RDK Engineers Blog

Author:
Cedric Mukania, Plumbing Engineer
Active BIM Engineer Working on BIM Projects

Revit, the AutoCAD product, is a great design tool for the AEC Industry. Notice I said design, not building.

Unfortunately for every pro, there is a con.

With Revit, the pros certainly outweigh the cons. However, the cons of Revit simply can't be ignored.

Revit can either be one of the best design tools for the designers/engineers/architects but it can also be the worst nightmare for an accountant/project manager.

It appears as if expectations in Revit are unrealistic. It's close to impossible to have a clash-less Revit model. For non-Revit users, a clash happens when you have two components colliding with each other, such as piping going through a duct within the model.

Clients/Owners are expecting designers/engineers/drafters to provide a Revit model that's clean and properly coordinated.

How much coordination needs to be done at the design stage and how much at the construction site?  Where do we draw the line between plot sheets' clarity and Revit clashing?

Typical drafting techniques call for 9" separation between piping on 1/8" scale drawing for clarity purposes.  Valuable space is sacrificed on a Revit model for clarity but later burns users when it comes to coordination and clashes.

Answers to these questions will vary with different projects and unfortunately these questions power the budget vacuum that Revit represents when not properly managed/used.

What exactly needs to be coordinated? All type of piping? 2" and above?

Should these be determined at the proposal stage? Adding a simple "Revit clause" into already lengthy contracts wouldn't hurt, would it?

Another issue is: what is the contractor going to use to complete his job? The model or the set of drawings?

A model can be properly coordinated with piping staying clear of ducts but if the plan  sheets look just plain weird as a result of the model coordination, what would be the use of the drawing sheets?

That's the dilemma we, as engineers/designers/drafters face on a regular basis. Some pipes would look great on the 3D plan but totally untraceable in the plan sheets.

Revit is a great design tool and shouldn't be used as a building tool.

With the way the green movement and Revit usage are going, we shouldn’t be surprised if construction documents are nothing but a compact disc with an engineer's stamp of approval on it. Now let's see how many contractors will line up to bid on such project.

Let's use Revit for the benefits it was intended for and let's not allow the AEC Industry to be defined as Architects/Engineers/Cartoonists Industry.