I was recently involved in modeling up the stormwater and plumbing model for a medium-sized building. Initially, the BIM Lead asked me to model the plumbing in the main model. While this vertically integrated approach might seem like a good idea, some issued quickly became apparent.
While it is easy enough to manage the process by using Visibility Graphics Overrides, it is necessary to have the extra overhead of creating worksets and views to separate the discipline from the other disciplines. This creates confusion in general.
The worst problem was that piping systems are not easy to select when editing. One must be extremely careful to select only the piping. Even with my best efforts, a few elements in the Architectural model were deleted. Some of them were groups that represented entire rooms and a large sidewalk! Unacceptable, yet impossible to enforce unless done through an owned workset.
Worksets. Only one person can take ownership of a workset at a time. Imagine if there were a team that needed to operate in the model. It would not be possible.
The best solution is therefore to link the Architectural model into an MEP model, therefore keeping the disciplines separate. They are then guaranteed not to get into each other’s way.
The link also behaves as a kind of “unit” and the model is much easier to navigate and model in. A huge difference. So, from a hardware overhead perspective, worth it.
If you need help adopting Revit and BIM in your practice, please contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance.
