In a typical BIM Execution plan the categories for families are mapped against Level of Development (LOD) and Model Element Author (MEA) across the stages of the project (Conceptual, Detail and Construction Design). The typical practise is to swap out families if their LOD changes over the project. However, MEP families typically disconnect from their systems when they are swapped out, so we tend to push the team to accept the final Level of Development for these items from the start.

Besides inspecting and eliminating duplicate shared parameters and doing the usual other checks on the families, many of the components are available for download on websites online. Here are some. Use them to your advantage. If the one you would like to use is not available as a model yet, model it up for yourself or use a substitute family in the meantime.

https://www.bimobject.com/

https://www.magicad.com/en/cloud/

https://www.revitcity.com/

https://www.victaulic.com/

https://stormtech.com.au/downloads

https://www.designcontent.com.au/

If you need assistance adopting Revit and BIM in your practice, please contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance.