Workflow when multiple people are working on BIM produced project?

[Christiaan]

My question is toward the bottom, so you may like to skip to that first.

Background: I recently completed a project whereby I used the BIM (Building Information Modelling) process to produce the plans, elevations, sections and model views.

We were extremely pleased with this process because the implication of changes on plans would be reflected immediately in other parts of the building and vice versa. This, suffice to say, is a great way to develop a design and produce documentation.

It also minimises greatly the potential for your elevations, sections, plans and model to be inconsistent with each other.

Problem: When I did the above project I was basically the only person working on it and now that we've adopted this process because we thought it was so good we've run into the problem of having multiple people working on one file. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to have one person developing the model (the external envelope) while another person refines the plans (internally) for instance.

Question(s): So what is a good workflow strategy when you have multiple people working on a project produced using BIM?

My (limited) understanding of Workgroup Referencing is that it is likely to introduce more problems than it solves, at least with regard to my specific problem of BIM and multiple people. Is this a fair assessment? In which case there doesn't seem to be a way around this other than to try and have one person produce all the documentation.

My understanding (again very limited) of ArchiCAD, for instance, is that you can isolate parts of the drawing/building and have multiple people working on the same file. Can Workgroup Referencing in Vectorworks be used in this way?

[Robert Anderson]

Instead of using user-defined regions to isolate parts of the building for sharing (as Archicad does), VW uses layers. There are many ways to set up your strategy for this.

In the example you gave, Let's say that Sally and Ivan are working on a two-story building. Sally is working on the Shell, and Ivan is working on the Interiors.

So Sally has control over the layers which define the outside of the building, and the cores and column grid. Let's that Sally has the following layers in a file:

Mod-Layout (controls column grid, etc.)

Mod-Foundation (footings)

Mod-Shell-1 (ext wall and cores, floor 1)

Mod-Shell-2 (ext wall and cores, floor 2)

Mod-Roof

Ivan has control over the interior layouts, so he has a file with the following two layers:

Mod-Interior-1 (interior systems, floor 1)

Mod-Interior-2 (interior systems, floor 2)

These two layers have the same Z values as the corresponding shell layers.

Ivan also references two of Sally's layers, Mod-Shell-1 and Mod-Shell-2, so he can properly do his plans. Ivan updates his references to these layers on a daily basis (or more often), but doesn't edit information on the referenced layers.

If Ivan needs a change in the shell to acommodate this design, he requests it of Sally, who "owns" these layers (and who is more attuned to thinking of shell issues and potential problems anyway). But Sally is responsible for the shell and the exterior of the building.

This is only one (very simplified) strategy. There are any number of ways to use VW's highly flexible workgroup referencing. The primary things to remember are this:

1. The unit of sharing is a layer. Everything or nothing in the layer should be shared.

2. Referenced layers have their contents locked (by default) and should have no edits by the referencing user.

3. Layers have to have unique names in the combined file.

4. Referenced resources should be named differently from local resources, or they should both be referenced from the same source to avoid name conflicts.

Within these constraints, you can develop many scenarios for project sharing.

[Christiaan]

Hi Robert, thanks for your comprehensive reply. At the moment we have a simple drawing template whereby the layers are based purely on levels of the building, i.e.: Gnd Floor, 1st Floor, Roof Plan, etc. All components of the floors are then divided up into classes.

As I understand it you're saying that we should divide the drawing structure up so that any parts of the building we would like to separate out for individuals to work on should have their own layer category. I'll give it a go (my main hurdle will probably be in convincing others!).

P.S. There seems to be a big leap of complexity when you go from having one person work on a project to multiple people, that didn't necessarily exist under manual drawing. Maybe that's not a fair statement but I can't help but think that working in a group using CAD has still got some bright ideas to be thought of. Hope you have a team on it!

P.P.S. I'd love to see a demonstration of complex Workgroup Referencing next time you guys are in London.

[mike m oz]

There is no one answer to how you split the project up - it depends on the project and the personnel you have available.

You can split the project:

- Horizontally into building chunks with precise demarkation lines.

- Vertically into separate floors.

- By drawing type (eg. floor plans, ceiling plans etc.).

You really need to look at the project and work out what is going to work best for you in the context. Don't be afraid to rejig it if it is not working.

For most projects I use 3 layers for each storey:

- 3D Floor slabs

- 3D Walls and Plan Elements (stairs, cabinetwork, furniture etc.)

- 2D Plan elements (including all text)

For other model components like the site and the roofs I use 2 layers:

- 3D elements

- 2D elements (including all text)

For a more complex project I would probably use 5 layers per storey as follows:

- 3D Floor slabs

- 3D Walls

- 3D Plan elements (stairs, cabinet work furniture etc.)

- 2D Plan elements (including all text)

- 2D reflected ceiling plan (3D walls layer linked in)

You could amalgamate the 3D Walls and 3D Plan Elements layers into one and use Class Visibilities within your Saved Sheets so that only the reqired 3D elements appear in the Reflected Ceiling Plans.

Where the project is quite complex you may need to use additional layers for each storey for things like Structural plans and MEP systems. Where possible it is better to do this using Class Visibilities.

[ 02-22-2006, 10:42 AM: Message edited by: mike m oz ]