CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
Embracing BIM: Would You Make the Switch?
16 January 2023
If switching platforms could increase your income, would you consider it? If it could make it easier to assemble a project with all the relevant (and comprehensive) data gathered in one place — where it could be accessed by every contractor involved in the project — well, wouldn’t it just make sense?
Droves of CAD professionals from several industries are looking at BIM (often in the form of Revit®) as their platform of the future. In the AEC and MEP industries specifically, Revit, an Autodesk® product since 2002, is currently considered one of the top BIM platforms in the world. If you’ve contemplated making the switch or have wondered why others are, here are a few reasons why this platform is growing in popularity.
Who’s Making the Switch?
It’s only fair to acknowledge that BIM would probably not be where it is today without Revit. One of the primary reasons architects and engineers make the switch to BIM is specifically due to the features that Revit provides. Here are some features that users find valuable:
If switching platforms could increase your income, would you consider it?
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Collaborative Tools
Revit ensures that every aspect of BIM is collaborative. Multiple users can work on and contribute to the same model at the same time. For example, the “Sync with Central” tool allows users to push their changes to a central model. This avoids overwriting or duplication, saving time and money. Revit also offers complete interoperability with other Autodesk products, which enables collaboration with other organizations that may be using a product such as AutoCAD®, for example.
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Easier to Build Energy Efficiency into Your Projects
Whether you design and build housing, commercial buildings, stadiums or nuclear power plants, there’s a growing demand for energy-efficient projects. Revit makes it easier for engineers to design and implement eco-friendly options. The software offers analytics tools to measure the environmental impact of models, plus Autodesk’s Green Building Studio allows engineers to perform energy analysis by running simulations to optimize energy efficiency. If you’re working on a project that’s aiming for carbon neutrality, Revit is absolutely the way to go.
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Sustainable Processes
Speaking of green and energy-efficient, Revit reduces waste and decreases the costs associated with paper printing by relying on a virtual environment. Revit automatically saves every version of the model, plus every edit that’s ever been made, making it easy to backtrack at any point.
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Scheduling Projects
Using the Revit software for scheduling allows teams to minimize time spent developing and managing workflows. Revit can automatically update project schedules as changes are made to the building model. Manual project scheduling is time-consuming and adds hours to a project every week. Revit project schedules can also be exported to other project management software, which simplifies collaboration with external teams, contractors and organizations.
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Parametric Components
Before we discuss this benefit, let’s quickly clarify what is meant by “parametric.” “Parametric” refers to the relationship among all elements of the model. These relationships are either created automatically by Revit, or by you, as you work. Revit organizes these parametric components into “families” to streamline the modeling process. Every element — from 3D views and title blocks to individual building components — is part of a family. They are created by assigning dimensions and properties to information, which a user can then modify by changing specific parameters, giving engineers, architects, and other users greater control over the building design as a whole.
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Repetition Reduction
Do you like having to do the same mundane task over and over again? (Neither do we.) Anything that reduces repetition gets the thumbs-up from us. The Revit software database is specifically designed to decrease the repetition that is usually part of BIM. How? Instead of making minor changes across multiple drawings, users can make the change just once — in the central database — and the software automatically updates all drawings with the most recent parameters. Given how much time is saved by minimizing repetition, it not only increases productivity but also reduces frustration.
BIM allows you to deliver a highly realistic 3D model that doesn’t rely on the vagaries of the client’s interpretation or imagination.
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Realism
The degree of realism in Revit’s renderings helps engineers, architects, and other construction professionals keep clients fully engaged in the development process. Revit’s photorealism is, well, much more realistic than most competing BIM software. Real-time rendering can be completed in minutes without lagging the system.
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Landscaping
Beyond traditional building modeling, Revit also excels when it comes to its landscape design features. This feature allows users to build true-to-life landscapes around their 3D models, giving clients a completely realistic view of their projects.
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Software Libraries
The digital libraries offered in Revit are particularly useful to users. For example, all those above-mentioned parametric components are stored in the libraries, so users can pull out specific data they need and edit it. With unlimited storage, users can save both the new components they’ve created and the edits they’ve made to existing components. These designs can then be accessed immediately from any connected device.
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Remote Access
Any modern platform should allow for remote access, and Revit certainly steps up to the plate in this area. Revit takes advantage of Cloud-based access so that users can access models and databases anytime, from anywhere.
From design to construction to maintenance, Revit allows project teams to anticipate, plan, and coordinate every single facet of a job. Another useful aspect is the ease with which one can make changes to the 3D model and drawings if a client suddenly changes their mind about something or shares new information.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of BIM is that unlike 2D renderings where much interpretation is left to the vagaries of the client’s imagination — over which you, incidentally, have no control — BIM allows you to deliver a highly realistic 3D model that needn’t rely on the client’s interpretation or imagination at all. What they see is what they get.
New Tricks
Industry insiders acknowledge that Revit can be tricky to learn, although familiarity with AutoCAD, for example, can make the transition a whole lot easier. With no experience in either, the recommendation is to start out with something like AutoCAD and then progress to Revit.
The “Sync with Central” tool allows users to push their changes to a central model.
Some estimates assert that mastering Revit could take up to a year, while various online education offerings suggest that with intensive training, the fundamentals can be learned in as little as two to three months in a two-hour twice-weekly class.
Your Current Platform
Anything that reduces repetition gets the thumbs-up from us.
Regardless of whether you’re considering switching to BIM or not, if you’re currently a Revit, AutoCAD or MicroStation® user, your platform may have quirky aspects that chew up your time unnecessarily. Axiom provides purpose-built productivity tools that are designed to save time, increase accuracy and reduce frustration. To discuss your particular situation, call a Service Consultant at 727-442-7774. Alternatively, MicroStation options are here, Revit offerings are here, and AutoCAD help is here.
If you’re in a position to make the switch to BIM and are still wondering whether it would be worth it, consider this: Architects with BIM skills typically earn 40% higher than the industry average. Obviously, we can’t guarantee that, but even daydreaming about an extra forty percent sounds like fun!
