OPW Revit Template – an enabler to increase the implementation of BIM on OPW projects

Michael Day1 , Ger Harvey2, Sheila Foley3, Lennart Sobiecki4 and Kevin Furlong5

1Structural Engineer Grade 2, 2Assistant Principal Architect, 3Senior Architect, 4Architect at Office of Public Works, Trim, Co. Meath 5BIM Trainer at BIMMTrain Training Providers (working with Digital Built Consultants) E-mail: 1michael.day@opw.ie, revittemplate@opw.ie

Abstract – The Office of Public Works (OPW) is a government office responsible for matters concerned with flood management and property services, with responsibility for delivering and managing over 2000 buildings within the state property portfolio [1]. With a full in-house multi-disciplinary design team, members of the OPW are present throughout a building’s lifecycle, which gives the OPW a great opportunity to make the most of BIM. However, while a growing number of OPW projects are delivered using Revit, the overall number of projects using formal BIM processes is small. Arising from a desire to increase the number of projects using Revit and BIM, the OPW submitted a successful funding proposal to the Our Public Service 2020 Innovation Fund [3] to create a multidisciplinary Revit Template for the organisation. Drawing on expertise from across OPW, an in-house “Template Team” was formed to lead the development of the Template under the guidance of an experienced BIM Consultant. Following formal Revit training for the Template Team, Digital Built Consultants (DBC) were appointed to assist the team to develop the Template. Over six hackathon sessions, DBC provided guidance to the team on what to include in this first OPW template file. OPW architects, engineers and draughtspeople collaborated, using a single Revit Central Model, to create the OPW Revit Template. In August 2020, the first version of the Template was successfully completed and has since been made available to staff. It holds common styles, annotations, view types and schedules for use across the organisation; it is also supported by a number of “resource templates” holding discipline-specific information. Since the launch, the file has been used to create single-discipline Revit models on OPW projects on a number of projects and has been further updated in 2021 to include revisions to align with the 2021 National Annex to I.S. EN ISO 19650-2 [7] and a number of other updates following feedback from colleagues. The Template provides a starting point for OPW architectural or engineering Revit models. It is hoped that the tool will increase the adoption of BIM processes on OPW projects in the coming years, acting as an enabler to assist colleagues moving towards the further implementation of Revit / BIM on OPW projects.

Keywords BIM, Revit, Revit Template, Multi-disciplinary, Our Public Service Innovation Fund, OPS 2020

I INTRODUCTION The Office of Public Works (OPW) is a government office responsible for matters concerned with flood management and property services; its remit also includes the responsibility for delivering and managing over 2000 buildings within the state property portfolio [1]. Properties under the remit of OPW include buildings of national significance such as Dublin Castle, Leinster House and Áras an Uachtaráin, UNESCO world heritage sites Brú na Bóinne and Skellig Michael and many other heritage sites throughout Ireland. As designers, OPW teams are responsible for delivering new construction, refurbishment, conservation and major maintenance projects throughout the country. These range in scale from one-off buildings for organisations such as the Irish Coast Guard or An Garda Síochána to large, complex projects including the Forensic Science Laboratory at

the Backweston campus, maintenance/ refurbishment projects on existing buildings such as Leinster House and international projects such as the Irish Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020. In-house teams of architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, working alongside other civil servants, lead the design and manage delivery of these projects. Acting as a client, OPW projects are also supported by external consultant architects, engineers or quantity surveyors, as necessary during the design phase; the organisation also appoints Contractors for the construction phase of new projects, and for maintenance and upgrading works to existing assets. With parts of the organisation acting as client, designer, owner and tenant throughout the design life of a building, the influence that the OPW has on construction projects is unique in Ireland. This reach also gives the OPW a great opportunity to make the most of BIM.

II BIMAT OPW

At a Government level, the mandate to use BIM on public projects is currently being reviewed as part of changes to the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF); it is expected that “opportunities to further deploy digital technologies, such as BIM” will be included in this next iteration of the CWMF [2]. In parallel with this, the OPW have been transitioning to working using BIM processes over the past number of years, and significant investment has been made in both hardware and software to support this. Over the past two years, there has been a renewed effort to increase both awareness of BIM within the organisation and the implementation of BIM processes on OPW-led projects. Initiatives have included the formation of an internal BIM Committee, led by the Office of the State Architect, which includes representatives from each of the OPW design disciplines involved in project delivery; development of an OPW BIM Implementation Strategy which was reviewed by OPW Management Board; training on use of BIM technologies and workflows; development of common standards for use on OPW buildings projects; and, implementation of 3D modelling on a number of OPW projects.

Fig. 1: Westport Coast Guard Station structural model At a project level, the adoption of BIM is most visible through the use of Revit models to generate project information at all projects stages, particularly at tender and construction stage as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Sample architectural model showing design intent

However, while a growing number of OPW projects are delivered using Revit, the adoption of Revit to deliver project information varies across teams and disciplines. Overall, the number of OPW-led projects mandated to use formal BIM processes, or where Revit is adopted by multiple members of the design team, either in-house designers or consultants working for OPW, is small. As a complex organisation spanning multiple design disciplines, where projects are often delivered by a combination of OPW in-house designers and external consultants and with individuals representing a myriad of project roles, the need to increase implementation of BIM on projects to deliver efficiencies in the design, construction and management of assets is clear.

IIIOPS2020FUNDING

Arising from a desire to increase the number of projects using Revit, and ultimately to increase the adoption of BIM processes on projects, the OPW submitted a proposal to the Our Public Service 2020 Innovation Fund (OPS 2020) [3] in February 2020. The proposal centred on the creation of an OPW multi-disciplinary Revit template file, to assist in-house design teams making the transition to delivering BIM projects through Revit. Along with a desire within OPW to increase the adoption of BIM on projects, this project also aligned with the Government Strategy to increase the use of Digital Technology in Key Public Works Projects [4] and a number of the OPS 2020 strategic actions.

It was proposed that this Template – the first developed specifically for OPW – would provide much of standard ‘set-up’ for models, reducing the set-up time on each project. As a multi-disciplinary template, stored centrally on the OPW network and accessible to all staff, this could also be maintained

centrally into the future and provide visual consistency to OPW drawings and models created by different parts of the organisation. In order to deliver this project, it was proposed that an internal team of OPW architects, engineers and draughtspeople would be formed to design and develop the Template file, under the guidance of an experienced BIM Consultant. Following review by OPS 2020, this project was one of 34 projects, out of 364 submitted from across the wider civil and public service, selected for funding in 2020. Once funding, totalling €10,970, had been confirmed, work began immediately to deliver the project.

IVCOVID-19

Almost immediately after the project started, the global Covid-19 pandemic began to take hold in Ireland. As with many organisations, OPW staff immediately began working remotely and this required a change to the method of implementing the Revit Template project. It had originally been envisaged that once the project Template Team had been established, meetings, training sessions and template development sessions would take place in person. However, given the developing nature of the pandemic in Ireland, all communications within the project team and all in-person meetings would need to move to a virtual environment. The key impact of this on the project was the change from supervised template ‘development sessions’ with the Consultant to a presentation and workshop style session, with the Template Team working more independently on elements of the Template in advance of follow-on meetings with the Consultant. The impacts of Covid-19 meant that the Template Team never met in person, the Team attended all training sessions virtually, no physical meetings took place with the Consultant, and the project was completed whilst all members of the team were working remotely.

V PROJECT SETUP A simple project structure was put in place – the project was led by Michael Day, and in his absence Lennart Sobiecki, with the team reporting to Ger Harvey, chairperson of the OPW BIM Committee.

a) Baseline Survey

In advance of commencing template development, a short questionnaire was created in order to identify existing Revit projects completed throughout OPW, the particular Revit Template (if any) used to deliver these projects and to identify any perceived barriers to the use of Revit on OPW projects. In May/June 2020, the survey was circulated to architects and building engineers throughout the organisation and 76 responses were received.

Fig. 3: Sample of Survey Responses

The survey results provided a good insight into the use of Revit throughout the organisation at that time and the potential usefulness of this Revit Template once completed. Some of the key findings included: • Revit proficiency throughout the OPW is variable, with a limited number of Expert (<2%) or Advanced Users (11%). • The majority of users are at a basic level of proficiency: Beginner (31% - I can open the 3D view, I can draw detail lines, I can edit project information) or Newbie (43% - I am aware of Revit, and have opened it once or twice). • Two-thirds of respondents have received formal Revit training, either at university/college (12%) or a subsequent training course (54%). A number of respondents received training a number of years ago, but “haven’t used Revit since” • Three-quarters of respondents have never used Revit to deliver project information at OPW • Of those who have used Revit on projects, most have only used it on a small number of projects • Respondents most frequently describe the Revit Template used on their projects as ‘I created it as I went’ (47%) or ‘I used a template from someone else in the organisation’ (24%). Two respondents also noted that the template used on their projects was ‘Started from First Principles’. • All of those surveyed said they would be ‘Very Likely’ (88%) or ‘Likely’ (12%) to use a Revit Template developed for the OPW • Approximately 42% of respondents noted that they are ‘Very Likely’ or ‘Likely’ to use Revit on a new OPW project over coming 12 months as shown in Fig. 3 • Respondents noted Training, assistance from a BIM Manager, an OPW BIM Execution Plan, use of Revit ‘as standard’ and a Management decision to use Revit / BIM as drivers to increasing the use of Revit at OPW.

b) Template Team

Drawing on expertise from across OPW, a multidisciplinary in-house ‘Template Team’ of 11 individuals was formed; this team would lead the development of the Revit template file under the guidance of an appointed BIM Consultant. Although prior knowledge of Revit was desirable for Template Team members, the most important factors in determining membership of the team was that it would span across the OPW, with representatives from OPW’s main design offices in Dublin and Trim, and would include members from the three main building design disciplines –architects, civil/structural (C&S) engineers and mechanical/electrical (M&E) engineers.

c) Working Collaboratively

As part of the initial project set up, an ‘Alfresco’ sharing site was set up for the project. This allowed the Template Team members, who would not ordinarily have access to a common Network Folder, to share ideas and resources throughout the project. This site hosted an Excel-based list of ‘ideas’ for inclusion in the Template, a sample of which is shown in Fig. 4; this comprehensive list of ideas was collaboratively generated by the Template Team and was used as a ‘wish list’to inform the brief for the Consultant and direction for the project.

Fig. 4: Revit Template ‘ideas’(extract)

Given the multi-disciplinary nature of the team, whose members would not be in frequent contact otherwise, an internal ‘StarLeaf’ messaging group was also created at the outset of the project to promote more interaction between members of the team.

d) Revit Training

In order to provide the Template Team with sufficient knowledge to commence development of the template, part of the project budget had been set aside for Revit training. Aseries of training courses were organised for the team. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, these all took place using Microsoft Teams. All of the Template Teamcompleted training in Revit Advanced – BIM Management and Revit Advanced – Families, and a number of less-proficient users also completed ‘Revit Refresher/Upgrade’courses. Where additional places were available on the courses funded by this project, a number of other OPW colleagues with an awareness of Revit were invited to join.

e) Consultant Appointment

Based on colleagues’ responses to the baseline survey, individual ideas from the Template Team and following a number of team video-conference sessions, the Template Team developed a ‘Scope’ for prospective consultants to assist them to deliver the project.

The Scope was sent to a number of potential consultants in May 2020 and following a competitive tender process, Digital Built Consultants (DBC) were appointed to assist the Template Team to complete the project.

VIDEVELOPMENT,REVIEW AND ISSUE

a) Hackathon sessions

Over the following three months, six hackathon sessions were held between OPW and DBC. These interactive sessions were primarily led by Digital Built Consultants and generally involved a presentation followed by an informal discussion and questions and answer session. The use of ‘screen sharing’ functionality allowed members of the team to regularly share their screens to talk through an area of particular interest or challenge as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5: Template Team ‘hackathon’ with DBC

The first workshop was of an introductory nature, with DBC trainers providing examples of templates used by other organisations, why a Revit template is important, hints and tips for what should be included in the OPW Template and advice on next steps for the Template Team. The following three sessions were ‘discipline specific’, focussed on items of an architectural, C&S and M&E nature; this was followed by two review sessions with DBC.

b) Overarching Template Strategy

In advance of commencing template development, DBC stressed that a key decision on the overall ‘template strategy’ was required by the Template Team. In the original proposal, it was envisaged that one multi-disciplinary template would be created for the organisation, to streamline implementation of future template updates and to give a consistency to the visual appearance of OPW drawings, regardless of design discipline. DBC presented three approaches to the Team, as follows, based on the idea of having one/many ‘main template(s)’, complemented by one/many ‘resource templates’; the ‘main template’ would contain items used on a majority of projects (text styles, drawing borders, standard schedules, etc.) and the ‘resource template’ would include the less frequently used items (a particular architectural door family, structural standard details etc.). • Option 1: Four independent ‘main templates’ (architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical) complemented by four ‘resource templates’(one for each discipline) • Option 2: Four independent ‘main templates’ complemented by one multi-disciplinary resource template’, as shown in Fig. 6 • Option 3: One multi-disciplinary ‘main template’ complemented by one ‘resource template’

Fig. 6: One possible approach for multi-dis. template file

Based on the advice from DBC, it was agreed that splitting the ‘main’ and ‘resource’ templates would be a logical idea. However, after discussion between DBC and the Template Team, it was agreed that one multi-disciplinary ‘main template’ would be suitable for the OPW (as originally envisaged), but that this would be supported by four discipline-specific ‘resource templates’ to contain the less commonlyused items relevant to individual disciplines; this was a fourth option. c) Template Development

Following the first workshop session, the Template Team met virtually to ‘divide up’ the elements of the templates that they would take ownership of delivering; this was based on i) the time individuals could give to the project alongside their other work (i.e. those with less time would complete more straightforward tasks) ii) the complexity of the task and their personal Revit proficiency (i.e. those with less experience would deliver more straightforward items) and iii) the discipline of the Template Team member and the element to be developed (i.e. architects generally developed architecturallyspecific items, etc.). A single Revit Central Model was created on the Alfresco sharing site to allow the Template Team to start collaboratively develop the OPW Template. However, due to technical issues with the Alfresco site, it was subsequently necessary to relocate the Revit Central Model to an alternative location. With the assistanceof the ICT Team at OPW, a new ‘OPW Standards’ shared drive was created, both to provide a common location where the team could develop the template and, since release, where the OPW Template is hosted. Over a period of about eight weeks, the team collaboratively developed the template. The idea to use a single ‘Revit Central Model’ worked well, and allowed members of the team to simultaneously work on the same file, synchronising their individual changes back to the shared Central Model. At one stage during the development, up to six individuals were working on the Central Model at the same time. By the end of August 2020, the Team had developed a sufficiently good template file to allow it to be reviewed by DBC.

d) Review and Issue

Over two review sessions, Digital Built Consultants provided feedback on the work that the Team had done and, along with in-house tests by the Template Team, tested the template for usability. Following completion, the template was made available as a ‘read-only’ file to all OPW colleagues working in the building design disciplines, through the shared ‘OPW Standards’drive.A copy of the template file was also shared with public sector colleagues at Dublin City Council for their comments. In addition to the template and the four supporting resource templates, a number of supporting files were alsocreated to assist those using the template. These include: • A number of short training videos showing how to use basic elements of the template • A Template Feedback Form as shown in Fig. 7

• A Revit ‘Family Request Form’

Fig. 7: Revit Template feedback form

VIIOPWREVIT TEMPLATE The first version of the template was successfully completed in August 2020; it was developed in Revit 2020 and holds common styles, annotations, view types and schedules for use across the organisation. The OPW Template was designed to give enough ‘set up’ information to allow an architect, C&S or M&E team to develop their own discipline model using the same starting template; it is envisaged that any embedded information that is not relevant to a particular discipline can be purged from the model at an appropriate time. The following items were incorporated into the first version: • An agreed naming convention for template elements, adopting the ISO 19650 [5] discipline identifier at the start, i.e. ‘A_Door Schedule’, ‘S_Foul Drain [linetype]’ ‘Z_2.0mm General Text’ • An agreed naming convention for Families, adopting the NBS-approach to include the originator of the family has been defined, i.e. ‘Z_OPW_TB_...’ for a Title Block Family, generated by OPW and common to multiple disciplines • Defined Line Patterns • Defined Line Styles • Defined Filled Region colours, based on the Government Visual Identity Guidelines [6] , shown in Fig. 8 • Defined Filled Region colours for materials • Defined Text Styles using Arial, in a range of sizes and colours, based on the Government Visual Identity Guidelines [6] , shown in Fig. 8 • Project Browser layout has been defined to include both a ‘Standard’ set up (sorted by Role, and Sub-Category) and an ‘Alternative’ set up (sorted by Role and National Building Elements identifier) • View Types for each discipline • View Templates to accompany each View Types • Annotation Symbols – North Arrow, Scale Bar, Revision Symbol • Pre-defined Architectural Schedules –Casework, Ceilings, Doors, Furniture, Rooms, Windows • Pre-defined Structural Schedules – Beams, Columns, Floors, Foundations, Walls • Pre-defined Common Schedules – Views, Sheet • A limited Material Library has been added • A ‘Report Cover’ matching the latest OPW branding has been added • A ‘Template User Notes’, set as the starting view, an extract of which is shown in Fig. 9

Fig. 8: Sample standard items in OPW Template (extract)

Fig. 9 OPW: Template user notes (extract)

Fig. 10: OPW drawing border guidance notes (extract) In addition, the first OPW cross-discipline drawing borders were created as part of this project; these were embedded in the OPW Template and also exported for use in AutoCAD format. The drawing borders are

available in a range of page sizes (A0, A1, A2 and A3) with horizontal and vertical title blocks, and in English or Irish.

Development and implementation of this common drawing border was a fundamental part of this project. Following a review with Senior Managers from across the organisation, these new borders have since been adopted as standard and replace the numerous different drawing borders previously in use across the organisation. User Notes to outline how to use the Drawing Borders have been included within the OPW Template as shown in Fig. 10.

VIIITEMPLATE ADOPTION Since the release of the template, it has been used to develop single-discipline Revit models on projects including Bunmahon Coast Guard Station (structures) as shown in Fig. 11, Tallaght Garda Station development (architectural), Ring Garda Station refurbishment (architectural) and the Kilcairn Government Offices project (architectural).

Fig. 11: Bunmahon Coast Guard Station structural model

Feedback on the template is generally positive, with many welcoming the approach to standardise and streamline workflows within the organisation.

IXUPDATES From the beginning of this project, it has been acknowledged that the first release of this OPW Template was the ‘start of a journey’ and that work on the file would need to continue over the coming weeks, months and years as Revit proficiency across the disciplines, and more widely across the organisation, increases.

Fig. 12: Figure NA.1 from I.S. EN ISO 19650-2, split for clarity. Shaded fields apply “as applicable” In order to reflect the changes arising from the release of the new National Annex to ISO 19650-2 [7] in early 2021, a second version of the OPW Template was release in June 2021. This includes: • Discipline IDs updated to align with the new National Annex (‘A’ becomes ‘AR’ , ‘S’ becomes ‘SE’etc.) • Additional brand colours have been added to reflect OPW Brand Guidelines April 2021 • Default drawing borders, as shown in Fig. 12, have been updated to align with IS EN ISO 19650-2 conventions [7], including the information contained identification field as shown in Fig. 12

Fig. 13: Title block, NA:2021 to I.S. EN ISO 19650-2

XFURTHER WORK While a lot of work has been done on the template, the nature of Revit templates is that they need continued maintenance, updating and management. It is anticipated that, in time, this will be under the remit of an OPW BIM Manager, but in the interim the Template Team will continue to manage and update this tool. A StarLeaf user group for OPW Revit Users has been set up, and colleagues are encouraged to use this forum or the dedicated email address revittemplate@opw.ie to submit ideas or suggestions for consideration by the Template Team in future versions of the Template. A follow-on survey to establish use of both this Template and Revit on OPW projects is planned for late 2021/early 2022. Whilst this project focussed on the creation of a Template to increase the use of Revit by OPW architects and engineers in the first instance, further consideration may be given in future to how this Template could be used by i) other external designers working on OPW projects, ii) in-house and external Quantity Surveyors, iii) Contractors working for OPW, iv) OPW Facilities Managers / Property Managers managing these buildings on behalf of the

state and v) other Government Departments, Agencies and Local Authorities.

XICONCLUSIONS The use of BIM at OPW continues to increase, with individual teams, disciplines and projects implementing varying levels of BIM, many of which focus on the use of Revit to generate 3D models. The original intention of the Revit Template Project was to create a file to i) enable the transition towards using Revit on projects, ii) simplify and standardise the setup of OPW models, iii) provide consistency in the appearance of OPW drawings, and iv) allow changes to be updated centrally in one location, common to all disciplines. The first of these objectives will be measured through a follow up survey in due course, while the other objectives have been achieved through the work to date. In addition, this project provided a great opportunity for individuals from across the OPW to improve their Revit skills and to test the capability of people and systems for collaboratively creating Revit models on future projects. At Government level, there is a renewed desire to increase the level of innovation, and adoption of digital tools in the construction sector [8]. As an organisation, the OPW have made a strong commitment to the increased adoption of BIM on OPW projects – both on internal projects, and for those where OPW acts as Client. The OPW Statement of Strategy 20212024 [1] states “…for example, the introduction of appropriate BIM deliverables into OPW procurement processes – both for design services, in the appointment of contractors and in the acquisition/leasing of State Property – has the potential to reduce direct building costs, mitigate construction risk and reduce potential contractual conflicts, providing improved outcomes on public works projects”. Aligning strongly with these objectives, it is anticipated that work on the Template, as one element of a wider OPW BIM Implementation Strategy, will continue into the future; it is hoped that this tool will encourage more colleagues to move towards working in a 3D environment, acting as an enabler to the implementation of more formal BIM processes on their projects.

REFERENCES [1] “Statement of Strategy 2021 – 2024”, Office of Public Works, Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland. [Online]. Available: https://assets.gov.ie/134839/b52e1b97-bfe44948-9434-de0118f111bd.pdf

[2] “Minister Donohoe launches review of procurement policy for public works projects”, Office of Government Procurement, 2019. Available: https://constructionprocurement.gov.ie/test-21march-2019-minister-donohoe-launchesreview-of-procurement-policy-for-publicworks-projects/. [Accessed: 04-Aug-2021].

[3] "Our Public Service - Home", Our Public Service, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.ops.gov.ie/. [Accessed: 04-Aug2021].

[4] “Government Strategy to Increase use of Digital Technology in Key Public Works Projects Launched”, Office of Government Procurements, 2017. Available: https://ogp.gov.ie/government-strategy-toincrease-use-of-digital-technology-in-keypublic-works-projects-launched/. [Accessed: 04-Aug-2021].

[5] Organisation and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) - Information management using building information modelling - Part 2: Delivery phase of the assets, National Standards Authority of Ireland I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:2018, January 2019.

[6] “Unified visual identity guidelines”, Government of Ireland. [Online] Available: https://www.wayfinders.ie/wpcontent/uploads/2018/08/Government_Idenity_ Guidelines_V1_LoRes.pdf

[7] Irish National Annex to I.S. EN ISO 19650 2:2018, Organisation and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) - Information management using building information modelling - Part 2: Delivery phase of assets, National Standards Authority of Ireland NA:2021 to I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:2018, February 2021.

[8] “Minister McGrath launches competitive challenge-based grant call to deliver Build Digital Project for the Construction Sector in 2021”, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, 2020. Available: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/ce4ceminister-mcgrath-launches-competitivechallenge-based-grant-call-to-deliver-builddigital-project-for-the-construction-sector-in2021. [Accessed: 04-Aug-2021].