What analysis can you do w/ Revit?

[janunson]

Just wondering, what tricks have people figured out to do analysis of their models using parameters, schedules, etc.

For example, in our files we have tables that do the following:

Calculate egress occupancy loads for fire code,
Calculate plumbing fixture requirements for plumbing code
Calculate attic ventilation square inch requirements for vented attic space
i'm also working on a table that will take those numbers, per room and compare to the clear opening width of any doors and compare loading to exit capacity.
I was wondering if anyone else would share what kinds of analysis they're able to do on their Revit models.

[archjake]

I've done schedules to calculate occupancy, plumbing fixture units, outside air requirements, International Energy Conservation... and a bunch of schedules to specify equipment (lights, air registers, etc.)

I also have the typicals. Door, Windows, Finishes, Partition Types, and Sheet Index.

I'd love to see how your schedule is layed out for the plumbing fixtures required. Could you post a screen shot? I wonder if it ties into the model and checks how many fixtures you actually provided.

[janunson]

Here's some screen shots - The plumbing schedule does not count fixtures, because I'm basing it on room areas, so it's basically a room schedule. I place it on a sheet next to a table that counts fixtures.

the images -
1. Key schedule showing the fixture requirements for fixture counts (converted by me to requirements per 100 occupants from the ratios used in the code book)
2. Code Occupancies table that gives number of occupants per for egress calcs... also a room key schedule.
3. Fixture table, requires user to apply to each room or set of rooms an occupancy type for life safety code to get an occupant count, then an occupancy type for plumbing code to get the fixture ratios, then does the calculations. I split the screenshot in 2 pieces to get it under the AUGI size limit.

Doing this made me wish code officials would use a database to organize their code requirements too, so that this stuff could be translated more easily into machine-calculable formulas. It also made me wish i could get a parameter to have a default value on the schedule. When adding the people/SF column to the fixed seating column, nothing calculates unless i type a 0 into the fixed seating column on each row.

Can you post a pic of your IEC table? Id like to see how that one works!

[janunson]

One thing that would make a LOT more analsys possible would be if rooms were able to detect elements other than doors that are in them - Lengths of wall type, Area of Ceiling type, Windows, furnishings, Volume to Structure, Volume to Ceiling... I think changing rooms from a flat object to a 3D volume object would be a great improvement. It could also make it possible to do things like color fill in section.

[archjake]

The IEC table is just a simple table to calculate watts allowed vs actual watts. I usualy have to enter the actual watts as it doesn't do it automaticaly.

[janunson]

That wattage comparison thing looks like a table that will have a lot more possibilities w/ Revit MEP. Hopfully we'll get access to some of the data in the MEP families in Building too.

[Scott D Davis]

Nice scheduling everyone! I'll post our Occupant Load Factor schedules later. We have a Key Schedule which is a duplicate of Table 10-A from the UBC. That Key gets used in a Room Schedule to define the space type to determine occupants.

I'll copy these scedules into a blank project and post them. I invite others to do the same! We can then cut-n-paste these schedules into our own projects to see how they work!

[hand471037]

I've posted about this before, but I've designed in some 'code awareness' into several Revit Families. You basically use the interference checking in combo with invisible solids that represent the clear space required. Things encroaching upon that space will show up as touching in the interference check...

Here's an example of a door and a sink as an attached image.

[BWG]

I've posted about this before, but I've designed in some 'code awareness' into several Revit Families. You basically use the interference checking in combo with invisible solids that represent the clear space required. Things encroaching upon that space will show up as touching in the interference check...

Here's an example of a door and a sink as an attached image.


That is really awesome. Huge timesaver.

[pdavis]

Nice scheduling everyone! I'll post our Occupant Load Factor schedules later. We have a Key Schedule which is a duplicate of Table 10-A from the UBC. That Key gets used in a Room Schedule to define the space type to determine occupants.

I'll copy these scedules into a blank project and post them. I invite others to do the same! We can then cut-n-paste these schedules into our own projects to see how they work!

Scott,

I know this is a VERY old post, but did you ever post those project with your schedules in them?

[Scott D Davis]

I think I posted it somewhere, but here it is again....

[truevis]

... It also made me wish i could get a parameter to have a default value on the schedule. When adding the people/SF column to the fixed seating column, nothing calculates unless i type a 0 into the fixed seating column on each row...The fast way to enter multiple instance parameters is to window/crossing-select & filter or select-all-instances and change the parameter in their properties.

[greg.mcdowell]

The fast way to enter multiple instance parameters is to window/crossing-select or select-all-instances and change the parameter in their properties.

another way is to create a new schedule with only the information you need to edit and work from there... sometimes i like doing it this way... sometimes i like doing it the other (decisions-decisions)

[lhanyok]

So I'm going to dig this thread up again. I'm creating an Occupany Load Schedule based on IBC 2003. How are you dealing with some occupancies that are based on the gross floor area as opposed to the net floor area?

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Follow Scott's example but use Area objects and schedules instead of room objects. You can place the area boundary lines wherever you need them to be.
Also keep in mind that you can have a variety of area schemes so you can create a special scheme that will show area boundaries based on fire compartments.

[dmwirtz]

We normally don't have our code 'attached' to the Revit project - we are just too new at this I guess - but now we would like to do just that - I need to now how - could someone give a step by step - I think that it would benefit us and the other disciplines would also find it beneficial. If someone knows where to go for this that would be good as well.

[janunson]

We normally don't have our code 'attached' to the Revit project - we are just too new at this I guess - but now we would like to do just that - I need to now how - could someone give a step by step - I think that it would benefit us and the other disciplines would also find it beneficial. If someone knows where to go for this that would be good as well.There's not ready-built way to do it.. and all methods are currently limited, but you can do 2 things simply:

1. For clearances, add invisible solids to your families that represent required clearances, then use interference checking to verify code requirements.

2. Create Key schedules of objects like rooms, doors, areas, windows, and add code information to keys that will autofill code-based information into a schedule of the object's properties so you can do math with it. A simple example, my first attempt, was to create room key schedules with occupancy type as the key - then adding SF/Person as a number to the key. then in the room schedule itself, i could list area, and the key(occpancy type) and have it fill in the SF/Person, i could then add a calculated value for the room area/occupancy number, to get the occpancy for each room.

[thillhouse]

Here's some screen shots - The plumbing schedule does not count fixtures, because I'm basing it on room areas, so it's basically a room schedule. I place it on a sheet next to a table that counts fixtures.

the images -
1. Key schedule showing the fixture requirements for fixture counts (converted by me to requirements per 100 occupants from the ratios used in the code book)
2. Code Occupancies table that gives number of occupants per for egress calcs... also a room key schedule.
3. Fixture table, requires user to apply to each room or set of rooms an occupancy type for life safety code to get an occupant count, then an occupancy type for plumbing code to get the fixture ratios, then does the calculations. I split the screenshot in 2 pieces to get it under the AUGI size limit.

Doing this made me wish code officials would use a database to organize their code requirements too, so that this stuff could be translated more easily into machine-calculable formulas. It also made me wish i could get a parameter to have a default value on the schedule. When adding the people/SF column to the fixed seating column, nothing calculates unless i type a 0 into the fixed seating column on each row.

Can you post a pic of your IEC table? Id like to see how that one works!

janunson, could you post your plumbing schedules? I'd be interested in reverse engineering them to figure out how you did them...and if they have improved since 2007?

Thanks
Tim