What is the Best Timeline for Upgrading Revit Software?

Below is a brief 10-point list of BIM-Revit Manager recommendations I've found and have provided to BIM Managers during their training  process.

Consider these points; prior to upgrading Revit software.

1. "How will a Revit product upgrade affect your project's current timelines and team members?"

2. If a project's print or submittal milestone date is looming in the next 30-60 days, consider waiting to upgrade; especially for larger project teams.

3. When the project is long term and does not have an immediate print/submittal milestone; the PM/PA should consult and discuss the impact of a software upgrade and the potential switch date with his/her entire team (design, engineering, contractor).

4. Based on software subscription dates; Autodesk software is updated each March-April. Knowing this, BIM Managers will "look out" 4-6 months from March to review new incoming projects; that may be acceptable for the next Revit version. 

5. During this time, BIM Managers should review, What current or future projects should be considered for upgrade or will remain on their current version of software?

6. Consider having the  BIM-Revit Management Team actively participate with Autodesk's Beta software programs. They can be helpful to "kicking the tires" early using test equipment to anticipate any training, equipment or process changes to the project team(s).

7. IT & Project Teams may choose to wait until the first service pack is issued before rolling out a new release. Re-patching (updating) an installed release is disruptive.

8. The First Customer Shipment(FCS) version is often used to do major testing of deployment images, upgraded Revit standards, project testing, equipment upgrades, 3rd party applications and creating training update materials.

9. Revit success is highly dependent on processes. Review new Revit features against processes; as these need to be integrated into the update training and revising the firm's process standards.

10. Many firms use a similar 'pilot project' process; that started their use of Revit within the firm. Only now, the pilot project is used to roll out and update the software firm wide.

The recommendations and suggestions are based on technically supporting and consulting the Revit upgrade process with hundreds of Revit-based design firms since 2002.

Special thanks to the hundreds of clients using Revit; that I meet annually at my educational speaking events, Bradley plant tours and through our Bradley BIM Customer Service Portal.

We appreciate their enthusiasm to share tips on their firms' winning processes listed above.

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• Update Bradley Revit-BIM Family Components to Latest Revit Version

Bradley features Revit familes for the Enclosed Safety Showers in the Bradley Emergency Fixture Revit Family Library.Bradley ESS units feature emergency eye/face wash and drench showers; that include hot water heating units to meet tepid water standards.

The Bradley Enclosed Safety Shower Revit family components feature a semi-transparent, lightly shaded "clearance box" box. Dashed red lines appear in the plan and elevation views.

1. The 3D clearance box assists with the design-construction BIM clash-interference detection and coordination.
2. It helps the designer to design the space with adequate installation and maintenance clearances for this movable equipment.

A Revit subcategory named "Clearance" is assigned to the clearance box. It is located in the Revit View Visibility (VV or VG) dialogue box under "Plumbing Fixtures".

• The Revit designer can toggle ON/OFF the visibility of the clearance box in the view.

The ESS Revit family has additional Revit subcategory visibility settings with the prefix of "ESS". They are also are located in the Revit View Visibility (VV or VG) dialogue box under "Plumbing Fixtures".

1. The designer can toggle On/Off the visibility of the roof, walls and floor.
2. This enables the designer to easily place ESS product options; Bradley Tankless Water Heaters and EFX Emergency Eyewash/Shower Revit components into the ESS cabinet.

Some of the Bradley Revit Family Components are created as Face-Based families, so they will "attach" to wall, floor or ceiling surfaces.

Bradley does NOT create wall, floor or ceiling hosted Revit families. They are either stand-alone (non-hosted) or face-based families.

HOME Tab: View\Insert Component Command

INSERT Tab: Load Revit Family Into Project

You have 3 Options when you Load/Insert a Bradley Face-Based Revit Family into a Revit Project.

• Your first and most important consideration, make sure you are in a Plan View.

• ALL 3 options will display in the Revit Ribbon when you are in a PLAN View and inserting/placing the component.

Select the Revit COMPONENT command and IF the component is a Face-Based Family;

• these are the 3 OPTIONS that will display in the Revit Ribbon, in the upper right corner of the screen:

How do I load a Revit Family that has a Revit Catalog?

When a Revit family exceeds 7 family types in the family file (*.rfa); Bradley creates a Revit family catalog file to store the Revit family types. The base Revit family file uses the Revit family catalog file to create the family types (product variations) when it is loaded into the Revit project.

For example, in the article "Revit Pedestal Bench Family Features Nested Array-Family Catalog"; I mentioned that the Revit base file uses a Revit family catalog file to create the numerous variations of the Pedestal Bench.

When a Revit Bradley Pedestal Bench family (RFA) is downloaded, there is another important file that is downloaded with the family file (*.rfa).

This file, is the Pedestal Bench Revit family catalog file. It has the exact same file name as as the RFA file; however it is has a TXT extension.

• Family: Locker_Room_Bench-Pedestal-Bradley_Corp-Lenox_Pedestal.RFA

• Catalog: Locker_Room_Bench-Pedestal-Bradley_Corp-Lenox_Pedestal.TXT

• The catalog file resides in the ZIP file that you download and "unzip" into a folder on your computer.

The Pedestal Bench family catalog file has all 24 of the product options (family types) for the base family file.

>> Results of Locker_Room_Bench-Pedestal-Bradley_Corp-Lenox_Pedestal.TXT <<

Recommended Practices / Guidelines for using Revit Family Files with their Family Catalog file.

1) The Revit family catalog file (*.txt) MUST be saved and remain in the same file folder as its corresponding RFA file.

 2) This type of "catalog-based" family MUST be loaded into the project using the project's "Load Family" command.

• This will force a Revit dialogue box to pop up and display the product models (family types) that are listed in the family catalog file for the RFA file.

3) Please do NOT load the family into a Revit project from the Family Editor.

• This will create an error "model was not imported correctly".

 Download and review the Bradley Lenox-Cubby Locker Revit family, the level of visual detail and the designer-user options.

One 2-tier Cubby Locker family with 9 width & depth sizes (12x12, 15x18, 18x12, etc) and 5 height variations produces 45 different product models.

• Lockers include assigned rendering materials for both the cabinet & locker shelves.

• Download complete Lenox Locker Revit Material Catalog (refer to link below)

• Cabinet Options: Sloped Top Panel, Flat Top Panel, Left and/or Right Side Panels,

• 3 Base Options: 3", 4" or None

Each week Bradley clients; architects, engineers, contractors and facility owners contact our Revit-BIM Team with questions that ask;

"How are Bradley Revit families created?"

Here are the Top 10 Value Points that we share with them;

01) Extensive Division 10 & 22 Revit Library: Bradley's Revit Family Library currently has more than 1000 Revit family components representing thousands of Bradley plumbing fixture and specialty equipment products.

02) Documented-Proven Modeling Standards: We initially used the Revit Model Style Guide from Autodesk SEEK.

However, based on 10 years of actual Revit-BIM project experience, I rewrote and tripled the size of the original document. Bradley's new document better serves our clients' and the industry's evolving Revit-BIM project standards-practices.

03) Family Types: Bradley Revit family models represent thousands of Bradley products. Many Revit families include multiple variations of each Bradley product.

 We define product variations for a single Revit family; one of two ways:

Greetings & Welcome to the Bradley BIM Revit Resource Portal

 Daniel Hughes | Bradley Corporate BIM Strategist 

The Bradley Revit-BIM Family Library has more than 1,000 Revit Family Models; representing 10′s of thousands of Bradley Corporation's Commercial Plumbing Fixtures and Washroom Accessories Products.

I encourage BIM and VDC Managers to visit the Bradley BIM FAQs Page.

It provides a technical overview of Bradley's Revit modeling standards and quality assurance procedures.

• For technical assistance with the Bradley Revit Library, please visit our Contact Us Page.

• Speaker or Article requests may be submitted through the Speaker-Author Page.

• Bradley BIM Academy Onsite \ Online Class requests via Education-Consulting Page.

The Bradley BIM Team emphasis (target) for the Bradley Revit Family Library; has been

• Revit Family-Type stability and

• Revit Family dimensional accuracy.

How many times have you downloaded a Revit family, inserted it into your project and then it visually "falls apart" as you switch between the Family Types?

How many times has your downloaded Revit family been dimensionally wrong (length, width, height)?

Over the last 10 years, these are 2 of the biggest concerns Revit users have given for NOT using pre-built, user and/or manufacturer Revit families (including, my projects)

These 2 quality concerns were the main design targets of the Bradley Revit-BIM Team!

In Autodesk Revit, "the component" that you insert into a project; (like a window, door, chair, a grab bar or plumbing fixture), is defined as a Revit Family.

An AutoCAD user, may define a family as a Revit BLOCK.

Under best practices; the project's BIM Manager reviews and if necessary tries to minimize the file size of each Revit family; PRIOR to loading them into a Revit project.

Bradley understands the importance of small Revit family files sizes and the value of this Revit-BIM Manager task.

The Bradley BIM Team invests engineering time to shrink and test Bradley Revit family file size performance in real Revit projects.

Bradley Revit family tests are conducted usinng workset & non-workset based Revit projects.

Here is a short list of "Bradley Revit-BIM Family Quality Standards | Top 10 FAQs" that we use to minimize Revit family file size.

Which of these processes has the biggest impact on the performance of a Revit Project?

1. Revit Family File Size? OR...

2. Revit Family Visibility Settings?

While both are significant, our tests have found setting the correct Revit Family Visibility Settings for the project's Revit families has a larger impact on the Revit Project performance.