Worksets - How much is TOO much?

[matt__w]

Is there a general rule of thumb when it comes to creating worksets? Is there a recommended "maximum number of worksets"? We'll typically have 12-14 worksets.

Matt

[Ning Zhou]

my general rule of thumb -> as less as possible

just like modeling -> only model up to the needed detail level

[RevitNinja]

At one of the AU classes last year, I saw a presenter with 50+ worksets. Every discipline was broken up by area of the building and floor. It was totally ludicrous.

[matt__w]

Yeah... that's a bit over the top. But I guess they're just showing a sort of "worst case scenario"? So I guess our 12-14 isn't too bad then.

[RevitNinja]

I was very surprised because it was one of the more well-known MEP "gurus."

It became apparent though that the setup and organization of his Revit projects were completely dictated by how it would function in Navisworks, which doesn't affect most of us here.

[patricks]

In our architecture office (in which most of our projects are pretty small by most standards), we typically do a fairly broad workset setup, i.e. not too many of them. Out typical project looks like:

CAD Links (off by default)
Exterior
Interior
Revit Links
Shared Levels and Grids
Site
Structure

We usually do one for thin floor finish objects that show up in finish plans, which we could accomplish with a filter, but we like for those objects to NOT show by default in ALL views except finish plans, so we usually have a Floor Patterns workset that is turned off by default.

This has been a pretty good system for us as it allows us things like quick life safety or site plan setup with only building exterior walls showing, or a 3D Structure view with only structural elements showing, etc.

For MEP, I might create worksets for each discipline/system (HVAC, plumbing, lighting, power), and also for Revit links, and for CAD links, and that's probably about it. I'm not sure if I would go much farther than that, workset-wise.

[matt__w]

Our typical worksets are as follows:
COOR - Coordination Items
EL - Electrical Lighting
EP - Electrical Power
ES - Special Systems
FP - Fire Protection
H - HVAC
HP - Hydronic Piping
MG - Medical Gas
P - Plumbing
Shared Levels and Grids
Spaces - Spaces
TC - Technology (Communication)
TS - Technology (Security)

We may add another 1 or 2 depending on the needs of the project or we may merge some together such as TC/TS, EL/EP/ES, H/HP or FP/P.

[patricks]

Sounds like a great setup to me. I forgot about some of those other more "in-depth" systems.

Curious, what do you use the CORR workset for? And do you also create them with just those abbreviations? I personally would just create them with the more descriptive names.

[matt__w]

The COOR workset (COORdination items) is for any type of equipment (mechanical, plumbing, etc...) that needs power. So we would have the COOR workset visible in the electrical power drawings but half-tone. This way the electrical designers (who don't always have a complete set - just their drawings) will know that there is other equipment that needs power. Which could lead to additional panels, yada yada yada...

[patricks]

ah nice, is your office total MEP under one roof?