A Happy Christmas to fellow Star Trek fans

Enjoy

Drone Photoscan

I'm looking at getting a Quadcopter with camera for Christmas but this is a
high level drone not the boy toy I'm going to be playing with




Bridge photoscanned to 3d pointcloud. Clip shows surface model in Memento,
pointcloud in Revit and VR-model in Lumion

Digital BIM Toolkit

IStructE Newsletter says:-

Project is a key enabler of the move to deliver Level 2 BIM on central Government procurement from April 2016.

The Institution of Structural Engineers and six other professional bodies covering design, construction, operation and management in the built environment are supporting NBS, part of RIBA Enterprises, in its development of a free-to-use digital BIM tool for the BIM Task Group. BIFM, CIBSE, CIOB, ICE, RIBA, RICS and the Institution are all providing cross-industry support and technical advice to the project, which is a key enabler of the move to deliver Level 2 BIM on central government procurement from April 2016.

The free online tool will help collaborative project teams define, manage and validate who is responsible for what at different stages of the asset lifecycle. Supporting this will be a pan-industry classification system, well defined levels of graphical detail and system information as well as a comprehensive set of product information templates.
 
Richard Waterhouse, Chief Executive of RIBA Enterprises, said: “This initiative was always about doing something which helps the entire industry, so to have these organisations part of  our project steering group will be a fantastic support and will help ensure we have essential pan-industry engagement’.

Sarah Fray, Director: Engineering & Technical Services for The Institution of Structural Engineers said: “The Institution and its members are delighted to support the BIM toolkit project. Broad industry engagement will be a critical element in delivering a free-to-use digital tool to help structural engineers bring about a BIM enabled industry. We are looking forward to seeing real benefits delivered to all through collaborative project work across the industry.”

Anne Kemp, Chair of ICE’s BIM Action group, said: “ICE’s aim is to develop and support the world’s best digitally enabled civil engineers and provide thought leadership and direction to the way BIM is implemented throughout the industry. We are delighted therefore to be playing a part in developing a modern, relevant digital tool which facilitates a more consistent approach across the industry. We look forward to continuing this collaboration, helping to ensure the tool reaches - and is embraced by - all those at the forefront of BIM.”
Eddie Tuttle, Public Affairs and Policy Manager for The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) commented: “CIOB is pleased to be involved in a project that is at the vanguard of the approach to be taken in ensuring that we have a collaborative movement to BIM for the good of the wider industry. “

Mark Powell, Executive Director at RICS commented:  “RICS is delighted to be involved in the development of such an important project; we see this as a major step forward in helping project teams to collaborate to achieve level 2 BIM. For the first time, project teams will have free access to a best practice design management toolkit and a common classification system that, where possible, will help link design objects with our existing measurement standards and industry benchmarked cost data from our BCIS products.”

Nick Mead, CIBSE President Elect said: “As the professional body for energy using systems in buildings, CIBSE supports the development of the digital BIM tool to cover all aspects of buildings and the wider built environment. For the tool to successfully support the delivery of Level 2 BIM for the whole built environment it is vital that the professional institutions continue to work together to ensure that the tool is fit for purpose for all our respective members.”

NBS also plans wider engagement with the industry via other professional bodies and institutes. Discussions, workshops, presentations and beta testing sessions will be happening over the coming months.

More details about the project are available here.

Has the BIM Bubble finally burst?

Go back a few years and these kind of events were over subscribed and seats went really quick, interesting that I'm still receiving emails touting seat are available for this bsi one.

Lets face it most of the information presented at these events is available on the web these days, and if you have only just heard of BIM where have you been for the last four years or more?

Or is it just the price that is putting people off?

EARLYBIRD PRICES
Public sector rate: Book now

• Members £125.50
• Non-members £251.00

Standards rate: Book now

• Members £157.00
• Non-Members £314.00

Earlybird prices valid until 1st November 2014

FULL PRICES

Public sector rate:

• Members £139.50
• Non-members £279.00

Standard rate:

• Members £174.50

• Non-Members £349.00

Moving onto BIM - Planning and Building Control Today

Planning and Building Control Today can be downloaded as an adobe file from here in the current issue there is an article on BIM.

"Moving onto BIM, we were thrilled to be able to interview Malcolm Taylor, Head of Technical Information for Crossrail Ltd. In the interview he outlines what BIM means for this huge project and praises the BS: 1192 as it set the scene for BIM as we know it today. David Philp of the UK BIM Task Group also makes a welcome return with an article outlining how BIM can help industry"

What's New In Revit 2015 Subscription 2 Update

I received the Redstack E-News Birthday edition and noted this little gem so decided to share the link.

Who are Redstack?  Well they were IMAGINiT but 12 months ago they evolved from Technologies to Redstack according to the newsletter. Sounds like a company takeover or buyout to me, but hay ho.

To celebrate their birthday they have a special offer:

Mention Redstack's first birthday and receive a 20% discount on all scheduled training classes booked and paid for by December 19 and I'm sure subject to conditions..

In the mean time here is that Link to Whitepaper

FREE BRE London BIM Networking Event

Join BRE's free BIM Networking Event See how BRE can help you and your business become BIM Level 2 ready   By 2016 all Government procured buildings will have to be BIM level 2 compliant.  Is your business ready for this change?  Find out how BRE can help you and your business achieve this target with offerings from our specialists within the UK's leading BIM certification, training, and consultancy teams.  Tuesday 11th November 2014 The Building Centre Store Street London WC1E 7BT   Agenda 1.30pm Registration and Coffee 2pm Welcome and Introduction 2.15pm Are you BIM Level 2 Ready? (Paul Oakley, Associate Director, BRE BIM) An overview of the requirements to get your company BIM Level 2 ready. 2.45pm Business Certification (Stephen Farrow Certification Manager BRE) Benefits and process to get your business Certificated for BIM Level 2. 3.10pm Case Study BDP Business Certification (Alistair Kell BDP Director of Information and Technology) BDP take you through the journey to get BRE BIM Business Certification scheme. 3.30pm Coffee and Network session 3.45pm Getting to grip with your BIM authoring tools (Dave Dalton and Nigel Guy CAD Spec). An Autodesk Authorised Reseller and Training Centre take you through the tools, training and support required. 4.05pm Delivering a Common Data Environment An overview of the delivery of a Common Data Environment and how crucial it is to the BIM Level 2 strategy. 4.25pm Training Requirements for BIM Level 2. (Mike Jaggs Associate Director, BRE Academy.) This session provides an overview of the BRE training and education programmes needed to understand the scheme standards, methods and processes for BIM level 2 certification. 4.45pm Questions and Answer Session 5pm Close For further information on the event and to discuss the BIM services BRE offer Click Here. Best Regards BIM Team BRE, Building 1, Bucknalls Lane, Watford WD25 9XX T 0845 8630014 E BIM@bre.co.uk W www.bre.co.uk/BIM

Autodesk FREE BIM Pilot Deployment Workbook

Crazy I know but there are companies out there that are just getting there first taste of BIM and Autodesk recently sent me an email which I would like to share here. Shame they don't provide a Word Version of the document that could be used directly.

Get your free BIM Pilot Deployment Workbook Building Information Modeling (BIM) helps firms like yours reduce rework, improve efficiency, and win new projects. Launching and running a BIM pilot project is the first step to firm-wide adoption. Stop wondering about BIM, and start seeing the benefits on real projects. The Autodesk® BIM Pilot Deployment Workbook can help you move your firm to BIM. It all starts with selecting the right BIM pilot project, leadership from you, and a solid plan. The free workbook takes a step-by-step approach to help you realize the benefits of BIM sooner. Find resources that can help you launch and run a successful BIM pilot project.

New BIM+ Website of the Chartered Institute of Building

BIM4Housing plans workshops around real-life case studies The BIM4Housing work group, set up by the government's BIM Task Force earlier this year, is launching a a series of introductory BIM workshops for the house building sector around the..

Read More

Revit 2015 Detail Component Reference Guide

I normally review and produce a reference guide to what has been added and subtracted from the families library and it's structure for each version, but with setting up my own company, life the universe and everything else I have not produced one for 2015 and it seems unlikely to happen for 2016.  

Lawrence Hooker over at Autodesk Revit Structure however has produced a 30 page PDF document that outlines each detail component and where it is located within the folder system. Which will assist new users in locating 2D detail items from the standard Autodesk Revit 2015 library. I have uploaded a



Visit Lawrence's blog to download Click Here
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FDM AND POLYJET 3D PRINTING - White Paper

Received an email from Cadalyst about the white paper just as I'm involved on a job where they are about to use 3D model printing Fused Deposition Modeling™ (FDM®) and PolyJet® are two of the most advanced and effective additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technologies available.  They span the range from budget-friendly, desktop modeling devices to large-format, factory-floor equipment that draw from the capital expenditure budget, and can produce a range of output from precise, finely detailed models to durable production goods. While there is crossover in applications and advantages, these two technology platforms remain distinct and bring different benefits.   Learn more about the differences between these two technologies to select the right one for your application, demands and constraints.   Download  your paper today!

BIM ebook from Autodesk

I've just received an email from Autodesk re BIM so looks like they are not pushing the cloud all the time and have decided to push a bit of BIM again. I am truly amazed that there are still people out there attending seminars about what BIM is or isn't and now they are even paying for the privilege!



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LRUG / Ideate Inc Meeting 27th October - Master the Revit [DATA] Model

Join Ideate Software, in support of LRUG, for an evening seminar dedicated to those who want to step up their Building Information Modeling with Revit. Best in class BIM means mastering not just the design and the 3D modeling, it also requires mastering the data. This seminar is designed for BIM Managers, Project Engineers, Architects, and anyone responsible for the bottom line on Revit projects.

To be held at the Building Centre 26 Store Street London WC1E 7BT

Registration at http://www.ideateinc.com/events/redirect/isw_london.html

5:30pm-6:00pm – Refreshments, Networking & Introductions

6:00pm-6:30pm - London Revit User Group

6:30pm-7:15pm – Auditing Your Revit Project with Ideate Explorer for Revit

7:15pm-8:00pm – Mastering Your Revit Data With 
Ideate BIMLink
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Too Busy to Blog

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been posting material on such a regular basis.

When you have an allotment and you set up your own company with a workforce of one there is not a lot of time left for other outside interest. With the end of the growing season I will endeavour to post at least twice a months but no promises.

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The Suárez Of The Lambs [OFFICIAL TRAILER]

The standard for UK COBie use is available for comment

The standard for UK COBie use is available for comment now at this address: http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/53020. As it will affect all our work for some time to come, I would urge people to read it, comment and encourage others to engage in the process.

This is the only chance we will get to make our voices heard on this!

Collaborative production of information - Part 4: Fulfilling employers information exchange requirements using COBie – Code of practice

Number:BS 1192-4

Type:DPC

Source:BSI

Committee:B/555

Committee name:Construction design, modelling and data exchange

Review published:29 May 2014

Review end date:31 Jul 2014
 

Draft Scope:

This British Standard defines a methodology for the transfer between parties of structured information relating to Facilities including buildings and infrastructure. It defines expectations during the design and construction “project” stage prior to handover and acquisition and the subsequent “in-use” stage.

The aim of this standard is to aid the demand side, including employers with portfolio managers, asset managers and facility managers, to specify their expectations and information providers including the lead designers and contractors to prepare concise and accessible information.

LRUG meeting Wednesday 21st May 2014

There is to be an LRUG meeting next Wednesday with David Light presenting What's New in Revit 2015 and Daniel Mofakham presenting Level 3 BIM - how close are we? an insight into the realities of achieving a level 3 BIM and integration into an FM system.

The invites will go out over the weekend via eventbrite to all that are currently registered for attendance at meetings, including all those on the reserve list, the one person per company rule has been dropped.

Excluding those presenting and our host, there are only 60 spaces and it will be first come first served.

CADclips for only $10

There is a time limited offer, and worth taking up especially by those that want to learn Revit 2014

 

CADclips for only $10

Purchase 24 hours of full download access to all CADclip videos from this link below.

 

$10 CADclips

 

This is a limited time offer.

cadalyst CAD Crunch! - 100 Fabulous Freebies for CAD Users

The editors of Cadalyst, with help from their contributing editors who are in the CAD trenches day in and day out, have compiled a guide of 100 tools to help you get your job done better and faster without opening your wallet. “100 Fabulous Freebies for CAD Users” has something for everyone. Download their guide and you’ll soon be asking yourself, “How did I live without this?”

Originally published in Cadalyst magazine in Spring 2010, “100 Fabulous Freebies for CAD Users” has been updated for 2014. In it, you’ll find:

• Unit converters
• File and text utilities
• PDF converters
• Imaging tools
• AutoCAD tools and AutoLISP code
• Mobile apps
• BIM tools
• Tools for CAD managers
• Sketching and visualization tools
• and more!

The tools are free and so is the guide; download your copy today and see how valuable free can be!

 

NBS 2014 BIM Survey due for release soon

70% of those using BIM believe it has given them a competitive advantage according to the fourth annual NBS National BIM Survey. The study found that awareness of BIM is now almost universal at 95% and adoption rates are accelerating with more than half of respondents (54%)now using it, up 15% on last year, and 93% predicting adoption by 2016, the Government’s deadline for BIM use on publicly funded projects.

More than 1,000 people from across the construction industry including architects, engineers, surveyors and contractors took part in this year’s survey making it the largest independent piece of research into usage of and attitudes to BIM in the UK.

Improvements in productivity, increased efficiencies, better coordination of construction information and higher profitability are among the benefits cited by adopters of BIM, with a mere 4% wishing they hadn’t begun the journey.

But while the construction industry feels more confident in its own knowledge of BIM (up from 35% in 2012 to 46% in 2013), there is still much scepticism around the wealth of information now available on the subject, with only 27% of respondents saying they “trusted what they hear about BIM”.

In addition, there is a clear need for greater standardisation with only one-quarter saying that the current levels are adequate. Further, there is still a widespread belief that the industry is still not clear about what BIM is, the figure of 73% barely a reduction on last year.

There is a clear divide between the awareness and adoption of BIM between small practices (defined as those with between one and five staff) and larger firms. In all measures, smaller practices are lagging behind their larger counterparts by around two years, with cost still being seen as a major barrier to adoption.

Given the Government’s mandate on BIM for publicly funded work, there is a risk that smaller organisations may be excluded from significant sources of revenue, however the survey does not suggest there is any great resistance to the Government’s BIM strategy with 58% agreeing that the Government ‘is on the right track with BIM’.

The survey also reveals a far more detailed understanding of BIM throughout the industry, with almost three-quarters now being aware of the different levels, up from only half last year.
51% reported having achieved Level 2 BIM on at least one project during the last 12 months, with usage of IFC – a platform neutral, open file format which allows models to be shared among the design team irrespective of software used – and COBie showing marked increases.

It is the latter, which allows the design team to use a Building Information Model to embed and then deliver the information that supports the use and maintenance of a building, which enables perhaps the greatest cost savings for the client.

“What this report clearly shows is an industry in transition from the stage when the early adopters are taking the lead to a position where BIM is becoming the norm.

“In the UK, through BIM, we are at the forefront of a significant change in how buildings are conceived, designed, built and maintained. This change has the potential to bring improved efficiencies and profitability to the construction sector, and better buildings to clients, something current users of BIM have reported in this survey.

“There remain significant challenges and investment of both capital and time are needed. However, there is a wide appreciation of the benefits BIM will bring and the projections of BIM adoption tell us that the UK can be world leaders in this.” Richard Waterhouse, Chief Executive, RIBA Enterprises

The full NBS National BIM Survey will be released at BIM SHOW LIVE on 23 April 2014 and will be available on theNBS.com from 24 April 2014.
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FROZEN - How it should have ended

My Daughters bought the DVD and we watched it as a family last Sunday ..... then I found this ......



Let it snow, let it snow....
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Revit Structure 2015 - Reinforcement for Parts

You can see that progress is being made towards being able to use Revit for real RC detailing and scheduling in Europe & the UK. I'm looking forward to the Subscription Advantage Pack or next years release as they may be there or much nearer than they are at the moment.

After finding the video above Autodesk have posted this one


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PAS 1192-3 released and free to download

PAS 1192-3 Specification for information management for the operational phase of assets using building information modelling (BIM) is out and ready for download - Click Here to go to the download page

Let There Be Light ..... on Revit 2015

Well his back (David Light) that is, from the void and has posted some reviews of Revit 2015, Personally I'm really glad because I know he was flamed by another blogger and as we all know he like a very large number of LRUG Members have gone over to the dark side which is Autodesk.

I've known David for quite a few years and his reviews have always been accurate and well balanced, and he is not afraid to speak his mind but always in a constructive way. Working for Autodesk will not change that, he has and always will be a glass is half full kind of guy.

Check out his posts on his Blog

Trim / Extend Multiple Elements

Revit 2015 Sketchy Lines - Some great examples - No Good for me as an Engineer mind you

Faster... Faster  Revit 2015

Revit 2015 Installation Requirements - reminder re no Windows XP support

Revit 2015
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Important Name Changes in Autodesk Subscription

 

Got this in an email from one of the UK Resellers

 

Autodesk Subscription is no longer the name of the software maintenance program offered by Autodesk; it is now the umbrella brand for all of the Subscription offerings provided by Autodesk, including the following options:

   

Autodesk Maintenance Subscription:

 

   

Previously Known as:

Autodesk Subscription 

 

 

Autodesk Maintenance Subscription, previously referred to as the Autodesk Subscription program, allows subscribers to maximise their investment and effectively maintain their Autodesk perpetual software license. 

 

Autodesk Desktop Subscription:

 

 

Previously Known as:

Rental Plans

 

 

Desktop Subscription is what Autodesk previously referred to as rental plans. Why do they call it "desktop"? Autodesk call it "Desktop Subscription" to differentiate this option from software accessed from the cloud.  

  

Autodesk Cloud Service:

 

Previously Known as:

Cloud Services

 

  

Autodesk Cloud Service Subscription is the name of the program for customers who want to subscribe to the various cloud services that Autodesk provides.

 

While the name of each offering has changed, the benefits remain the same. If you subscribe to any of the Autodesk Subscription offerings you will receive access to the latest software, cloud services, technical support and certain flexible licensing right such as extra territory and home use rights.

 

The questions re this notification have to be

 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

WHY BOTHER CHANGING THE NAMES ?

 

Especially If the service stays the same or you have not introduced another level of service to the customer and giving little in return

 

Bring Back the Subscription Advantage Packs mid year, god know there isn't enough in the annual release of Revit this year to warrant the subscription fee. 

 

Whats New In Revit 2015 Video's

New Features in Revit 2015

A real shame there isn't commentary but still worth a look ...... Nice one BIMopedia











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Revit 2015 Update - 29th March 2014 - Two full days after the NDA

I have agreed with Dave Baldacchino over at Do You Revit? Who also provided a link to Steve Safford's Blog Revit OpEd  and a three word simple comment

What’s new?
Not much.

Commentary
I give up.

This should again speak volumes to Autodesk 4/10 can do really better

Historically there would have been dozens of reviews and opinions on blogs following a new release ..........

Listen to the silence and did anyone see that tumbleweed go by?  

First look at Sketchy Lines in this Autodesk Revit LT 2015 Overview Video by Autodesk


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Let the Revit 2015 Reviews Begin

There will be no review from David Light this year as he is extremely busy - but they have started see Steve Stafford blog post HERE 

Still no fix and a Basic Text Editor that works! i.e. subscript and superscript text, the list of new significant features is very small. A few years ago say 2010 Revit got legs and started to walk and then it ran for a couple of years, but over the last couple of years the pace of developments and improvements has declined. It feels like the runner is knackered and struggling to maintain the lead it had in the BIM Market place. 

I suspect that it's because they have taken the original product as far as possible with bolt-on's and patch up's and they really need to re-write significant portions of the programme, we known that's true of the text editing and word processing within the package, which has been on the user wish list and lets face it even AutoCAD has had a viable text editor for many years. 

I also think that the Architects and Structural users are suffering because so much time and effort has been spent over the last few years in the development of the Mechanical and Electrical side of Revit.

It's only a few years ago that there was the six month in from release Annual Subscription Advantage Pack, i.e. there was an incentive merit in paying for annual subscription. Now they have most users on Subscription it's like they don't feel like they need to perform.

IMHO from a small practice point of view Autodesk have shot their selves in the foot by no longer selling Revit as a stand alone package to get small businesses on the BIM and Revit ladder. Revit Lite Suite is not a real option due to the limitations with families, if you want to do anything serious with the package.

Although there are additional features added to RC detailing until shown otherwise RC detailing in Revit is still appears to be little more than a 3D TOY - Now there is a challenge for someone from Autodesk to come and present at LRUG showing us how we can get real UK and Europe designs and schedules within Revit easily. 

A few years ago we bloggers were given early demonstrations and information so we could blow the fanfare on what's New in this years version, perhaps Autodesk have become embarrassed by how little there is on offer as it didn't happen this year.  

There is a review of new features in Revit 2015 at CADline

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