Understanding the Various Ways Existing Conditions Can Work with Your Models.
Our typical workflow is to scan a building, then create an existing conditions model from scratch which will be used to document the verified conditions on site. This dedicated, existing conditions model is always available on our servers for current or future use. The project link can easily be shared to any of your teams or partners in order to collaborate with the existing conditions documentation. In addition to scanning and modeling, we offer a wide array of services to make sure you have the information you need.
While we recommend starting your projects with Existing Conditions, so that you can start accurate and stay accurate, some of our clients have models that they’ve already worked on for some time. Because a Revit model can have so many potential (often unknown) connections, any changes could risk modifying elements outside of the scope which could result in deleting or editing elements crucial to the project. Trying to verify & update portions of a working model would create uncertainty as to what is accurate, what has been updated, and what was part of the original model. For this reason, it is essential for us to have a clear point of departure between where our work ends, and where our clients' work begins.
The following information covers some of the ways that we have established to help you coordinate our verified drawings with your working model:
Point Cloud Overlay
If you need to simply verify an existing space to see how much your model deviates from the existing conditions, we can overlay and align the point cloud data to a copy of your model so you can evaluate what needs to be updated. We will set up a meeting with you after the alignment to review the data and confirm the locations of the alignment. Once the data is delivered, you are able to copy and paste the point cloud from the model we deliver into your working model for use by your team. For more information about point clouds, check out this link.
Templates & Standards
One of the things that sets us apart from many other companies is the ability to work with your template and standards to help reduce the time it takes to get your team up to speed on a model. Please deliver your template and or standards before we start modeling to ensure that there are no delays. Once we've built the model, it's not easy to move the model to your template. We work in the 4 latest versions of Revit and can export to match your CAD standards if needed. Meeting with your BIM manager before modeling to review any particulars will help ensure that we meet your expectations on the project.
Model Coordination
Model Coordination is a way to sync geometry between two Revit models. This is different from survey control since it deals with the alignment of the internal origins between Revit models. This must happen at the start of a project to ensure that our model will be in-sync with your working model. Once the model coordination is complete, it will enable your teams to easily Revit link the models together or copy and paste geometry between our verified model and your working model. Please let us know if you have a model that needs coordination at the start of a project as our modeling cannot begin before the coordination has been completed.
Copy & Paste Between Models
This is one of the most powerful and simple ways of getting geometry from a verified existing conditions model into your working model, but it does require that the models have matching internal origins (see Model Coordination). As long as the copy and paste (Paste aligned to current view) is performed on the same level in each model, then the elements will align properly in your model. If dated worksets have been created for a phased delivery, then you can easily copy only the latest elements from the verified model into your working model.
Here are some of the conditions required for this to work properly:
- Models must have matching level heights to ensure that geometry is tied to the correct levels.
- The copy and paste routine must be completed at the same level in each model to ensure that the vertical alignment of the geometry matches.
- 3D model elements need to be copied and pasted separately from 2D geometry (such as text notes or dimensions) in views. If there are multiple floor plan views, each view has to be copied and pasted separately after the 3D geometry is copied over.
- Some elements may not remain connected during the copy/paste.
Dated Workset Deliveries
Project deadlines can be tight. One of the many ways we can help our clients is by providing phased deliveries on a larger project so that the priority areas can be delivered first. In these instances, we can enable worksharing in Revit and create dated worksets for New and Modified elements. This enables us to deliver specific areas once they become available and your teams can focus on the most recent updates. As new phases are completed and delivered, your teams can copy and paste the new and updated worksets into your working model to keep you on track with your deadlines. Please let us know if you need to have a phased delivery schedule on your next project.
Revit Links
To see the differences between our verified existing conditions model and your working model, it is best to utilize Revit Links. If the models have been coordinated, then the Revit link can be linked origin to internal origin in order to join the models together. Using this method is the easiest way to compare your working model to ours and to evaluate what elements may need to be updated, deleted, or replaced with elements in our verified model. Dated workset deliveries can be toggled on or off in our model to see when different updates were completed so that you only need to look for the most recent updates. Once your working model has been prepared, you can either bind the Revit link to bring the whole model into your working model, or copy and paste only the verified elements needed into your model.
Expert Consultation & Support
Once we deliver a model, it's yours. While we are happy to support our clients, post-delivery, it is essential for us to have a clear point of departure between where our work ends, and where our clients' work begins. Our official deliverables will always be provided via our Google Drive link. Upon request, we can submit models via platforms such as BIM 360 or Autodesk Construction Cloud, but we do not work externally within those systems. If you need us to adjust our project basepoint, apply survey control, rearrange Levels, or provide other significant efforts, that is something our Expert Consultation and Support team can handle to make the model-transition process easier for your team.
