BIM Reloaded: How Purpose Can Define Scope

Technology is changing how we live our lives and how we do our work.  As we are able to work faster, we also begin to naturally do more work.  The key is to remain focused on the work that is vital and not get lost in a sea of data that is meaningless and wastes time.  Through the process of modeling a building based on the design scope, there can easily be a lot of time wasted towards pointless content that serves no purpose to anyone else in the development of the project.  Building Information Modeling is a great tool as long as the Information does not grow out of control.  Plugging back into The Matrix, Agent Smith gives an interesting speech in The Matrix Reloaded[1] that can serve as a defining point in Building Information Modeling.  Agent Smith had been destroyed by Mr. Anderson, yet he still existed.  When he first appears to Mr. Anderson in the courtyard, he starts to speak about Purpose.

Agent Smith: “There is no denying purpose, because we both know without purpose, we would not exist.  It is purpose that created us.  Purpose that connects us.  Purpose that pulls us. That guides us. That drives us.  It is purpose that defines us. Purpose that binds us.”

Keep in mind that Agent Smith is referring to an artificial world where programs and humans populate it, so there really is not a direct relationship to Building Information Modeling that is intended.  As we begin to model buildings through their life cycle, it is important to remember the purpose of the work being performed.  What information does the Designer need?  What information does the Contractor need?  What information does the Facility Engineer need?  It is this Purpose that needs to define what content is included and how it is carried out.  Otherwise, we may find ourselves like Neo, trapped under a pile of Agent Smiths.

If we are not careful, we can overwhelm a building model where too much information clouds out the pertinent information.  How can we begin to provide clarity in a model through the different needs of the users of that model?  How can we avoid duplication of work and data entry?  With a standard Master Library of Shared Parameters in play, content may be shared across companies that will communicate the data without requiring duplicate entries.  Information begins to communicate across model elements that can then provide system performance and aid in the retrieval of that information.

In order to fight back this increasing swarm of information and work, we have to go to the source.  The purpose must define our objectives.  Otherwise, we will find ourselves lost in a continuous loop, doomed to repeat the same laborious tasks over and over to no avail.

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Matrix Reloaded, The Wachowski Brothers, Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, 2003

Absolute Units: Understanding Revit Equations Most of the Time

We know that Revit can manipulate units of measurement across Families, Models and Schedules and still maintain the true values.  The problem may be in harnessing this power.  As you begin to write equations for developing valuable results, there may be some head scratching involved with what results are shown.  The most common occurrence of this is with Temperature.  Have you ever noticed what the default value is for a Temperature Parameter the very first time it is added?  It isn't zero, but in a way it is.  The value is zero, but in the absolute zero value of temperature.  

An absolute unit is a unit of measurement which is defined in terms of the fundamental units of a system, and is not based on arbitrary definitions.[1] Noticing this attribute occurring in Temperature Calculations led to experimentation with other units of measurement that are available in Revit.  Previous release versions of Revit had difficulty handling Air Flow calculations separate from Piping Flow.  The Project units would be set to Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) and that setting would create equation results of Piping Flow to show in CFM and not Gallons per Minute (GPM).  The equation would need to include a conversion factor from one unit of measurement to the other.  Notice what the conversion factor is for getting Temperature results to show properly?

Another issue to cover is when dealing with one unit of measurement that may need two different settings throughout a model.  Piping Pressure can represent the charged pressure in a pipe, and the same unit in Revit could be used to measure the Head Pressure in Feet as well as other options.  When Revit is calculating the results of an equation, it is based on the Project Units settings.  The individual fields can be adjusted independently in a schedule, but the calculations are developed in the family and bound by the Project Units.  The user will need to determine the baseline settings of Project Units and provide conversion factors for getting the desired results.  The term Absolute Unit is simply referring to the fundamental unit of the system that must be accounted for when writing formulas.

Don’t forget that Revit can manage different units of measurement from a Family, Project Model or Schedule.  To truly vet a family and equation, the testing will need to include all three with the desired results obtained.  So, why bother with all of this?  It sure seems like a lot of work to get little return.  Why do a spreadsheet of calculations?  Time is valuable and avoiding time spent on hundreds of repetitive calculations will save on the cost of a project.  Now have those calculations automatically populated by data from a model that is recalculated when the information changes.  That sounds like a lot of time can be saved by investing a little bit of time in those equations.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/absolute-unit

Magic Tricks: Washing Shared Parameters

Magic tricks are great when you are expecting the stunt and still fooled by it.  The Prestige^[1] is a great story about magic and the artistry and sacrifice involved with it.  How a simple item that appears to be normal can be turned into something extraordinary right in front of your eyes.  The magician knows how the trick is done and is actually quite simple to perform even though the setup can be very complicated.  The audience, witnessing the event, is not aware and is amazed at what just happened.  In the film, a magic trick is broken down into three parts.

THE PLEDGE is where the magician shows the audience something normal and ordinary, like a ball.  He may roll up his sleeves or open a door to reveal nothing behind it.  In our case, let us use a Revit Family provided by a Manufacturer.  Nothing has been done to the file other than to download it from the Manufacturer.  It is a simple red ball.

THE TURN is the second act in which the normal object, like the ball or person, disappears.  This isn't much of an ordeal, so the audience doesn't clap because they are waiting for something more.  A ball disappears in the hand or he disappears behind a door.  Let us take the Manufacturer created Revit Family and load it into a Project Model that has been developed according to the Master Labeling Convention and Shared Parameter Library.  After loading, we close the file and it has disappeared.  A ball or person disappears, big deal.  Where is the trick?

THE PRESTIGE is the awe inspiring moment when that object is brought back, but in a way that is not normal or ordinary.  The Ball is no longer seen as just any normal ball and the door that was used appears to be magical.  Let us take an instance of that Manufacturer’s Revit Family from the Project Model and click Edit Family to open the family exported from the Project Model.  The Revit Family has been brought back, but it is changed.  It is the same family, yet it is now extraordinary.

Is this a trick? Is this some sort of illusion? Has anything changed?  Nothing has changed, yet everything is different.  The Family was provided without any special arrangement.  That family was loaded into a model, and then exported from that model.  Through this process, all of the shared parameters were renamed according to the Master Labeling Convention defined in the project model.  None of the Parameters in the family were Added, Deleted or Modified in the Family Type Editor.  

This process can be referred to as Washing the Parameters.  This enables a user to see what Parameters in a family are Shared Parameters that follow a common standard in the industry and to know that those Shared Parameters will work in schedules and tags developed by the same common standard.  As even more manufacturers begin using this standard, the schedules will populate without any editing or modification. Below are the Before and After images of the same family after Washing the Parameters.  Cue the flash of light and smoke.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Prestige, Christopher Nolan, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, 2006

For Better Taste: Follow the Units of Measurement

A Common argument for keeping a Revit project model simple is to have everything be text and common numbers.  A 1st Grade Math teacher is crying somewhere because students missed adding units to their answers.  Revit could be used with just text and common numbers, but there are also dozens of units of measurement that are provided in Revit and just begging to be used.

Let’s suppose that Susan is now working on the crust for Grandma Jane’s Perfect Apple Pie and ran out of flour.  She needs 4 cups of All-purpose flour and sent Eddie back to the store.  The only bags that Eddie found are for 1, 2 or 5 pound bags.  How is he supposed to know which one to get?  There is a way to convert the values to determine which bag is most ideal to purchase.  Those conversions could be done on sticky notes, loose paper or even a spreadsheet.  Wouldn't it be cool if those values could be included in a Revit Schedule and the conversion be done automatically as part of the Schedule’s formatting?  Unfortunately, Revit was not developed to model apple pie recipes, so that specific problem will probably need to be figured out on your own.

Let’s imagine a more common scenario where equipment selections for a construction project are being provided in Metric, while the project model is in Imperial.  Using Project Units in Inches and keeping the dimensions in Millimeters in the Revit Family is not an issue.  When that family is loaded into the Project Model, the Project assigned to Imperial settings will automatically convert the millimeters into inches.  More importantly, units such as Flow and Temperature will do the same thing.  Liters per second flow will convert to cubic feet per minute.  Celsius Temperatures will convert to Fahrenheit.  These are all subjective to the Project Model’s Project Units settings.  The cool twist is that even a schedule can display the data in a third standard completely independent from the family or the project model settings.  This would allow for the dimensions and performance data to be shown in Imperial while working in the model, but the same information is documented in Metric on the Equipment Schedule based on how it will be purchased.  Hopefully, there is a 1st Grade Math Teacher smiling now.

So, which bag should Eddie purchase?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

DISCLAIMER: All names appearing in this post are still fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Free Your Mind! Schedules aren’t just for Schedules

Like mentioned before, do not let the name of something critically impact what properties are assumed with that item.  A Model Element named a Transformer doesn't mean it is actually representing electrical equipment designed to transfer power.  Properties of that Model Element could be developed to represent something entirely different, such as robotics.  The key is to not let the possibilities be bound by assumptions.  We are modeling design in an environment where the designer is creating the environment, so why limit what can be accomplished?

Schedule.  What comes to mind when you hear that term?  Most people probably think of the calendar in their phone.  Some people may even think of the thickness of pipe.  Those same people may even visualize equipment selections at the end of Construction Documents.  When it comes to Revit and Building Information Modeling, do not let these traditional definitions of a Schedule determine what they are to be used for or what they can show.

In The Matrix^[1], Morpheus begins his teaching for Neo in a construct program designed to teach Neo that his fighting abilities are originally bound by the same basic rules as we experience in reality, such as gravity.  He explains that these rules can be bent, or even broken.  As Neo fights Morpheus, he begins to realize that his limitations are bound by the rules he has unknowingly set on himself.  Only after he begins to believe in himself and push beyond his own limitations does he truly see the extent of what is capable in the simulations.  After the Agent Program he asks Morpheus if he could dodge bullets.  Morpheus brilliantly answers that when he is ready, he won’t have to.

There is a lot more to The Matrix, but for today the only point is to Free Your Mind of what is capable with Schedules in Revit for Building Information Modeling.  Schedules can be used to document equipment selections in a project, but don’t let that define what they are.  Schedules, Note Blocks, Sheet Lists & View Lists cannot create content, but all can edit and delete information.  What that model information contains is entirely up to the user.  Try to think of a Schedule as more like a Database Spreadsheet.  Think of all the spreadsheets created to monitor and manipulate data.  Think of those spreadsheets infused in a model to control that same data, but in a live environment.  What calculations could be accomplished while populating a model?  What content can be created to provide warnings when design goes outside the intended ranges of performance?  Build upon the Master Library of Shared Parameters and imagine seeing those calculations and schedules come alive as equipment selections are placed in a model and react to the environment created for them.  Push what you may think is impossible in a Revit Model and you just might stop bullets in mid-air!

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Matrix, The Wachowski Brothers, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, 1999