C'mon Coach, Put Me In The Game!

You don’t know what you don’t know.  Often times, we get blind to what is happening right in front of us, because we get used to what we see and don’t look at the subtle changes anymore.  What if you couldn't see the shortcut right next to you because you didn't know you needed to turn around?

The best athletes in the world have coaches.  Why is that?  The top professional athletes are capable of amazing things, yet always remain under the guidance of a coach or mentor.  Coaches are trained to manage a person, to reduce the impact of their weaknesses and strengthen their best traits.  A good coach knows each player’s personality and how to work with them to achieve better results for the sake of the team.

Coaches also provide external motivation to improve.  When an athlete, or any person, feels like they are at the top of their game they tend to slack off and slow down a little.  They feel like they have peaked, they've made it and there is no longer a need to push as hard.  A coach is good at preventing this stall.  The importance is when others have continued to improve; the athlete can become ineffective and not even know it, until it is too late.

Coaches study film and watch other players and other teams.  A coach has put in the time to learn from other teams and watch how players perform.  The knowledge can then be passed to the athlete, but in a manner that helps each player know what they need to know.  That leads to working more efficiently without wasting time going through all the material.

When developing your abilities, there are always observations that cannot be seen by yourself, but only by another person watching and helping.  Call them a coach, mentor, or accountability partner.  A person will always be bias towards their own abilities, see themselves how they want to or see the situation for how they believe it to be.  It is the coaches that can be more realistic in the situation that will help the athlete understand what is happening.

Now, forget about sports, athletes and coaches.  What about production teams in an office?  To have a coach working across teams and companies available is a heavy benefit.  The team members are smart and capable of many great tasks, but can also be blind to what they can’t see and ignorant to what they don’t know.  Why not enlist the aid of a coach or mentor to help each team member improve their strengths and enlighten their knowledge?  

Who is your coach?  Who is your mentor?  Who are you mentoring?

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

Credit:

Jimmy Johnson, Mike Ditka

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-jason-sudeikis-learned-love-other-football-nbc-sports-151939

Personnel Matter More Than Technology

It isn't the hammer that drives the nail.  It isn’t the club that swings at the ball.  It isn’t the trumpet that makes the music.  These are tools that amplify the skills of the person using them. Most hammers are the same, some clubs are better than others and a good trumpet might sound better than a bad one, but it is mostly the practiced skill of the user that makes the outcome better.

It isn't the pencil that drafts the paper.  It isn’t the mouse and keyboard that move through the program.  It isn’t the software that knows what you want and does it for you.  It is fundamentally the user that is creating everything through those tools.

There is no tool great enough to overcome the inexperience of a user.  In every aspect of our lives, our tools are used with practice and training to provide better results.  A child wielding that hammer will not be able to drive a nail as good as a professional carpenter.  Granted, that carpenter may be out of practice because he or she has become proficient at using a nail gun.

According to Google, paper was invented in 105 A.D.  Wikipedia talks about the history of a graphite pencil as being developed in the 1500s.  AutoCAD was first introduced in 1982.  Building Information Modeling is a term that has been around for decades, but only mentioned prominently as early as 1992.  Revit, as it is known today, began development in 1997 and was purchased by Autodesk in 2002.  The first version for MEP Engineers was released in 2006.  This timeline was developed to illustrate how quickly technology has changed in the last couple decades compared to the last couple millennia.  Dates may not be accurate, but hopefully the point is made.

One element that hasn’t necessarily changed is who is using these tools.  Personnel in a company must adjust as the tools in the industry get developed.  Just because a tool, or technique, was profitable last year does not guarantee that it will provide the same result this year.  That carpenter may prefer to use a simple hammer, but will lose jobs to another carpenter that has embraced the power tools that can get work done much faster.  Refusing to use the power tools, simply because you know the job can get done with a hammer, is not looking beyond your own desires at the job and profitability.

Complaining about a software program as useless, because it doesn’t work based on inexperience, carries no weight.  When playing trumpet, I quickly learned that it wasn’t the instrument that made the sound quality or tone.  The primary factor is the control of the player’s lips and the sound developed through the buzzing of the lips.  A beginner and professional playing the same trumpet will create a different sound.  Likewise, a beginner and expert working in Revit will create a different quality product.  It isn’t the software that makes the difference.

Team sports are great ways to learn how individuals working together can perform better as a team than the sum of those individual efforts.  Members of the team need to be aware of each other’s tasks and some team members may need to serve as backups.  A wide receiver running their own route will not get results better than a planned route where the quarterback knows where to throw the ball.  Individual efforts will damage the results of the team when developing content.  Attitudes of failure will hinder the team’s ability to win.

AutoCAD and Revit are tools.  The user still needs to understand the knowledge they are using to create the designs.  Advanced tools should not remove responsibility on the expert to know what they are doing.  Getting a better club does not alleviate the golfer from concentrating on his or her swing.  They still need to understanding the distance to the hole or wind elements that will impact the ball flight.

When looking at project management and profitability with Revit, the variable is not the software.  The change that may need to happen is a shift in personnel thinking.  It is us, the users, who need to continuously grow and be willing to relearn how to use tools today and in the future.  Technology is going to change and continue to change.  Are you going to complain about it or are you willing to keep up?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

Picture Credit:

http://www.thisishowyoudoit.com/how-to-swing-a-golf-club/

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/06/14/when-youre-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-play-trumpet.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/167094/Trumpet-being-played-by-American-jazz-musician-Wynton-Marsalis

Finding a Cure: Revit Troubleshooting

Disclaimer: This message uses a key plot point from World War Z (2013).  If you have not yet seen the movie, please understand that it is a good film, but that spoilers may be mentioned in this post.

Some people see Revit as a zombie plague destroying our beautiful industry.  Others have become engrossed in the capabilities of the software and stare at the screen yelling ‘BRAINS’!  The world of Revit is great when everything works.  Like writing program code, the trick is troubleshooting when systems fail.  It may be a simple option not checked or a mistaken shared parameter used instead of the correct one.

What helps best is to pay attention to all the little details.  Watch swarms of zombies running through and over everything in a never-ending hunger for new recruits.  What draws their attention?  What is it that they don’t go after?  It takes a keen eye to look at these behavioral results.  If you aren’t sure in Revit, then do a controlled test, without worrying about the bytes from the computer infecting you.

When something goes wrong, think back to the observations made throughout the project.  What is the problem? What is the cause? How can it be fixed? Can the fix be faked?  

It is only through constant observation of the zombies that the solution started to become apparent.  What triggered them? What did they seek out?  Through observation of the zombie behavior, it became apparent that the zombies were attracted to healthy flesh and avoided diseased people.  The solution became creating a situation where the zombie was no longer interested in the subject.  With Revit, the program is not always going to specify the exact problem and solution.  It is up to the team to be on top of the model setup and think about all the details holding the project together.

When a hurdle occurs with Revit in a project, what triggered the issue? If you have been watching the cause and effects of the project model in development, it will be much easier to think of solutions.  You won’t even have to inject a virus into your project to prevent the zombies from eating it.

-Craig

www.modelingdynamics.net

World War Z (2013) - Marc Forster, Brad Pitt

http://virtualborderland.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/world-war-z-0031.jpg

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/World-War-Z-screenshot-10.jpg

http://geekoutlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/World-War-Z-Zombies-Survivor.png

Avoid Broken Link Views: By Link or By Host?

What is the correct way to set in a model view’s linked view?  A Model View is the view in the model that is being worked on.  The Linked View is the relative view in the Linked Model that is being used as a background for the Model View. Try to keep those straight as we slide down the rabbit hole a little.

‘By linked view’ will set the Visibility Graphics of the Linked View in a Model View based on an assigned view that exists in the linked model. Any settings that exist in that linked view will govern its appearance in the model view background. This allows for vastly different settings to be assigned in the model view. For instance, the linked view may be set to have the existing phase as the current phase and the model view may have the new construction phase as the current phase. This would mean that both phases would be shown at the same time and could lead to confusion in the project scope. Also, the view ranges may be assigned differently. The linked view can have a view range completely independent of the model view.  This can be great for rare occasions when special views are required, and can be very bad when these settings occur by accident.

‘By hosted view’ will set the Visibility Graphics for both the Linked View and the Model View based on the Visibility Graphics settings of the Model View.  This allows for common settings to be governed in one place.  This also means that the background in the Model View may not identically match the appearance of the Linked View in the Linked Model.

‘Custom’ will allow various options of Visibility Graphics to be handled either ‘By Linked View’ or ‘By Host View’ or manually depending on each setting’s available options.

So the big question is; which setting should be used as a standard when setting up views for a project? The answer is all three!  People keep trying to simplify the process of developing a BIM model, yet they fail to realize that the team members must be knowledgeable about the environment that they are working in.  Most cases can be set to ‘By Linked View’ but not all.  ‘By Host View’ should work fine, but not always. Sometimes, the Architect is showing a view for a different purpose than what another consultant needs.  The Designer needs to know the model and have full command of each model view and what properties are required for setting it up to their requirements.  Once the view settings for a project model are all determined, make View Templates!

-Craig

www.modelingdynamics.net

Picture Credit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mesho/228577023/

Tool Preferences: Scissors, a Scythe or a Mower?

No matter how much technology changes to improve productivity, the one constant hurdle to get over is our self.  One of the joys of working outside of one office and visiting other companies is to get a glimpse of how those other companies are different, but fundamentally face the same problems as everyone else.  It basically comes down to management, staffing and the resistance to change.  We want to do business the way we know and have experience with, sometimes even if that takes longer.  The problem is the accelerated rate that technology is changing around the established business model.

Senior engineers and designers have an extensive amount of project experience and knowledge, but are more likely to resist changing their techniques after 20 or more years.  Junior engineers and designers provide more book knowledge than experience and tend to embrace technology faster.  The idea of reverse mentoring has become more prevalent as younger employees can learn experience based knowledge from older colleagues, but can simultaneously teach the older employees how to utilize the swarm of gadgets and gizmos that can save time and provide accurate feedback.

Another recommended trend is to seek help outside of your firm.  This takes a little getting over pride, but can be very beneficial to saving time and quickly getting back to a profit.  BIM is a vast universe of understanding and development.  Firms are operating at all levels of skill.  Wouldn't it be an advantage to gain knowledge to jump start a new program, rather than suffer through common mistakes?  It isn't that one person or firm is better than another, just a little further in the race.  We are all smart people capable of achieving what we set our goals out to be.  Isn't it wise to also reach out for help to get a boost?  We are talking about the tools used to do our work, not the work itself.  To think that you know everything you need to know and can stop learning and searching for more understanding is the beginning of a decline in abilities.  

 There are plenty of ways to cut grass.  If you wanted to be very meticulous, by all means use the scissors and clear a few weeks in your calendar.  The Scythe is impressive, but takes finesse and skill to master it and will be time consuming.  A push mower is great for the environment, maybe just not for your back.  Finally, utilize the benefit of a gas-powered mower and let it handle the work while you guide it.  But, when you are modeling a project would you want the residential walk behind or the industrial ride?  

When modeling a building, do you really want to place and size every element manually, or would you rather develop systems for automatic placement of components and automatic sizing and formatting with feedback of component's performance?  Sure, you could figure this all out on your own if you wanted.  How long would that take and why not just ask someone who already has and is willing to help?  Wouldn't that be to your advantage?

-Craig

http://www.modelingdynamics.net/

Picture Credits:

http://broadforkblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/one-scythe-revolution.html

http://rutheh.com/tag/lawnmower/

http://www.rodalenews.com/reel-or-electric-lawn-mowers

http://rermag.com/lawn-garden-equipment/redesigned-john-deere-quiktrak-stands-commercial-mower-test

https://www.mowersatjacks.com/Toro.aspx

Make the Jump, As a Child Would

Technology forces us to evaluate how we conduct business.  How that advancement takes place depends mostly on our approach to it and what risks we are willing to take.  When making the decision to embrace BIM, it needs to be with all attention moving forward and no thoughts of going back.  Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises¹ gives a great illustration of how failure can result when holding onto something out of the fear of failure.  The prison pit provides a clear view of freedom to the sky.  The only way out is to climb the walls and make a far reaching jump near the top.  Before Bruce was sent down, there had only been one successful attempt at the jump by a child.  Every man that attempted had failed and some even died.

  

A lot of complaints about Revit tend to be about the aesthetic and how Revit drawings don’t look like AutoCAD drawings.  Why should they? Why approach a new design platform with the standards from an old platform still in use?  Revit is not a drafting tool, but a design tool.  Utilizing drafters to document 3D content in Revit is missing the point of BIM in Revit.  Drafters may just be reproducing hand-drawn markups with no knowledge of the design.  At a minimum, designers with an understanding of the systems should be modeling the work.  Components should be set to provide engineering feedback that aid in layouts and sizing.  

We tend to fall back on things that we know.  When tasked with learning something new, we may only reach as far as we can while still holding onto where we are.  Bruce Wayne made several attempts at the jump and failed to get within grasp of the other ledge.  He would fall and be caught by the safety rope and lowered to safety.  He knew that he would try and if he failed, he could go back down to what he knew, even if he didn’t want to be there.  It was the revelation that the child, who successfully made the jump, did so without the rope that changed him.  Bruce Wayne had to let go of anything holding him back to make the jump, including his safety line.  He had to put all his effort into getting across the gap, because failure this time would cost him everything.

In a recent discussion, the topic was brought up about new software.  A question was asked, ‘How do you get people to use the new software and stop using the old?”  The answer, quite simply, was to remove the old software from the computer and force the use of the new technology.  This doesn’t mean get rid of AutoCAD, but to stop the use of AutoCAD as a fallback when things don’t work in Revit.  Focus on the task and remove all clouded thought that complicates the process of rolling out new techniques.  Focus on the big picture of a project and not how to do the old method in the new software.  With everything on the line, Bruce made the jump and succeeded in escaping the pit.

My first attempt at Revit was not easy, but failure was not an option.  We started with nothing, but finished with issued plans and a growing sense of accomplishment.  The goal has always been to improve capabilities in Revit, not how to manage Revit as part of an old system of AutoCAD.  Make the jump as the child did without the rope.  Once that jump has been made, you might understand the look of success and relief on Bruce’s face.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

1 The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale

Don't Get Lost: Dreaming of Details in a Dream

The amount of detail developed in a model is an emerging conversation where clients and consultants are trying to figure out what is needed. How much detail is necessary for the successful design, construction and management of a project?  In the film Inception[1], the detail of a model was crucial because the dreamer had to believe that they were still living in reality.  The small details from memory could betray the dream, causing the dream to collapse.  Mr. Saito running his fingers through the wrong shag carpet of his apartment revealed the truth of his dream, even though he had just woken up from another dream.  Fortunately, when it pertains to modeling a building for BIM, we aren't talking about that kind of detail, yet.

The binding question needs to remain Why.  What and How can be done through many variables and can take too long and not provide much return.  Why model the detail?  What benefit is it bringing to the project and to whom?  From early conception, to design, to construction and beyond, the amount of detail in a building model depends on who is using it and why.  The detail is not just a reference to the 3D modeling either.  Information built upon the model content can be critical to the construction and management of the building.  How long does it take to implement that information and how valuable is it?  Can this massive amount of data be developed faster?  In Inception, Cobb challenges Ariadne to draw him a maze in two minutes that will take him at least one minute to solve.  The important aspect of this task is not the maze itself, but the time it takes for her to create it and provide a useful return.

A potted plant can be modeled down to every leaf or an electric receptacle can be modeled down to every curve on its face.  Why?  What value does that add to the usefulness of a model?  At what point does time spent on too much detail become useless and costly to a project?  That determination must be driven by how long it takes to incorporate the information and how useful it will be for the cost of the building in design, construction or management.  Level of Detail (LOD) from AIA E202 is a growing standard covering each element in a model and what amount of detail is expected through each phase of development.  As the standard becomes known, it is being referenced in Proposals and Contracts.  Another standard is COBie.  It is just as important for consultants and contractors to understand what the owner is expecting from the scope. Massive amounts of data manipulation can be very expensive for the consultant and it needs to be understood and accounted for in a fee proposal.  Otherwise you may get lost in a Penrose Staircase[2]. Don't worry, Ariadne looked a little overwhelmed when she first began to comprehend controlling Cobb's dreams.

The Master Library of Shared Parameters being used to build compatible content will aid in rapidly creating model information that can be used throughout the building project.  The goal must be finding a common ground throughout the BIM model development so that each consultant can build upon the previous and not start from scratch.  Content needs to be developed so that 3D content and information are useful for everyone.  That is the important detail.  Maybe someday we will be able to think and watch a building bend up and over another building in seconds, still knowing the thermal resistance properties of the walls

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] Inception (2010) Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_stairs