Copy Monitor - Levels and grids master file

[hecheva785701]

Hello,

I work in the architectural field and I have always used a master file just containing Grids and Levels. The rest of the building models use the copy/monitor tool to monitor this file.
This way if something changes in the building models the coordination review tool would warn you.

Today someone told me that they do the opposite. They monitor the building models from the master files.
Now, I see that this way you see any discrepancy from just one file. But I don't know... I feel like my method is better because the Master files are as the name implies the master; It dictates what the grids and levels should be.
We can always do it both ways.
What are your thoughts? do you do something similar?

Cheers.

P.S. I tried to post the same question before, but I think it didn't go trough. Please delete this if it is duplicated. Apologies.

[tedg]

I work for an A/E company, where we have Architects and Engineers designing the building.
We don't design really big buildings so our process may be scaled down or different from a firm that does sky scrapers or multiple building projects.
We also don't do a ton of MEP modelling, we're still ramping up to doing that more.

We don't have one "master" file, other than the Architectural and the Structural models share vital information

Our process is:
The Architectural model drives the design (for the most part) and contains the floor levels which are copy-monitored where needed into the MEP model.
The Structural model contains the column grids which are copy-monitored by the arch model.
The MEP model uses the Arch and Struct models as links to design their systems.

(side note about structural, because that is what I work on:
the structural model has levels other than the ones in the arch model for Top of Slab, Top of Steel and maybe Top of Fndn Walls (etc) that the structural model framing is tied to.
the structural model has all the columns and so that is why it drives the column grids, but are coordinated with architectural locations)

Hope that helps