Consultant Coordination - Copy/Monitor?

[ddragoo144336]

We are currently working on a large performing arts center project in Revit Architecture 2008. Our structural consultant (who is in a separate office) is working in Revit Structure 2008 and our Mechanical consultant is using Revit MEP 2008.

I am having trouble trying to figure out the best way to work with our structural engineer. They have drawn all the items in their model that they need for their design and documentation: foundations, concrete walls at the basement, concrete slabs, steel columns, beams and bracing, and steel decks w/ or w/o concrete (both floor and roof). In our architectural model, we have shown the basement walls, concrete slabs and steel decks.

We have just been linking their model to ours to check for fit, but now that we are pretty far into CDs, I wonder if we should do something about the duplicated basement, slabs and decks/roofs. The structural roof decks as drawn by our engineer are actually more accurate than ours, since the slopes are shown correctly, and we had not actually sloped ours (although the extents are often incorrect on theirs).

I have read everything in the instruction manual on working with models from consultants and have searched online, but I still don't really understand how this should work.

So here are my questions:

- Would it be smart to use copy/monitor rather than linking the structural model?
- Should we copy/monitor everything from their model?
- If we copy/monitor the basement walls, can we still put doors in them?
- If we copy/monitor the roof decks, can we show our roofing material on them - and sloping correctly?
- If we copy/monitor the decks and slabs, can we still cut openings in them in order to locate ladders, shafts, etc.?
- If we have to keep our own roof decks in order to correctly show the roofing material, can we somehow attach them to the structural beams so they slope correctly?

Any other tips? I am really at a complete loss with this.

Thank you!

[jjohnson.156630]

Don't duplicate efforts. If it is something that the structural engineer is going to spec., make them draw it and draw it accurately. Coordination is required to make sure that everything lines up.

FYI, we have taken all of the second floor slabs and roof decking, insulation and membranes. It makes for much quicker slab cuts for stairs and balconies.

Just curious. Are your electrical engineers working in Revit too? Do they have a problem with placing exit signs on walls that are not in their file?

[ddragoo144336]

Don't duplicate efforts. If it is something that the structural engineer is going to spec., make them draw it and draw it accurately. Coordination is required to make sure that everything lines up.

Have you been using copy/monitor to bring in the work of your structural engineer, or have you been just linking their model into yours? How is it working for you?


FYI, we have taken all of the second floor slabs and roof decking, insulation and membranes. It makes for much quicker slab cuts for stairs and balconies.

What are you doing with the floor slabs, roof decking and insulation?


Just curious. Are your electrical engineers working in Revit too? Do they have a problem with placing exit signs on walls that are not in their file?

Our electrical engineers were originally supposed to be working in Revit, but ended up doing their work in AutoCAD. However, our mechanical engineer is in Revit, and it's a bit of a nightmare for them.

The fact that it is difficult to put exit signs on walls for the electrical engineer does not surprise me. I think this is related to my fear (in my original post) about whether or not we can put roofing material on decks in the structural engineers drawings or cut openings in those same decks for ladders, etc.

This is actually the first Revit project for us and for our structural and mechanical consultants, and we are all struggling with how to do our own work as well as coordinating with each other. The User Guide is practically no help at all.

[projecterra]

I am currently working on a three story building. Our structural consultant is using Revit 2008 and I am having similar issues as blusurfer. Mainly, the Arch doors do not appear after the Structural model has been copy monitored: the structural model only comes in with openings which do not allow my doors to be hosted. Can anyone spell out a process that they have used for structural coordination? I want to be sure I am thinking about it correctly.

My Basic Process:
1) Make architectural model and give to structural without copy monitoring anything
2) Receive structural model and link it to architectural
3) Copy monitors all possible structural components that I can and that structural should have control over i.e. structural walls, columns etc.
4) Send the file back to structural for them to copy monitor.
5) I do not copy beams and other items, I leave the link visible in views where needed.

Does this seem to be the same approach everyone else is taking? I am getting a lot of coordinations errors as mentioned above i.e. sketch not valid, wall centerlines do not align, elements deleted... Whats the deal? Thanks

[rkitect]

Are your electrical engineers working in Revit too? Do they have a problem with placing exit signs on walls that are not in their file?

You need to use face based families to host objects to a surface in a linked model. Depending on who in the coordination effort specs the lights and placement, the process for placing MEP components that are hosted varies. At our office, we have two entire libraries of the same objects, one wall/floor/ceiling/etc based, and one face based.

[rkitect]

We have a different approach, mainly because we are not a design firm, but a modeling firm. However, I try to take the same approach I would if we were in the coordination effort (and in fact use this process for projects that are still being coordinated):

1) LOCATE ORIGIN... it's not that important if you don't use 3rd party software like navisworks.. but it makes things MUCH easier to coordinate.
2) Place architectural components into architectural model.
3) Send model to structural modeler
4) structural modeler opens a new project and links architectural model in using origin to origin.
5) Structural modeler places structural components into structural model. save and sends structural model to architectural modeler
6) Architectural modeler opens architectural model and links structural model in.

This prevents duplicate walls tobe placed since the walls are already in place when the structural modeler works. Notes can be made to the architectural modeler if certain walls need to be made bearing or moved for column placement. We've never had many coordination issues and find many design flaws when we use this process.

I should note that we do not use copy/monitor, but good ol fashion written/emailed notes (read: design review) regarding changes that need to be made.