Thinking of switching

[cparvez]

What were the highs and lows of switching over. What can I expect the learning curve to be like? What is file size like? Has Revit lived up to your expectations?

[tjk0225]

Highs - thinking about DESIGN not layers, xrefs and plot configurations.
Lows - none (I started a new job in January and had to learn Revit, so I've been using for 5 months)

It took me about a week to adjust my way of thinking about CAD to feel productive in Revit. File size will be much larger than .dwg file sizes. However, I haven't experienced a slow down as a result. If you use worksets, most of your saves can be to your local drive which speeds things up tremendously.

Since I didn't really participate in selecting Revit, I would say that it has far exceeded my expectations.

Make the switch, don't look back.

[Steve_Stafford]

Download the software (free 60 day trial when you do) demo it by spending 8-10 hours with it over a weekend (do the Getting Started with Revit Tutorials and how ever many others you can fit in)...see what your heart tells you on Monday.

For a little "light" reading search the Revit forum for "ADT Revit" for lively discussions going back a year.

[luigi]

It didn't take myself a lot to learn it quite well. I do have a "but" though. We've been using Revit exclusively for about a year and a half, or more, and although people at my office are getting the basics, all have problems being productive. The key is that if people are used of thinking and designing a totality of architecture (not just 2d drawings under supervision) then Revit is a must. From Conceptual to Construction Documents Revit is a complete program that delivers an edge to traditional ways of conducting architectures.
If the decision involves impacting people that seem to get confused that when you draw a wall in plan it is more than just a 2d representation, then you might have problems switching. Another factor is that someone that just takes direction from a supervisor won't be able to really work on Revit on their own. So, if your company has employees used to working on Archicad, or ADT, then it won't be a problem switching, actually it will increase the value of your firm.
Think about the whole firm, do download the 60 day trial as suggested, use it, but have other employees use it as well. Good luck.

[sbrown]

What size is your firm? What are the project types? Do you have key people that have the aptitude for new software and enthusiasm? Revit is easy to learn if you have motivated people and management willing to committ to making it work. I have not met anyone who did all the tutorials on their own who wasn't in awe of what revit helps you accomplish. The struggles are people that try to wing it or just won't do the tutorials.

[aaronrumple]

I'm overseeing our office switch. So far only good things to report. Training has been minimal. In some cases I've just turned people lose to see how much they can figure out on their own. They end up running into surprisingly few problems. Those they do run into really do fall into the area of "...advanced Revit". Productivity for a first time user on a first project is at least equal to their performance in AutoCAD. Best part - everyone has been happy and says "I like this..." That in its self I think goes a long way in creating success.

[BillyGrey]

"all have problems being productive."

I have to respectfully add that this particular observation, while true for your firm, is a problem not associated with the software. As you note (paralogically), it is an individual dratfperson's ability to "unlearn ( ;) )" their old way of viewing work, and adapt.

My experience is that productivity increased dramatically after the learning curve.
Ex.: I was givin a prelim (wall and window locations) for a custom 3500 sq. ft. residence last week. In two days + a couple of hours I was able to produce full CD's including structurals.

A job like that used to take me +-4 days cadding, and 5 to 6 manually.

I also think two major keys to productivity are having correct, killer templates as a starting point for a project, and all associated families (wall styles, windows, etc.) covered as completely as possible.

HTH

Bill

[Tom Dorner]

My 2 cents worth echos some of the previous posts.

Revit in my opinion is a wonderful program for doing architecture. Any problems you experience in switching to Revit on a technical level are pretty easy to overcome. The real problem is going to be with the people in your office. Suddenly a "CAD Operator" good at putting 2D lines on a page will be required to understand and be able to model the way buildings really go together. In the 2D CAD world there is a lot of fudging going on in CAD drawings that is left for someone in the field to figure out when the project is actually built.

If you have the right type of people working in Revit, the sky is the limit.

Tom

[hand471037]

Tom, your dead-on. When I give a Revit demo to a local firm who's interested in possibly using it, they always ask "What are the problems with Revit? What's the downside?".

And I always tell them, that like any other application, Revit has and will always have some minor technical bugs, and these over time get fixed and replaced with new ones. The only real 'Downside' or 'Problem' with Revit is that it will fundamentally change the workflow of your firm. And while there is a huge amount of oppertunity in it to make you vastly more productive and to allow you new ways of working not currently available to you, if you're not willing to embrace that change, Revit isn't going to really pay off for you.

The shift and disruption from 2D CAD to 3D BIM can be as large as going from Hand-drafting to CAD was. However those firms that were able to leverage that change in a positive way for them came out much better than those firms that simply refused to change, and then were forced to later by the Market.

Revit is a tool for developing, capturing, Managing, and communicating Design Intent from a working professional. This means it does all kinds of things to help a working professional do their job, which is to get the project Built.

It's a world of difference from the drawing-centric, traditional CAD world. Because even though, as an Architect, I spend a lot of my time drawing things, drawing isn't my job. My job is to get things Built. So using a system that is focused on that task helps me a great deal. If I was only a draftsperson, then the story would be different, then using a drawing-centric CAD system (like AutoCAD) could be the way to go, for my job then would only be to draw things.

[cparvez]

Thanks for all of the imput! I appreciate the enthusiam. For Scott Brown, my firm has 50+ seats of full CAD and another 15 or so LTs. We run the AEC gambit from design conceptualization to construction management. Most of the guys I have using AutoCAD have years of experience and nobody here gets fed redlines. We have several departments and I'm wondering how it would work to switch over a department at a time. How well does it work with 3D Max? I have downloaded the trail and am beginning the tutorials. Also, what books are good?

[Tom Dorner]

For good Revit books I would recommend the Revit Courseware by Cyril Verley and David Driver. You can order them from www.cdvsystems.com (http://www.cdvsystems.com)

They currently have the release 5.1 books, but 6.1 series is supposed to be out soon.

Cyril, if your out there can you give us an update on the release dates?

Also there is a Implementing Revit book from Autodesk Press to be released in August. Any word yet Jim Balding on specific release dates?

Tom

[jbalding48677]

We have completed the final revisions and it is at the printer now. The web site says 7/8/2004.

http://www.delmarlearning.com/Browse_CatalogDetail.asp?XXID=11963&ISBN=1401850499

HTH -