Revit on As Builts

[Joseph TVM]

Is there any advantage on using Revit for creating as builts. How about using Revit MEP for As built mechanical drawings?????

[Alan aka cadalot]

Is there such a thing as an "As Built" drawing?

There is the "Construction Issue" but who is to say and confirm that it was built that way!

[Dimitri Harvalias]

If you are talking about creating a model from scratch just to deliver as-builts (i.e. you don't have the original Revit model) then I would probably say no.
If the project was done in Revit and the model was used during contract administration to track changes and issue SI's and Change Orders you should have a defacto 'as-built set already.
Transferring trade information to a model would be very little work as well.

Without knowing a little more detail it's tough to say but I have completed Revit projects, as designer, and been contracted by the GC to create as-built and record drawings. It has never been easier IMHO.

[Mike Sealander]

There's an interesting subtext to this question. What is the expectation for the deliverable? A couple of floor plans? Revit is really great as a drafting platform, but AutoCAD probably is, too, although I haven't used it with any vigor since ACAD 2000. If you're just trying to push some stuff out the door, and you did the construction docs in Revit, well, stay with Revit. Otherwise, stay with whatever else was used.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Not a sub-text at all Mike. I agree we should be looking beyond the traditional plan, elevation, section as a final deliverable. If we can provide even a rudimentary model that just contains the model geometry and specific schedule ready data then the owner can use it however they see fit. All sorts of opportunities are here for the design team to expand their offerings and stay engaged with clients to maintain and supplement the model with additional data that can be used for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the building.
I know this doesn't apply on all projects (and probably is way more information than the original poster wanted :lol:) but the point is we are just beginning to see how valuable the model can be as the end deliverable and we should be willing to explore opportunities as well as try to open the clients eyes to that value.

[Alan aka cadalot]

Wearing my Health and Safety CDM-C hat I ask for as-built drawings when putting the Health and Safety file together at the end of a scheme. But I hardly ever recieve anything noted "As Built" because the consultants have produced Construction Issue drawings but are not employed to ensure that what is on the drawing is actually what has been built.

On some schemes there is no monitoring of construction duties within their brief or appointment. They do not want too, and will not take responsiblity by marking the drawings "As Built" and who can blame them.

Hardly ever do the minor and mid changes forced on the design ever make it to a modification in the Construction Issue drawings becuase they have been covered by an AI or Site Instruction.

Only Major changes would warrent the time updating the drawings or model

[Mike Sealander]

Hi Alan:
Where I am working in the Northeast US, it is common for contractors to maintain a printed set on site, and edit the drawings with a red pencil to indicate where specific activities occurred that either differed from the contract documents, or supplemented the contract docs. A good example is the actual routing of a conduit or pipe that was simply shown as a single line diagram on the drawings. Sprinkler heads are usually located by a design-build sprinkler (fire suppression) contractor, and so would also not be shown dimensionally on contract docs.
Often, the designer is employed, either as part of the basic design contract or as an additional service, to incorporate these hand-written edits into a final deliverable set that, for better or worse, is referred to as the "as-built" set. Professional judgment is used when interpreting the term "as-built."
Dmitri's point about value-added in delivering a BIM model, or perhaps even having contractors maintain a BIM model during construction, points to an interesting legal and procedural concern that is a topic of discussion here.

[Joseph TVM]

Hi all

We are planning to create drawings from scratch. What we plan to do now is to create the model in Revit and export the corresponding plans into dwg format. Infact we have already started doing this and we feel that the time saved while using Revit is on the higher side compared to ACAD. Meanwhile we also had to face some drafting issues where we got stuck in Revit which could have been resolved if we had used ACAD for the same purpose.

Anyhow the basic intention behind using Revit for As builts is to upgrade ourselves into a BIM environment or a 3D intelligent environment as the 2D is almost facing an extinction by itself. As we do space management also, Revit seems to do the job smoothly. I think the Room and Area department in Revit could be improved further.

Thank You
Joseph Bejoy
Cad Engineer,Trivandrum