What:
Create a federated model through a cloud environment to keep the team up to date, even if project manager activity is based on a desktop tool.
Who:
Architects, engineers, designers, project managers.
How:
The idea is around having two levels of corrections. The first level relates to designers (architects and engineers) working on the model, and the second relates to project managers.
Designers can first perform a basic check and correct their model, simply by pushing models into the cloud from an authoring tool like Revit to BIM 360 Glue. (See Federated cloud-based model sharing.)
To perform more detailed checks, such as advanced interference checks including tolerances, cost estimation, and construction simulation, the project manager coordinates the federated model using Navisworks. Instead of uploading every model, the project manager can simply access the cloud-merged file through the BIM 360 menu.
Anytime there is a change in the. model, designers update the model into BIM 360 Glue. The project manager can simply refresh, and the model in Navisworks is always up to date
This YouTube video explains the basic steps:
Why:
In a traditional process, the project manager starts collecting models in a Navisworks environment. Then, whenever there is a change, every designer needs to save an updated model and share it with the project manager. The project manager then must actively create another merging in Navisworks or at least point to the updated model.
In this advanced way, Navisworks behaves as a “client” and BIM 360 Glue as a “server.” This approach provides better alignment and reduces risk related to manual updates. It also allows designers to have good control of their projects for basic interference checks.
This approach also results in fewer issues for the project manager, and it helps anticipate issues.
What next?
Because everything is in the cloud, any member of the team can assess the current situation anytime and anywhere. They simply need a BIM 360 Glue account and access to the host.
Revit and Navisworks are part of the Autodesk AEC Collection.
BIM 360 Glue is part of the Autodesk BIM 360 offering.
