ADT \ Autodesk Architectural Desktop -- with almost no BPM support. Basically, we had to create all of our BPM content for Desktop...which limited our implementations.
When I installed Revit 4.0 in 2002 and saw Andersen Windows Revit families, it grabbed my attention. A manufacturer supporting Revit!
The Andersen Window families shipped with Revit software and were included in the sample library.
Autodesk then moved the Andersen Revit families to what is currently the online Archived Revit Content Library. When Autodesk obtained the Manufacturers' Revit Library BIMWorld.com; they transitioned the site content into today's Autodesk Seek.
As Revit software evolved, Autodesk Seek was incorporated into the Revit software; as a convenient BPM Search Engine to Find and Download BPM Revit models.
Revit Implementations Value BPM Model Content
Integrating BPM Revit content into our clients' Revit implementations was an important cost saving process. We minimized our library modeling costs to setup our clients' standard Revit library and kick-start their first "Revit pilot project".
Looking back --Here are links to the 5 BPMs; that offered significant, pre-built Revit family content to kick-start my clients’ Revit implementations and library standards.
My April 2014 Revit \ BIM article for Sourceable.net (Australia) reviews the potential savings from carefully selected, pre-built Building Product Manufacturers' (BPM) BIM content for BIM-based projects and office BIM standards.
Excerpt: Leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software packages such as Autodesk Revit, Bentley Microstation, Graphisoft ArchiCAD and Nemetschek Vectorworks provide libraries of free generic BIM content in their respective BIM file formats.
However; without reliable BIM content produced by Building Product Manufacturers (BPM), projects produced by designers with BIM software; will be greatly limited to create accurate construction documents.
My thanks to Excel Engineering Inc in Fond Du Lac Wisconsin for their permission to use their CrossWay Church \ Germantown WI Revit project image for my Sourceable.net BIM BPM article.
Additional Building Product Manufacturer (BIM) Content Articles
Successful BIM implementation comes in 'planned steps' as you market, plan, budget and set achievable implementation expectations. Joseph Joseph, identifies in detail his 8- steps to a successful BIM marketing program.
Joseph Joseph is a Practice Technologies Executive + Imagineer at Walt Disney Imagineering. He authored this article; when he was SAIC’s Managing Director overseeing all BIM/CAD Technologies strategies and initiatives, including strategizing, standards, and implementation of BIM in a design-build environment.
It's not enough to have BIM capability--you have to know how to sell your BIM expertise to clients, prospects, consultants, your management teams and employees.
Joseph's summary of each step, defines this as an Executive Level article for principals, owners and upper management to consider prior to implementing the BIM process. If you've already started BIM -- its a great checklist against what you have or have not achieved by implementing your BIM processes.
As a business and marketing planning article; it should be reviewed against your written Implementation Plans for Revit, ArchiCAD, Bentley or Vectorworks software.
If you're a facility owner, this is a great article to help you define your BIM 'End-Game"
"Why are you asking for BIM on your projects?" -- AND
"How is your team going to use BIM files & processes for managing the building?"
The secret to successfully implementing Revit is choosing Revit process features; that offer the best initial financial benefits early in the CAD-to-Revit transition process.
If Revit can substantially outperform your CAD software for creating documentation; why not start using Revit to draw faster and improve your documentation integrity and quality?
Here's my list of the ten best process features in Revit; that can offer the biggest Return On Investment (ROI) in the initial phase of Revit implementation.
Automatic Sheet set Management and Tag Coordination
Automated Floor Planning Tools
All Model & Sheet Views Update When the Revit Model is Edited
Annotation Graphics Resize Based on View Scale
Power of Parametric Dimensioning
Pre-built Building Product Manufacturer Model Libraries
Building Schedules Synchronize\Auto-Update With Model Changes
Multiple people can simultaneously Access and Edit the Project File
Link DWG Files Into Revit Project
I established this list more than ten years ago; to help my Revit clients maximize their Return-On-Investment (ROI) on their "Revit Pilot-Project" implementations.
Many of these Revit process features and associated functionality -- do not exist in other CAD or object-based software programs. Clients immediately reaped the financial rewards (faster drawing, reduced labor) from using these processes on their first pilot projects.
The CSI BIM Practice Group published this Revit | e-SPECS learning-video (below) defining a Small Firm's Perspective | Implementing e-SPECS Specifications authoring software. e-SPECS automates the creation of the specifications by linking directly to a project's Revit model.
e-SPECS for Revitautomates the process of creating specification manuals integrated with all Autodesk Revit-based applications. e-SPECS for Revit includes the e-SPECS Binding Manager to link Revit families to your master guide specs automatically including and filtering the sections based on the families and parameters in the BIM Model.
I was facilitating a group discussion on "BIM-Automated Specification Processes" for about 30 specification writers.
Specifiers shared "the good, the bad and the ugly" recommendations for successfully implementing e-SPECS, SpecLink or MasterSpec within their offices' BIM processes.
Throughout the discussion; Brian shared several successful processes that he developed to connect his firm's BIM and specification processes --using e-SPECS.
Fast forward to August 2013 -->> and we find Brian Payne touring Bradley's Corporate Headquarters & Fixture Manufacturing Facility in Menomonee Falls.
Brian mentioned that he created an "Implementing Auto-Specification Software With Revit" Presentation for RTC 2013 in Vancouver Canada. He emailed the links and I have the opportunity to share his docs with you.
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