Bradley BIM-Revit Resource Portal

The Bradley BIM Initiative sails into its 8th year (2017) with a big workplan created from our 2016 accomplishments serving our global clients.

The BIM Initiative’s core focus continues to provide over 1,000 pre-built Revit models for Bradley Plumbing Fixture, Washroom Accessory & Industrial Fixture products.

The Bradley BIM Portal is a trusted resource for highlighting Building Information Modeling (BIM) Trends and sharing Revit Family education with architects, engineers, contractors and facility owners.

2016 Bradley BIM Advancements

1) Bradley BIM Self-Service Web Services

The Bradley Revit Library served 20% more visitors in 2016; providing tens of thousands of Bradley Revit model downloads each month. (Over 5 Million in 2016)

The BradleyBIM Resource & Education Portal  (www.bradleybim.com) is globally searched & accessed each month by thousands of professionals; that use BIM processes and/or Revit software.

In February 2016, we moved and integrated our 5 year-old Bradley BIM\Revit Blog-Knowledgebase (350+ articles) into the BradleyCorp.com corporate website.

2) Bradley BIM for Specifcations, Prefabrication &  BPM Library

Bradley BIM enriched our participation with several 3rd party developers; that enhance and connect Revit & AutoCAD models to specific design & construction project tasks.

Specifications

• e-SPECS | Revit for Specifications (MasterSpec)

• SysQue  | BIM for MEP Prefabrication for both Revit and Autodesk Fabrication Platforms

• Autodesk Seek | Building Product Manufacturers’(BPM) Revit Library

3) Bradley BIM Academy: Professional Development & Education

As BIM Level-Of-Development (LOD) becomes integrated into the Design, Build + Manage processes, Bradley BIM created a new accredited BIM-Revit AIA-CES \ RCEP Course in October 2016. 

Course: "BIM Means Business: Steps to Achieving Contractual Revit Family LOD"

The 2017 Bradley BIM Work Plan

We ended 2016 with a well defined and budgeted work plan for 2017; that also incorporates the expansion of several 2016 successful BIM projects into 2017..

Here are a few top projects planned for the 2017 Bradley BIM Work Plan

1. Events that use the AIA-CES\RCEP Course | Steps to Achieving Contractual Revit Family LOD

2. Launch Bradley Virtual Product Showroom & Revit Family Download Center

3. Expand Bradley Accessible Toilet & Locker Room Layouts (Download in Revit Format)

4. Conduct BIM \ Revit Onsite Educational Meetings at Bradley’s Dubai Sales Office

Watch for future details of these and additional project launches as their 2017 timelines draw near.

Thank you for your consideration of Bradley products, Revit models, CAD files, Specifications & digital product files for your projects. 

Bradley BIM Articles

Download Complete Bradley Revit Family Library (1000 Families) – Download All Options

Download Bradley Revit Family Library From Autodesk Seek Building Product Manufacturer Revit Library

We extend our thanks & congratulations to Bradley Sales & Service Rep Agency, PIR Sales (Phoenix, AZ) for their successful outdoor Product Fair & AIA Education Day: 'The Event in AZ'

Our thanks to the several hundred architects, engineers, contractors, facility owners, professional associations and government representatives that attended throughout the day.

The outdoor Product Fair featured product manufacturers whose products PIR Sales' sells and services throughout the great State of Arizona.

Four (4) 1-Hour AIA-CES educational sessions were provided inside PIR Sales corporate facility from from 11:30-5:00 during the event.

Bradley was honored to provide staff, a BradVan mobile showroom, 2 booths and a BIM-Revit AIA-CES class to complement PIR Sales'; 'The Event in AZ'.

Bradley BIM is launching a new AIA-CES \ RCEP Accredited BIM Class in Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday October 12, 2016 for our Bradley sales partner, PIR Sales, Chandler AZ.

Join Us for this FREE Event!

The Event in AZ Event Page has a CEU Registration Email to register for any of the for the four (4) CEU classes that will be given throughout the day.

Bradley's AIA-CES class is also registered with the Registered Continued Education Program (RECP).The class offers Professional Development Hour(s) (PDH) to RECP Members.

Registered Continued Education Program (RECP) | https://rcep.net/

The Event in AZ | CEU Class Schedule

Defining and managing BIM models' Level of Detail (LOD) --or Level of Development is reviewed in great detail (no pun intended) by Antony McPhee, Registered Architect Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Author of Practical BIM Blog.

Antony extensively researched his BIM LOD article; What Is This Thing Called LOD?. He provides BIM LOD Definitions from multiple countries and professional associations with descriptions and images.

Antony's LOD article serves as a great discussion tool; as BIM-based organizations define both their internal and project BIM & Revit modeling standards.

Excerpt from What Is This Thing Called LOD?,

What Exactly is Level of Development?

Therefore; a BIM Level of Development (LOD) for a chair might go:

LOD 100 = there is a chair
LOD 200 = there is a chair that has nominal space requirement of 500x500
LOD 300 = there is a chair with arm rests and wheels
LOD 400 = manufacturer and model number.
LOD 500 = manufacturer and model number, supplier, date purchased

or in General Terms:

LOD 100 = there is a thing
LOD 200 = there is a thing about this size
LOD 300 = there is a thing with these functions and options
LOD 400 = it is this particular thing.
LOD 500 = this particular thing provided by this person on this date.

Continue Reading the Entire Article: What Is This Thing Called LOD?

Bradley's Revit Family models were created with a high Level Of Development (LOD). Bradley Revit models are designed to accommodate the needs of all four Revit project members; architect, engineer, contractor and facility owners.

There are several reasons the Bradley BIM Team chose to build a single Revit model; that was all-inclusive to serve all disciplines.

Bradley Revit-BIM Family Quality Standards | Top 10 FAQs

1) Logistically, its easier to manage embedded data parameters of more than 1,000 Revit models; as one inclusive model for all disciplines.

2) Ideally, a manufacturer's Revit model that is shared amongst the team; guarantees data consistency and minimizes the modeling costs for everyone. Consider this:

How often will your consultant(s) build a Revit model for both them and for your discipline?

How often do you build Revit models for your consultants?

3) Realistically, my onsite client visits confirm that BIM \ VDC Managers maintain a LOD definition; specific to their organization, projects and team members.

"We will decide what content we keep and delete within our Revit families."

[Common BIM-VDC Managers Response]

Bradley anticipated Revit Managers would remove content from Bradley Revit models; to meet their standards, preferences and criteria. It is far easier, faster and cheaper for them to delete content, from an all-inclusive Revit model.

Once they remove family content; perhaps after adding their own shared \ family parameters --they will save a Bradley Revit family file down to a smaller file size.

Bradley Revit Family Secrets – Compact File Reduces File Size

For example;

Architectural designers may remove the MEP connections, solids or voids --keeping only basic solids, masking regions and symbolic line-work.

Engineers may remove the materials, solids and voids --keeping the MEP connections and portions of the masking regions & symbolic line-work.

Contractors creating the Owner's as-built project Revit models; have typically requested and\or used the Bradley Revit models in their original high LOD format.

Technology's Exponential Growth Will Change Revit Family Rules

The Bradley BIM Initiative strategy forecasted; that Revit, LOD, BIM and supporting technology processes would remain "moving targets".

I attended the AU 2013 class; which detailed the Mayo Clinic Modeling Development Specification (MDS) --developed by Mayo Clinic BIM Program Manager, Andy Jizba (Arizona) and David Paul Wilkinson, Autodesk Consulting Services.

Autodesk University Class

• Model Development Specification: Communicating the Exchange of Reliable Models

The purpose of the Model Development Specification (MDS) is to define how Building Information Modeling (BIM) will be implemented and managed on both current and future projects.

Critical to the development of the BIM is a complete understanding of how the model will be used during the course of the design, construction, and life-cycle management of the building.

Andy Jizba | Mayo Clinic BIM Program Manager (Arizona)

While Level of Development (LOD) gains traction for Revit component and project modeling; Mayo Clinic has created a contractual deliverable process that defines

• a mutually defined LOD for each discipline, by each discipline -- based on an initial, project kick-off meeting with the owner.

• how the owner plans to use BIM for the Building's Lifecycle Management and Operations & Maintenance (O&M).

• LOD roles and responsibilities at each phase of the project: Lead, Support & Use

• how to use Revit family LOD shared parameters; to monitor & manage a project's LOD progress for each discipline and phase --to minimize rework of the model.

• a method that allows each stakeholder to integrate their interdependent Revit-BIM modeling standards into the project standards.

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.

Forty videos and PDF downloads are posted on the Fall 2015 BIMForum Presentations Page from their October event in Orlando, Florida.

Hours of video and dozens of PDF presentation-class documents are available for your BIM Manager monthly BIM-Revit Lunch-N-Learns.

Visit The BIMForum YouTube Video Channel to access hundreds of hours of video content for business, project and BIM standards planning and training.

BIM Level-Of-Development (LOD) was highlighted within several presentations. Those presentations providing LOD are bold-faced in the list below. I admit, I haven't listened to all the presentations on this list --as they were released 2 weeks ago. I'll update the boldfaced list of LOD presentations once I review them all.

 2015 Fall BIMForum Class Presentation Topics | Videos and PDFs

1. BIM/VDC for Precon at Ledcor

2. Optimizing Project Decision Making with VDC

3. Designers Taking Back Control of BIM Design Coordination

4. How BIM Impacts the Structural Steel Fabrication Business

5. A PDF Does Not Equal Paper How the PDF Revolution is Advancing BIM Workflows

6. BIM before BIM’s

7. Owner Actions to Define Transparency in the Model-based Design Process

8. BIM Utilization Effectiveness – How We Became Effective BIM Producers While Driving Innovation Forward

9. Organizational Modules: Studying the Effects of Organizational Repetitions Using QCA

10. Taking Control of the Game – An Exploration of Virtual Reality and Gaming Workflows

11. Building Blocks in your BXP: BIM-M Initiative

12. Pre-engineered Metal Building Systems

13. Precast and BIM

14. Laser focus on accuracy in BXP: USIBD LOA & LOD

15. BIM Legal and Insurance Issues

16. Raising the Roof with your BXP: Steel Joist and Deck

17. Building Quality in your BXP: NISD CM-BIM by David Merrifield (NISD)

18. AEC Supply Chain Optimization – Building Information Modeling for Improved Productivity and Content Management for Off-Site Prefabrication in a Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Facility Retrofit Environment

19. 4D > 3D Model + Schedule

20. Preconstruction in Construction: Managing Change in a Billion Dollar Hospital

21. LOD Update

22. Live Cost Modeling & Production Analytics with BIM

23. Constructible Design: Merging Design, Detailing and Coordination to Mitigate Risk and Create Predictable Outcomes

24. Managing Design as an Information Supply Chain

Fabrication and Level-Of-Development: When to Draw the Line(and Where to Model It) was one of the 12 classes I attended at Autodesk University 2015.

Will Ikerd, PE highlighted four new BIM Level-Of-Development (LOD) topics from the team authoring the BIMFORUM LOD Specifications:

• New 2015 LOD Spec Available for download. (see below)
• New LOD 350 Specification
• Definition of when to specify and recommended use of LOD 350
• New Course Certification Program: Certificate of Detailing in BIM (CD-BIM)

--- Taking the Mystery Out of BIM | CM-BIM Classes ---

Visit the BIMFORUM LOD Specifications Page to download the current and last few releases of the LOD Specifications. (links are located near the bottom of page)

The Bradley Quarterly BIM Newsletter is now available online.