INTROSPECTION He laughed to himself, the quiet self-ref lective kind. I had just explained, “Nine weeks and the project is going great, the people are amazing, it seems like everyone is onboard.” Often, I’ll call my father for the simple pleasure of listening and sharing. This particular phone call had, in that moment, transformed from a quick hello into something more. Of course I asked him to share his insight. “Boot Camp is nine weeks.” he stated. This was followed with a quick explanation of how Boot Camp changes a person, preparing them for a new kind of life. I stood in the office, listening, wondering if we had actually succeeded.

THE TASK I’d been contracted to implement all three verticals of Revit; Architecture, Structure and MEP. This included maintain the project, train staff, and build the standards & process all at the same time. Ninety days should work just fine, right?

Alone, it would be impossible. With some luck, help from friends, hours of hard work, and a group of wonderful people to work with it, nothing is impossible.

THE FIRM The Firm provides architectural, engineering and civil design services. This multi-discipline firms’ IT/CAD support department has been assessing the transition to BIM for quite some time. Up till now they’ve been using AutoCAD for production work. Any firm this size about to change mission critical software faces a daunting task. It’s a task that cannot be ignored; the time to leap from CAD to BIM is here.

The Architect on the project convinced the firms’ owner to let them use Revit Architecture for preliminary design. Now, that the project is approved for Design Development, they’re going to move all disciplines to Revit. The Engineering department is new to Revit. The engineering drawings for this project have been produced in AutoCAD. Luckily, the Architect has also added a majority of the structural components to the architectural model. The CAD Manager, completely swamped supporting their existing AutoCAD production, has knowledge of Revit but he has had little time to devote to learn and implement it.

The firms’ owner made this whole thing possible. He knows what BIM is, and believes it’s the future. His main concerns are:

• Is NOW the time for BIM?

• What will it truthfully cost to transition?

Every owner worries about this. Every conversation with him was enlightening, there was never a question about “What” the future was, only “How” to get there. This was a man who listened to advice, on software, on people, on process, and change. In the case of this project, he was willing to take the leap of faith most of the time. This company was moving to BIM, awesome!

THE HOW The journey that started with me walking into their office in May 2009 is interesting but that’s not today’s tale. It’s the whirlwind of implementation that will keep your attention.

Implementation Mission: Train Staff and create or update Best Practices & Standards documentation that ensures the painless integration of Revit into their design process.

You can either complete a job or not; for me, for them, there was no option other than to complete it. The only way to achieve this was action, action, action. Over the summer, I provided onsite consulting, project support, and project work. While working, hands on, as a member of the Revit project team, I also trained the staff, and helped setup their Revit Standards & Documentation. I did not do this alone, though a network of friends and colleges, along the way we provided web training for specific processes. There was no way I could have done this without their help.

THE PROJECT The project was comprised of tenant improvement work and an addition to a church. The original building was built early last century. A few decades later, an addition was slammed onto one side of the building. This addition had completely different finish f loor heights than the original building. The original construction was unique, the first f loor was 5’-0” below grade, and the second 7’-1” above grade. In all there are four levels, none of which had similar f loor to f loor heights.

The first addition’s first f loor was 3’-6” Below grade and the second 7’-11 ½” above grade. In forty five (45) feet of overall elevation there are nine (9) distinct finish f loor elevations between these two existing buildings.
The addition doubles the existing footprint of the church, adding a classroom wing, a huge worship space and an atrium.

At least for our new addition we are sticking to 15’ f loor to f loor heights. Later, I’ll explain how this created, shall we say, a learning opportunity. The nightmare gets worse. The new addition will have to match the existing limestone (weight issues) façade, and have a central stair/elevator core to provide access to all three buildings and their disparate f loors. Put another way, the original church has a beautiful bell tower and we’re building a matching one with an elevator in it.

THE TEAM The project team was a ten person Revit team as well as engineers overseeing the Structure and MEP disciplines. The two Architects assigned to the project already had Revit knowledge and they were responsible for moving the project though preliminary design using Revit. Although there were two structural drafters who are supposed to be on the project, we lost one to another project. One gentleman did all the mechanical, another all the plumbing and lastly we had a young hotshot for electrical. Everyone, except the electrical hotshot, on the project is both well established in this office and their careers. There were also three interns working on the project.

The interns were absolutely critical. The project could not have been pulled off without their willingness to learn, work, and laugh at the grunt work involved. I should mention that there was one other critical player that was never actually assigned to the project. He was constantly dragged into miscellaneous tasks. He was our “go-to” guy who somehow managed to juggle all his own projects and still help us out.

TRAINING I remember the week I trained fifteen people on three different verticals in three days well.

(Professional stuntmen were used in this production. DO NOT try this at home) The intern mistakenly walked past my desk at 7:30. I’d been in the office for over an hour finishing up the reference guide.

Poor kid, now he’s got to print, and bind a bunch of manuals.

8:00AM attacks with usual fury, and there I stand tie and all, a clean cut professional. Before me, nine people ready, or dreading, the dive into Revit. I have their Revit Model, a projector, a PowerPoint, and almost a decade of experience training. Most people in the room have met me in the last two weeks, some have not.

Scanning the room, I make eye contact with each of them and begin, “All of you have had that monotone, boring, instructor, whose melancholy voice makes not falling asleep your goal for the day.” As the next slide appears the room busts into laughter. Pointing at the room from the slideshow stands a man with a truly Red-Neck mullet. The goatee I’d grown for this was really just topping on the cake. I continue “As you can see, I’m not your typical instructor.” I took the 1500+ page Revit User Manual, skimmed though it and made a 30 page reference guide. The guide focused on the truly critical things: How Revit thinks, how to communicate with it, and how to f lip the CAD mindset to a Revit mindset.

Everything else was to be addressed after the initial training.

Training went well. We ran the architectural side of training in the morning, then the engineering side in the afternoon.

Day one (four hours) was UI and some basics. I made them model a simple house. Day two we addressed core tools, and how Revit is the same and different than AutoCAD. They have to model another simple house, this time I only allow them twenty minutes. Day three, we moved onto specific tools for each discipline. What? Yes, all the Revit verticals are the same. Tools and process may differ between verticals; however, the fundamentals are same.

Here is where things get complicated. I’m a Revit expert who specializes in architecture and management. I know enough about Revit MEP and Structure to teach the basics, as well as how systems are supposed to work. So how did I train them? I did, and didn’t. I made sure that everyone knew the basics of Revit. I made sure that each person had a “Wow!” moment. I explained that we would get them more advanced web training, from other experts in a few weeks, right now they just needed time in the software.

Teaching Revit is simple. You talk about the painful parts of drafting in CAD; those things that make you want to hit your computer, your boss or your dog (it’s not your dog’s fault).

You show how Revit relieves those pains. Then explain how to get there. No one likes pain for pains sake. Let BIM relieve the pain. Or, be in an economy with over 10% unemployment and have the boss explain they have two options, learn this or... Either method of encouragement works.

REPLACED Only a few weeks after talking with my father I stood there, f lipping burgers. The patio of one of the local spots was all ours. Only a stone’s throw from the office, the project team enjoyed the goodbye party. All smiles, and laughter, it was a family gathering on a beautiful day. Although the marathon was far from over, we were chasing a hope and had been succeeding thus far. During that initial training I had told them, “My job is to replace myself as quickly as I can.” That time had come and I was leaving, it had been a summer of long days and office Saturdays. Along the way, it was the people that drove me; the project was just a bonus.

LOOKING BACK The Architect smiled at me. “With this new addition, there are now thirteen (13) levels in forty five (45) feet. We did it!

We finally have the elevator and stairs all worked out.” The engineering and architecture on the stair/elevator core wasn’t easy to design. Making that design print was difficult.
Without linked files, Plan Regions, and clear guidelines, we wouldn’t have been able to produce a decent set of plans.

LESSON LEARNED: LINKED FILES AND TAGGING In Revit you can link files. What I’ll point out is this, you cannot “Tag” though linked files. Our project has the existing buildings as one Revit model and the new addition is another model. The existing building’s project is linked into the new addition file. We print from the new addition project. There are rooms in both project, these rooms needed to be tagged.

Understanding and managing the process of tagging with linked files was critical for us to clear a major hurdle.

In the linked “Existing” project we created views to be used for printing in the “New Addition” file. These views for printing would be annotated completely in the Existing project.

Set this up correctly and, voila, reload the link and the annotation appears in the “New Addition.” LESSON LEARNED: PLANNED REGIONS Without this tool, overall f loor plans and ref lected ceiling plans for this project could not have been printed. Once you’ve learned Planned Regions, consider the following situation. There are thirteen (13) levels over forty five (45) feet. Our overall sheets were destined to have problems. Revit sees Floor plans and RCPs like this: Top of the view is at one height (7’6”) the bottom of the view is at the finish f loor height, and then the model is cut between them (4’).

The problem was that we have different first f loor heights for both existing building. To make matters worse the new addition’s first f loor is at grade.

This project was a dream fulfilled for The Architect. The bell tower of his alma mater inspired him throughout the project.

Ever since attending the school he had wanted to design a tower of his own. He had spent hours staring at levels working out how to make an elevator fit in the new tower. So familiar with the problem by now, he could just rattle off what each building’s finish f loor height was without hesitation. Since he knew all the levels intimately he setup all the plan regions.

Sometimes you just fall into job responsibilities naturally.

Three plan regions for each overall f loor plan. Four f loors in the project with ref lected ceiling plans, as well as Structural and MEP overall plans, quickly turns a simple plan region solution into a management nightmare.

One set of views were created as a template for new overall views. A quick copy and paste, assign a view template, then name the view and you have another Overall f loor plan.

WRAP UP Recently the South Coast Revit User Group (SCRUG) meeting attendees sat for a little over an hour listening to me tell this tale. Most of them laughing along, enjoying my presentation.

I closed with, “Perhaps I’m a dreamer, but this is how I feel.” I take a breath and start my final points. “To be honest, BIM has changed the game. You don’t just need a bigger stick in this fight; you need a whole new arsenal. Revit can be that secret weapon, it’s time to pick it up and use it.” Point one made, I walk across the room, taking in people’s reaction. “The tool is pointless without the people, you know this. The true difficulty is convincing people to use the tool.” Nods and huffs of approval tell me I’ve struck a chord. “I took team members to lunch and while eating I listened to them.” I make quotation marks in the air. I finish. “Because I listened to them, I knew their pain. I addressed their pain and provided a solution. Find what ails the heart and fix it, everything else is simple after that.” I didn’t expound anymore, I just left it at that and we all went home. I will close with a recap of the BBQ on an August afternoon.

The BBQ was amazing, the project was moving along nicely.

The team was happy with the implementation process. I’d like to think they were sad to see me go. It took months of lunches and conversations to get to this level of relationship.

I lived a lesson during this project; how to connect. I heard what their problems were with the project, office politics, the process, and every other thing we could talk about. There were conversations of family, there was sharing of dreams and hopes, and there was talk of weekends and leisure. In the end there were people. The software would take care of itself. I focused on easing people’s troubles and frustrations.

When a change was needed they trusted that it was for the best and they acted.