June

11

2015

Due to the nature of Revit's data structure there are several important code-level tasks that cannot be completed by using a Revit Schedule. For example, a table that requires the comparison of two separate groups of data such as a Gross and Net Area cannot be done with a Revit Schedule. Another example is any data that requires a summary first, and THEN a rounding or a conditional format that is applied only to that summary. Plumbing Fixture Count Requirements are a typical example of this particular condition.

Most non-residential buildings have code requirements for the number of toilets, etc. based on the area usage within the proposed building. In this simple example we have two floors, each with a few Rooms (Areas can also be used). The Revit schedule is showing the results of a conditional statement applied to each Room or Area per each floor.

Fig 1: The use of the conditional formula with Revit can lead to inaccurate results.[/caption] IF, however, we were to take that data outside of Revit (which we can do with Ideate BIMLink) we can decide WHEN the conditional formula gets applied to the data. If we first add up all the occupants per floor and THEN use the conditional statement on that subtotal, we get VERY different results: now we only need (3) men's toilets on the first floor instead of (7)! This is saving your building owner serious money!

Fig 2: Use a conditional formula in Excel only on the subtotaled occupancy counts to accurately determine the number of fixtures per Room or Area.[/caption] So, if you want the best possible outcome for your customer, use Excel to do the math and use Ideate Sticky to publish the results inside of your Revit Projects. Ideate Sticky liberates your data from the confines of a Revit schedule and lets you link in any Excel tabular data.

To see Ideate Sticky link in your Plumbing Calculations from Excel or to see how Ideate BIMLink can help automate the creation of this Excel file watch this video.

Existing Ideate Sticky or Ideate BIMLink customers can request the dataset used in this video example. [email protected]


About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB - Director of Software Development Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked within the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Software Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients worldwide, developing, and consulting on solutions to Building Information Modeling challenges. In her spare time Glynnis does volunteer work for eclcofnj.org and growitgreenmorristown.org @GVPinNJ