Reflection

Reflection Workflow

The greatest benefit of using BIM is that it allows multiple users to collaborate using the same file simultaneously. The workflow of this project was convenient and efficient because of BIM. Prior to this unit, collaboration between users in my group was individually working on the file, uploading it to google drive, then the next person would download it, work on the file, share it back on google drive on a loop. The time and effort was unnecessarily dragged because BIM wasn’t used. With BIM, synchronizing allows users to update the model by clicking one button.

It was hard to communicate difficulties in the file when only one person could work on it at a time. Throughout this project, I was able to open the file at the same time as my team member when we needed help from each other. Communication through social media was used for urgent help and questions encountered in the project which made the response much faster. It allowed us to open the same file at the same time whilst chatting together to work through the model together. An excel schedule sheet (appendix 1) was used to organize tasks amongst the team which was referred to throughout the project. It helped allocate the tasks as well as keeping each member up to date with the current progress of the project as the completion of each task was checked and recorded at the time of completion. It also allowed us to view the timeline of the project, from the day the brief was given, to the day due date. This kept us in check to make sure we met the deadline.

We started the project by discussing the tasks that needed to be done through messenger and organized the tasks the need to be done, their order and the time frame we had by documenting it on an excel schedule. Then we researched the building’s plans and elevations to refer to while modeling. We imported the plans into Revit and scaled them to begin to measure. We split the modeling by assigning one member to do the exterior including the site, walls, doors and the floor levels and the other member to do the interior which included walls, doors, windows, furniture and fixtures. There was a constant cycle between modeling on Revit, recording completed tasks on excel and asking for help on messenger if there was anything urgent.

After the model was completed, some interior furniture and fittings were imported through existing Revit families and some were imported through NBS (National BIM source) to later work on the 3D renders suing Enscape. The research had to be referred to so that the renders resembled existing photographs of the building. After the drawing package was completed, it was exported to BIM360 and Adobe Acrobat for submission.