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Revit For Newbies | Just Do Eat at RFO

As the years go on, in this whole thing we call BIM, AECO and Life; many of us are asked how best to learn software-X or similar questions. This posting should act as a great kick-start toward that end.

I am not getting tired of answering this type of question, as long as the folks asking such questions actually take the necessary steps and an active approach to their growth and education; rather than dreaming of "The Magic Wand" approach for getting education, or worse (as all to many people can be) learn the proper procedures, etc. then choose to ignore them.

With that said, here (well, by clicking the images below) are a couple of starting points (mandatory IMO) for all the newcomers to Revit. You will find a multitude of people's existing experience as well as a set of live, interactive question and response forums... This can get new and existing users -of all levels- closer to a state of Revit mastery. Create a free login and have fun!!! (Oh yeah, learn too)...

Notes to all those that are reticent to learn Revit (or at least the proper procedures in it) and/or those who don't see the need for BIM (whether Revit or other BIM authoring apps), I humbly but forcefully say:

• Stay the course of 2D CAD workflows so those firms that do and or have adopted BIM can take all of your prospective projects. -The world may need less Architects yet more 'good' ones anyhow...

Yes, I do suggest that becoming more efficient and less wasteful as an industry implies "good".

Now onto business, If you are new to Revit or just want to get a start on becoming a Revit Knowledge Junkie hit the following images!!! Enjoy and thanks to all at TheRevitForum!!! FYI: If you are truly serious about learning Revit I am sure you will find the Live Sessions useful as well... In addition to this here blog of course ;-)

BIM Fact | A Well Defined Process

Agree or disagree, (I find) The BIM Protocol from The BIM Task Group to be quite valuable, especially when the PAS 1192-2:2013 is leveraged. -Enjoy and Use!!!

This is one time I will not editorialize (too much) except to say that projects that do not use a well defined plan and find that they are successful, can only be attributed the success to luck and that luck will not hold out. AECO is bigger and requires more respect than many are apt to give it... Revit (or whatever BIM) Projects are increasingly not independent, stand alone productions...
We (AECO) must evolve!!!
You in???



According to this Revit Fact Check | BIM Fact Check post:

"BIM Fact: A well defined BIM process is THE approach worth undertaking."

"BIM Fact: Using no BIM process is still a process.
-probably just a shitty one"

Need we say more? Like how widespread adoption in the UK may push others of us to adopt the same BIM Execution Protocols as one another? Kind of like having a "standard"!?

Want more? Get more... Check this out from the BIM Task Group (Then follow @BIMgcs)... Image links to the downloads page ;-)

Getting Annotation Without Text (In Revit) | RevitWikiHelp, LARUG and Me

During the course of a discussion in a recent Revit class for Project Managers that I was presenting, I reiterated the benefits, actually the mandatory use of 'help' and of the Internet, for finding multiple sources of workflows, best practices, how-to's, pitfalls and every bit of help, etc. The like as can also be found in my article: The Ultimate Revit Hand: Every Tip, Trick, Technique & Workaround (Known & Unknown)...

Anyhow... The discussion with the PM's flowed into Keynoting and data/information fidelity in Revit and further simply in BIM and ultimately AECO itself... at a point I ventured over to RevitWikiHelp; a subsection of Autodesk WikiHelp. I was showing the breadth of captured knowledge there and when looking at the the "Community" pages; those that augment the main help topics; I found that someone we know and love(?) -ok, me... has had a portion of their work included therein and I am truly honoured (Use this link or the image above to get there)! FWIW, I didn't know my article was included there so you can understand my surprise!!!

Additionally, and to make your obtaining these and other materials for Revit, BIM and more; easily available: Here are all those forementioned materials, including handouts, the presentation's recordings as well as the other documents -the image (left) also gets one there... 


The posting shown also has handouts & documents, etc. by Troy Gates on Formula Driven Families & Noteblocks... all to download at your leisure (read as NOW ;-)














Don't forget to look at all of LARUG's blog archives for more goodies (found on the right side of the blog, below the "other sites" section...just go there and surf around!!! -Remember when it was called Web Surfing LOL...but I digress...

Thanks ADSK and YOU the reader for the continued support!!!

Finally, other than using F1 from your software, the following images will get you to all the AutodeskWikiHelp(s) main page(s).

 

 

-Cheers, -J

In Response To | The Next Generation of Obsolete Professionals

As the title states, this is in response to an article over at BIMstop, found here. I post this response here, as I use a dirty word and, well that's all...

Regarding "The Next Generation of Obsolete Professionals" article I will take a different tack and pose that schools are not putting out possibly "obsolete" professionals by not teaching Revit or Archicad or whateverCAD, it is rather by not preparing these young people for the realities of the current and future state of Architecture...which is the future of AEC and AECO...all together, not independent!!!

The learning of software-x in schools is needed but there is a larger conversation in the context of "The Next Generation of Obsolete Professionals", namely the need of Architects/Engineers as independent factors at all. Looking out 10 to 50 years, will society need (NEED) the Architecture or Structural firms as stand-alones or would civilization be better served if AEC firms become the predominant building creators?

Do Automotive designers work in companies independent from the Automotive manufacturer? For the most part No.

The 500# gorilla in the room called possible obsolescence of our industry may be that the future will see Architects/Engineers working in AEC offices and not necessarily being or needing to be independent entities -from the owner's $$$ perspective at least this seems optimum. I argue that from the Architect, Engineer and Contractor’s perspective this be seen as optimum as well.

BIM and further IPD, as we move closer to that industry wide, create a scenario where teams must be truly integrated for optimum efficiency and value (not to mention profit). It is increasingly more prevalent that those integrated firms will surpass what independent or ‘anarchist-process’ firms can possibly produce. I say Anarchist-Process since each independent player (A, E and C) each model for differing bottom lines and the use cases for BIM are so numerous that these different ‘bottom-line’ models or BIM are usually competing with one another’s use case or at best only marginally integrated. AECO needs completely integrated BIM, not marginally integrated BIM.

If Architects or "Designers" do not know how buildings 'go together' they are not much more than illustrators at best -and there is dwindling need for them (unless they want jobs in AEC offices to provide pretty pictures alone).

There are already too many folks that call themselves designers yet who are not; those who do not know or care how the "design" can possibly be built (if it even can be for the given budget). These Architectural Illustrators are part of what is keeping the wastefulness alive in AECO and that waste must surely stop.

The waste must stop, not because I am stating it, the waste will stop because it will be increasingly unacceptable by those in power (read as Owners (AKA: The $$$)).

BIM can empower the Architect and designer, Engineer and Contractor; therefore, BIM is needed to be studied and mastered in both higher education and in our industry.

BIM is not about making document sets and the example you provided of a set made in Adobe Illustrator looking unrecognizable from a Revit (for instance) set is arguably, if not technically preposterous.

Does Adobe Illustrator count anything? Does Adobe Illustrator have any ability to parameterize the objects for any number of AECO needs? No and NO.

Technically a piece of printed paper can belie it’s originating creation software (etc.) so ontologically you have a minor point. Now expand that point to be a serious one, as we do not only print once for instance… Make a change to the amount and kind of windows in a building (late in CD) and re-print...tell me how long those changes take in AI, how many views and schedules and calculations are incorrect (or how much more time (read as budget) is wasted using an inappropriate tool)... and then try and argue of the differences being imperceptible. I say that would be dramatically perceptible in every way, including graphic ‘look’.

Other than making pretty pictures of abstracted things that 'appear' to be buildings and document sets Adobe Illustrator is a meaningless point to raise. So too are the other non-BIM tools. Shit, I have seen a survey (graphically) created in Excel and although it ‘looked’ and ‘printed’ like a proper digital survey, it had absolutely zero usefulness outside of that print. It helped the project zero percent and actually cost time and more money since a real digital file was commissioned, therefore I would argue that the Adobe Illustrator set of documents is a tenuous point to attempt… BTW: that Civil Engineer is no longer doing business as far as I know, I suspect due to the inane nature of his software and process choices.

Only those software that support object-based information and data embedding are true BIM authoring tools. That is simply what BIM is after all.

Building

Information

Model

Rhino, 3DMax, Maya, Sketchup, Maya, etc. are generic modelers and do not even say they are BIM authoring tools, no matter how useful they may or may not be in an Architectural or even as bit players in a BIM process.

BIM is intrinsically so much deeper than just paper output. If Architects truly adopt BIM, they would have to agree that the best course for the project is an integrated approach. A, E and C and even O being in tight collaboration, if not the same companies.

Those that hold the view that the Architect's function is to create design intent document sets, are most likely going to see the demise of the standalone Architect and possibly usher that in to existence.

Tell me one building of any importance, created in the past decade that was drawn by hand...the whole CD set... That scenario is where we may find Architects who do not comprehensively adopt BIM and IPD workflows in the years to come...BTW: This point is software independent…it is Process Dependent.

There are plenty of programs, even in Universities that teach software usage, even BIM software, but the needs and issues facing AECO is not in learning any one software, the issue needs to be learning the BIM and IPD processes... software(s) can always be learned inside or outside of school.

Challenge Your BIM Self

The folks over at RevitFactCheck have proposed an experiment/challenge to get at the heart of the sameness(es) and differenc(es) and potential best-practice/workflows between Revit, Rhino and Archicad (Images link to apps). Woohooo, we will have actual data to compare apples to apples...well, software capabilities to software capabilities that is ;-)

The teams are coming together, but if you want to participate (and that entails designing the challenge itself, if desired), then just hit the links to RFC and don't forget to look at the 3 software in question... Once everyone verifies their participation, we will share that info as well...

And if you use Bentley BIM software, there is place for you/your team at the challenge, we simply don't know anyone using that stuff, so we had no one to ask...If that's you join us as well!!!





The challenge will be live, live-streamed and recorded and looks to run over several sessions, including at LARUG meetings, so check here or there to see updates. See you there...soon...


Remember:
The bottom most image will get you to the RFC post directly!!!

Edit 02/11/2013: OK, so add to that Bentley (looks like) and definitely Vectorworks Teams!!! Welcome aboard!!!

Coordinated, Dominated | Autodesk University 2012

We hope you enjoy this presentation, though it may not translate too well since you cannot see my interpretive dances... Yes, it's true!

Coordinate to Dominate...The sound on this audio sometimes gets quiet, since AU couldn't seem to get us 4 working microphones... Oh well...It was a great presentation by some amazing BIM colleagues, a 24 page handout and an interactive audience... a recipe for success... That's what I call Dominating!!!

BTW: As to the people who commented below saying "Could have been better w/o the speaker's repeated need to get on his soapbox..." and "Class a little shy on content." WERE YOU REALLY "AT" THIS PRESENTATION??? 

I am guessing you never got the 24 page handout (that needs only be 8 to 10 pages, according to AU!!!) plus I don't think I repeatedly went on over and over...it's called tying points together... Perhaps he or she was struck by our actual content...since we obviously struck a nerve or 159 :-) 

We enjoyed it and am glad the 159 people in attendance thought so, for the most part as well!!! Here are the ratings and comments we got from AU, and to all who took the time to rate and comment we will take all (YES ALL) of the comments and use it to make our presentations even better... Don't be surprised if I don't mention getting about 45% "perfect 10's" and one single "1" in future lectures...can't make everyone happy, huh!!!

Considering that our discussions could be polarizing we find these results powerfully speaking to AECO's desire to get it right though and we were left with an overwhelmingly positive outlook for the future of AECO!!!

Class ratings on a scale of 1 to 10:
The class triggered my creativity – it made me think differently or in new ways 8.32 (38% Perfect 10)
The content was compelling – it inspired me to work differently 8.15 (41% Perfect 10)
The class was very important for my professional development 8.29 (38% Perfect 10)
The topic of this class was very important for my company 8.91 (47% Perfect 10)
I am very interested in learning more about this topic 9.34 (53% Perfect 10)

Class ratings comments:
"All BIMers need to hear these guys speak the truth, bluntly, with no filters. They could have used a little help with microphones. I look forward to learning from all of them into the future."

"Class a little shy on content. You roadmap was a little unclear. I know AV issues are not your fault, but you should have called in the room monitor to help with the sound."

"Could have been better w/o the speaker's repeated need to get on his soapbox about the meaning of construction docs, the architect as master builder, the definition of Standards, etc."

"Great Class"

"Great class with great speaker.  He and his team were great together and this topic was relevant and interesting to everyone."

"I really enjoyed the enthusiasm and passion that you all spoke with. Your topic was spot on and it was great to hear from a number of project team members and not just one side."

"Great Job!"

"The Consortium Rocks!"

"This class was excellent!  Very inspirational!"

Thanks to the team, the audience, Autodesk University and all of you!!!

AU 2012 Review Underway But First | Something (nearly) Completely Different

I will be finishing my AU2012 Review but since it's not finished and I want to get something of use out there this week, here is this:

Yes, it's true @LARUG is trying in their own small way to impact AECO worldwide... One small step for AECO, one giant leap for BIM-kind...

As always the image and this are the links to the whole story ;-)

It IS Nice to be Noticed

Yes it is Graham, yes it is... BTW all, Graham is helping keep UK BIM Awesome!!! tweet him up and let's get him posting more :-) HAHA Let's get ME posting more while we're at it XD (Do I need say: The image links to Graham's Blog?)

Coordinate and Dominate BIM Project Success

AU2012 is right around the corner! Only two weeks to get into my Collaboration Session, so Hurry and Register for it, if you haven't done so already ;-)

• This year I will be bringing you a session that will surely prove great, bringing together diverse viewpoints and insights into the Collaboration & Coordination realm. 
• Four Disciplines, all giving the best available information, to help you successfully coordinate your BIM projects... Pretty cool, if you ask me!!!
• Check out this and some other AU2012 classes, linked via images throughout this post :-)

AB2965 - Coordinate and Dominate BIM Project Success

You will glean insights from:

Troy Gates
BIM Director, early Revit adopter, respected Technology Expert.

Darren Roos
BIM Director, Construction Technology Leader and AEC influencer.

Marcello Sgambelluri
BIM Director, Process and Technology Mentor and Modeling Breakthrough Artist.

 Jay B Zallan
BIM Director focused on Transforming AECO's Viewpoints for Success.

Also look into attending these AU2012 sessions:

Jennifer Storey's session: Managing the Construction Administration Phase in Autodesk® Revit.

Sure to be an eye opener for many!!!




 



and

Brian Andresen (Hit the link @ left for his 2 sessions).





 




The LARUG Consortium is nicely represented!!!

Got Publications? LinkedIn can aggregate 'em!!! | Jay Zallan's Published Articles

LinkedIn keeps getting better and has been adding some quite useful pieces... One that I find great is the Publications section; whether this is new or not isn't the point...point is: it's great.

Cutting to the chase: The image links to my LinkedIn profile where one can scroll down a bit and find the publications...

Nice!!! Now I can get to them at a moment's notice...well, with a good web connection that is ;-)

Get Those F'ing aCAD Lines Out of Revit!!!

Ever get an idiot...uhh I mean team mate exploding CAD files in Revit?

Ever get remnant CAD crap like line types in Revit?

Want them eradicated?

I thought so. Too bad the state of Revit is such that internally (for now???) they can only be deleted one-by-one...

Painful with hundreds of lines, huh?

Well lookie here...

 Thanks to RevitForum.org once again for bringing so many minds together, like CASE-Inc.,  Revitonic, etc. And You!!!

The Solutions Are In This Thread or by clicking the images below!!!

Direct links found via the images below, so...here ya go...
And remember:
DON'T IMPORT OR EXPLODE CAD WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! ;-)

Are We Done Yet? CSI @ JAMA Saturday, September 29th

The Los Angeles Chapter of the CSI is having another great symposium: Are We Done Yet?

This will be where you can find Jay B Zallan presenting with Marcello Sgambelluri and Michael N Smith during the Technology and the Closeout Process session (#3) at John A Martin Associates, Saturday, September 29th. Links & Images below are to all the goodness!!! -Just be sure to Register Before September 26th, if you plan on attending!!!

Hope to see you all there!!! (yeah everyone, right ;-)

LACSI

AU2012 Coming, RTC2013 On Deck | 'You Going?

RTC2012 was Truly fantastic, from the amazing classes, world class presenters and networking opportunities; not to mention the pool parties!!! If you are debating the possibility of attending one of the RTC2013 events, maybe this will help...

The folks at RTC put together this video and for me to be included with the likes of Phil Read and David Harrington, etc. is quite an honor and one of the reasons that I try to bring my "A-Game" to every presentation!!! ...I know who's watching!!!

NOW, it's that time of year again; AU2012 is right around the corner! 

• This year I will be bringing you a session that will be a great one, bringing together diverse viewpoints and insights into the Collaboration & Coordination realm. 
• Four Disciplines, all giving the best available information, to help you successfully coordinate your BIM projects... Pretty cool, if you ask me!!!
• Check out the other classes by Marcello & Darren via the links below

AB2965 = Coordinate and Dominate BIM Project Success

Space is filling up, so go sign up, if you want to glean insights from the likes of

Troy Gates
BIM Director, early Revit adopter, respected Technology Expert.

Darren Roos
BIM Director, Construction Technology Leader and AEC influencer.

Marcello Sgambelluri
BIM Director, Process and Technology Mentor and Modeling Breakthrough Artist.

 Jay B Zallan
BIM Director focused on Transforming AEC's Viewpoints for Success.

Also look into attending these AU2012 sessions:

Jennifer Storey's session: Managing the Construction Administration Phase in Autodesk® Revit.

Sure to be an eye opener for many!!!




 



and

Brian Andresen (Hit the link @ left for his 2 sessions).





 




The LARUG Consortium is nicely represented!!!


The Call for Abstracts is open for RTCAUS So if you have what it takes to stand in front of your peers and industry leaders alike, provide unique insights and processes then go send in your abstracts!!!

I can hardly wait for RTCNA (Not just USA) in Vancouver, Canada July 10th - 13th. Get your Passport's ready!!!

Creating Custom Revit Families | Little Details Count!!!

Q: Looking to learn how to create Revit Families the right way?
A: Count on Little Details Count, in a Big Way... 750+ pages Big!!! 

Check out (and buy) Little Details Count's eBook by Michael Anonuevo. Click the image below to do just that!!! I Got Mine!!!

I hear there's a drop-down when purchasing that allows you to choose this site as your referral site, but is it necessary to use that? No. It would be nice to know what impact we are having, so if you do use it I'd appreciate it, but the choice is yours :-)

FYI: I tried to get extra discounts for you (my readers) but that wouldn't have been fair and would have put MA in an awkward position, so no discounts beyond the bulk purchase discounts that are great in themselves!! Regardless of our getting special perks or not this eBook is a great resource and well worth the money!!!

Now, to be completely transparent I did get my copy for free, perhaps for several reasons...
1) I am a friend & collaborator of Michael's
2) I am helping him get the word out here
3) I have worked with him to QA/QC his earlier Family building processes

I'd like to think it's due to our collaborations and history but whatever the reason; I give this eBook my praise & support simply because it is a great resource, jam packed with most everything one needs to build Revit content...other than an indomitable spirit that is ;-) -That last part you'll have to bring yourself and no, I am not joking: attitude is oft the deciding factor between success and failure!!!

I usually do not suggest 'pay-to-play' items, but this eBook endeavors to encapsulate all that any Reviteur would need covered to become effective & well rounded content creators. Purchasing now will also get you the Revit 2013 updated eBook...

If one wants to learn how to create Revit content and feels that $19.95 for this eBook is not worth the expenditure, I'd suggest they find another line of work. Fast!!!

At $20 (OK Michael, $19.95) I think it's a slam dunk to buy, for that special loved one in your life...Yourself!!! ;-)

That goes for BIM Leaders as well; buy copies for your staff and become the pride of your Revit community!

LARUG Presents | August

Well now, the Los Angeles Revit Users Group and it's LARUG Presents | August slate of presentations has been a great success so far and both the live stream and the recorded presentations are getting a lot of views, so to make things even more accessible, use the links above for info & handouts as well as below for an embed of the first night's presentations...

Note: the Adaptive Family Scaling portion was edited out based on a request by Marcello... Look for a class in the future...That will be a great one for sure.

LARUG BIM Consortium's YouTube Channel Link

We highly suggest showing up live, you never know what special surprises we will have for live attendees!!!



This week The Consortium will be in the Inland Empire (well, San Dimas actually) and Brian Andresen will be leading the meeting in San Francisco, with Autodesk 360 being represented by Scott D. Davis we hear ;-)

RTC USA 2012 Reconstructing the AEC Practice Volume 1

Before we (and when I say 'we' I mean 'I') post our recap & overview of RTC USA 2012 we offer our PDF and PowerPoint from Session 8, that had some, if not all attendees transfixed and transformed!!!

Need more RTC Info? CLICK HERE.

If the images don't get you to the direct downloads then scroll to the bottom of this post for old school links...

Top-most image = PDF, bottom-most = PPT... Enjoy (& use them!!!)

PDF Download Here

PowerPoint Download Here

Practical BIM 2012: Practically Here!!!

USC School of Architecture is at it again with it's 6th Annual BIM Symposium, July 13th, 2012 in LA and the #BIMmodelingFluffyKittenKillas_LA & the @LARUG Leadership Consortium are excited to be part of & opening the festivities!!! Well, if the current draft schedule holds at least :-)

As always, all the links and images are...well...links!!!

Marcello Sgambelluri (@leftyinvalid):  
CRITICAL ISSUES AND BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES: In order to have a successful BIM Project 

Jay B Zallan (@JayZallan):  
RESTRUCTURING THE ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE: AEC Success In BIM, IPD And Beyond

Troy R Gates (@TroyGates):
PRACTICAL BIM EXECUTION PLANS: A Guide to Building a Practical Plan for Your Projects

For more information use the links and images herein and also see LARUG's Blog for some other USC BIMposiums for 2012!!!

Huge amounts of gratitude goes out to Professors Douglas Noble & Karen Kensek from USC School of Architecture who are the folks responsible for putting These and other BIMposiums on!!! Los Angeles, AEC & the World is truly better for all that you do!!!

Many of our friends and colleagues are also speaking and we think they are all great & hope to see you there!!!  Other #BIMmodelingFluffyKittenKillas:
Brian Skripac: @BrianSkripac
Brian Andresen: @CADBIMManager
David Graue: @dgraue
Mario Guttman: @MarioGuttman
So many more, so little twitter... apologies if I didn't include you in the above twitter list... I just couldn't find you there...Let me know your twitter name & I will surely add you herein!!!

PRACTICAL BIM 2012 SPEAKER LIST (in no particular order that I can find :-)


BIM FORWARD: From Push to Pull – Best Practices for Implementing BIM
Michael LeFevre, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C; Vice President, Planning & Design Support | Building Information Modeling, Holder Construction Company

PRACTICAL BIM EXECUTION PLANS: A Guide to Building a Practical Plan for Your Projects
Troy R. Gates; Design Technologies Manager, Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch

NEED TO KNOW BASIS: Managing Varying Levels of BIM Proficiency on a Project Team
Kirstyn Bonneau, LEED AP; BIM Manager, PBWS Architects

CRITICAL ISSUES AND BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES: In order to have a successful BIM Project
Marcello Sgambelluri, SE; BIM Director
John A. Martin & Associates, Inc.

A WORK TRACKING SYSTEM FOR CONSTRUCTION
Nelly P. Garcia-Lopez; PhD Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
Martin Fischer, Ph.D.; Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering, Stanford University
Raymond E. Levitt, Ph.D.; Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects, Stanford University

PRACTICAL BIM SUPPORT: Creative Training Solutions for CAD/BIM Managers
Brian D Andresen; Director, CAD/BIM Systems, WLC Architects Inc.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS: Introducing Construction And Structural Logic Through Detailed Modeling
Anton Harfmann; Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati
Troy Newell; Second year M.Arch 1 student, University of Cincinnati

BIM+THE DESIGN PROCESS: Adventures Incorporating BIM in the Design Studio
Daniel Janotta AIA; Principal, Johnson Fain
Jed Donaldson AIA, LEEDAP; Senior Associate, Johnson Fain
Mark Owen; Director of Technology, Johnson Fain

CUSTOMIZING BIM: Enhancing Efficiency and Capability with Application Programming
Mario Guttman, AIA, LEED AP; Design Applications Research Leader, Perkins+Will

RESTRUCTURING THE ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE: AEC Success In BIM, IPD And Beyond
Jay B Zallan, I.C.E.; VDC, BIM Director, Perkowitz+Ruth Architects

5D BIM CONSTRUCTION WORKLOW: Implementing BIM in Cost Estimating, Scheduling and Construction Management
Stan Zhao, LEED AP; BIM Specialist, Balfour Beatty Construction

THE EVOLUTION OF LEARNING: How Technology can Advance Corporate BIM Training Initiatives
Troy Barbu, Associate; BIM Innovation Manager, Davis Langdon, An AECOM Company

CONNECTED BIM: Cloud Computing and Large Scale Project Collaboration
Dennis R Shelden, AIA PhD; CTO Gehry Technologies / Associate Professor of Practice, MIT

SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB: Practical BIM on an Impractical Project
Phil Lazarus, Architect, MBA; BIMTroublemaker

THE BIM BANDWAGON: The Time to Jump Is Now
Heather Trezise, Assoc. AIA, LEED BD+C; HDR, Inc

OPEN BIM: Real Interoperability, Practical Collaboration
Jeffrey W. Ouellette, Assoc. AIA; Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.
Jeffrey Server, Assoc. AIA, ASLA, LEED AP; Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.

A MORE PRACTICAL BIM: Geospatially Re-structuring BIM to Sustain the Built Environment
Patrick Wallis, AICP, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, GISP; Consultant/Project Manager, Esri

COMMON SENSE BIM: The Non-Technology Side of BIM
Greg Smith, VDC; Director, Skanska USA Building

BIM STANDARD INDEXING: Stakeholder Provisioned Internet Accessible Information
David E. Ways, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP; BIMPAGE, LLC

bimSCORE—GPS FOR BIM NAVIGATION: From Aspirations to Quantitative Measures of Success
Calvin Kam, PhD, AIA, PE, LEED AP; Founder, bimSCORE.com

(UN)REAL BIM: Providing a Unique BIM Experience in Virtual Reality
Vaughn T. Horn, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP; Assistant Professor, Tuskegee University

SMALL GREEN BIM: Using Climate to Compute Form
François Lévy, AIA, AIAA; Principal, François Lévy, Architect and Partner, synthesis-intl.

BIM LEADERSHIP: Getting Beyond the Technology
Brian P. Skripac, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C; Director of BIM at DesignGroup

BUILDING CENSUS: Immediate BIM benefits for large portfolio owners
Ryan Ghere, President, MABEC Group

MULTI-DISCPLINARY COORDINATION: Experiences and Guidelines
David J. Graue, AIA, Leed AP; Design Build Manager, HNTB
Gautam R Shenoy; PA, HNTB

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION BIM: Shop drawings & Logistics
Reginald Jackson, AIA; Vice President, Morley Builders
Edward So, LEED AP; Manager of Virtual Construction Manager, Morley Builders

SNOWFLAKE THEORY: Project Based Approach to BIM Management and Level of Development
Daniel Shirkey, EIT, LEED® AP BD+C; BIM Specialist, Balfour Beatty Construction
Monica Lubag; BIM Specialist, Balfour Beatty Construction

IMPLEMENTING BIM: A Consultative Approach
Leo Salcé, Intl Assoc AIA, LEED AP; Senior Consultant, Microdesk

OWNER TAKES THE LEAD: Re-purposing Data and Technology for Lifecycle BIM
Michael Cervantes, AIA, LEED AP BD+C; BIM Manager Los Angeles Community College District

THE VIRTUAL BIG ROOM; Be Here Now with Immersive Reality
Cliff S. Moser, MSQA, AIA; Executive Vice President, Architecture AECCatalyst, LCC.

PRACTICAL BIM: The new operating system of the AEC industry
Viktor Bullain; TCCO

NORTH CAMPUS BRIDGE: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Fabian Kremkus, AIA, BDA; Associate Principal, CO Architects

PRACTICAL BIM AS A TOOL FOR GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Darren Roos, LEED AP, and Anamika Sharma; Suffolk Construction

PRACTICAL USE OF B.I.M. In Design and Construction For An Integrated Design / Build Approach:
Marc Howell; McCarthy Building Companies

AECOsim BUILDING DESIGNER: New BIM Software Integrates All Disciplines
Tom Lazear; Archway Systems, Inc.

A DECISION SUPPORT METHOD for Reducing Embodied Environmental Impacts During Early Stage Building Design
John Basbagill and Mike Lepech; Stanford University

BIM CONCEPTUAL PLANNING With An Integrated Design-Build Team
Elton Murakami, DBIA, LEED AP; Sr. Preconstruction Manager, PANKOW

ADVANCED BIM THROUGH TIGHT COLLABORATION AND INTEGRATION: A Structural Engineering Example Of A Stadium
Jonatan Schumacher; 
Director of Advanced Computational Modeling, 
Thornton Tomasetti

ALGORITHMS ARE THOUGHTS: Performance-Driven BIM through Computational Ideation
Nathan Miller; Associate,
 NBBJ

AU2012 Autodesk University Call for Submissions Ends Today: Got Mine, You Yours?

Here's to all of the thousands of people who submitted for AU Classes...Cheers!!!

From the looks of it AU2012 will again be an amazing amalgam of creativity, productivity, learning and strippers...uhhh...ummm...woops... I mean professional networking!!!

If you want to potentially present there, you had better get on it; you have through today, April 22nd to submit...

I hope they at least choose my 'Adaptive Rigs & Breakthroughs' class & my Favorite: 'Coordinate & Dominate BIM Success'... though the other two would not be shabby either!!!

Submit Without Giving In :-)

See you at #AU2012!!!

A Work at Home on 'Some' Work-Sharing Files Posting

In a reply to a RFO question I added the following that I think can be helpful to many folks...Until Revit Server & other remote solutions are "Lights-On" bullet-proof at least :-) (Yes the image above IS a link as always ;-)

(Paraphrased) Q: I want to work at home with a Work-sharing file.

The first reply was by Aaron Maller

Not practically.

You can each check out work-sets "at risk," and then edit them as local files while separated, but it has a high volatility and a low success rate amongst anything but the best users: And even then, it fails often.

Then came my reply...

What you may be able to try is this, if the office model is set enough and the work needed is more internal or completely new portions of the model are needed, or for interior component work, etc.

This doesn't work for all situations but it will for some...consider your options carefully :-)

TO WORK AT HOME ON 'SOME' WORKSHARING FILES IN REVIT

1) Detach the Central Model
1a) Save to media or location such as Drop-Box, etc.
1b) Purge Unused (keeps the file as small as possible) *Unless you will need objects from this model that are yet unused*

2) Save that copy AS A NEW CENTRAL Model on the remote (home, etc.) computer
2a) Be sure to Synchronize To Central after Save
2b) Relinquish everything
2c) Compact the file
2d) Close it

3) Start a New Project
3a) Save this as a Central Model
3b) Create a Workset using your name (for example)
2b) Do all of your work in that Workset *Annotations and some objects won't respect that Workset, so be sure to catalog all of the work you do that falls outside of pure modeling, so those things can be copied in when this goes back to the office*

4) Link (Origin to Origin) the Central Model from steps 1 & 2

5) Recreate any Levels in this new project in the same places as the "office" model
5a) Change the Level Names in the new project (perhaps adding your initials as a prefix) *this will keep issues away later*

6) Work in the new model, placing objects as needed
6a) Synchronize To Central
6b) Relinquish everything
6c) Compact the file
6d) Close it
6e) Get this file back to the 'office'

BACK AT THE OFFICE

7) Link (Origin to Origin) the Remote Model from steps 3 to 6

8) Bind the link (Bringing in Levels 'should' not be necessary, unless you made new ones, in that case let them come in and delete the unused ones) *This is why using different Level Names was important in the Remote file*

9) Ungroup the bound file *Binding creates a group FYI*

Every model object should be in the proper spot, a little clean up may be in order and any anno, sheets, etc. may need to be copy/pasted in too... I think that covers the process enough to get going, if this seems a valid workflow for your specific needs.