Tag Archives: Design Validation

Revit to Sketchup

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There are several posts out there that talk about the options available to get 3D geometry from Revit to Sketchup many of which refer to the *.FBX format..

We have spent a good deal of time ad effort working with outputs from Revit, Tekla, Bentley and many others and have written the consummate IFC importer for Sketchup with results that out perform what you achieve in many other IFC viewers (Tekla Bimsight, DDS IFC viewer)

In writing the iFC importer we now know more than most what the issue are associated to IFC exports from Revit and would be happy to share that knowledge with others so that you can send Autodesk the feedback necessary to affect change in future versions. As such we invite you to get in touch, send us your models* and we will review them, giving you valuable feedback on the quality shortfalls that prevent your data from being reused in downstream processes such as cost estimation, planning and FM.

* We guarantee complete confidentiality, any model shared with us will be removed from our systems after analysis and communication of our analysis results.

Derivation vs. Extrapolation

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With such a rapid shift towards richer and more robust 3D information, questions need asking about how this data will be utilised efficiently now that it exists?

Many construction organisations have yet to rationalise the downstream use of this data or build up a set of requirements to define what they expect software to do for them in the future to meet these changes and challenges.

One additional challenge that is yet to even be a twinkle in most people’s eyes is the forthcoming realisation that perhaps the biggest problem organisations will face in the future is the ability to identify and trace the provenance and reliability of information; i make the distinction as being the difference between “derivation” and “extrapolation”

Derivation is the good stuff.. its the information that is calculated from a known base. Think slab being sequenced after supporting column; the derivation is based on the physical law of gravity.. not something that we argue with much these days (thanks to Isaac Newton).

Extrapolation is the potentially dodgy stuff.. like its counterpart (derivation) it is based on formulae and calculation however the information that results is an estimate rather than an absolute and therein lies the danger. The danger is multiplied when an extrapolation is then used as a basis for further extrapolation.

So what can be done? in my opinion the first step is to clearly distinguish between both types of information so that when they form the basis of reports such as budgets, schedules and plans the recipient of that information can judge the reliability of the information for themselves.

What would this mean today? if we looked at a tender bid submitted by 3 competing contractors we would be able to distinguish the probable accuracy of each bid; we be able to clearly recognise where one bidder had invested time and effort to establish facts and where others were perhaps at best gambling on the inability of a client to distinguish between value and price..

The result.. those who invest in processes and systems would get their just deserts!

The Jam in the sandwich

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BIM, BIM, BIM.. its fast becoming the hot topic..everyone is seemingly scrabbling around trying to understand what it is, what it looks like, and how its tastes. The world has to date been focused on BIM as a tool for designers and i guess that’s down to the big CAD vendors who to pay them their dues, are the only people managing to effectively communicate to a wide audience through their advertorials.

Why should anyone think BIM is anything other than design centric.. its not as if there is a plethora of other BIM app’s out there is there?

Well perhaps that is changing; step forward great solutions like Nomitech’s CostOS estimation tool, it reads BIM and brilliantly connects the design to rates to generate cost estimates as gracefully as i have ever seen it done before. Then there is the highly commended BIMserver; an open source design merging BIM server (think database) that by combining design and managing change offers a great platform to deliver value in ways traditional document management systems could only dream of.. (so that’s 2 solutions than demonstrate tangible value!)

The third solution i must declare an interest in. Check out the Vicis design validation engine.. you have a bunch of design information, you combine it into a single model and run clash detection; the results ensure that no 2 objects share the same space (which if you have ever tried to make two objects share the same space does not result in success!). Your fix the issues and re-run the test.. Yeah! its all coordinated.. but is it? The reality is somewhat less celebratory.. just because stuff doesn’t intersect doesn’t mean its right, far from it.. ever wondered why a ceiling access hatch is on the other side of a room from a duct access panel it is supposed to provide access to?..it didn’t fail coordination.. but it would fail design conformance validation..

So like a sandwich the really fundamental part is the quality of the filling (i just happen to like jam..). No filling.. no flavour.. no appetite.