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BIM content creationA how-to guide for building product manufacturers

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Introduction to BIM Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an integrated process that involves creating and using an intelligent 3D model to inform and communicate project decisions. BIM has thoroughly changed the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries by:

• Establishing a universal medium through which design professionals can plan and document design projects

• Creating a universal collaboration platform that integrates design with associated disciplines

• Supporting fluid design and building processes throughout the project lifecycle

Equally important, once a project is completed, BIM gives building owners and facilities managers an all-encompassing building management solution, in line with their increasing involvement in the design decision-making process.

Figure 1. The BIM process.

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A unique opportunity for building product manufacturers Despite these advances, architects, engineers, contractors, and subcontractors often have difficulty accessing BIM content representing the products for use in their models, forcing them to fall back on generic BIM components. This lack of content availability leads to:

• More work for Autodesk® Revit® software users

• Increased likelihood of design inaccuracies

• Inability to deliver complete BIM information to building owners

When building product manufacturers (BPMs) create and provide their products as BIM content, it helps the manufacturers themselves, owners, and designers. BPMs that can create quality models rich with valuable BIM metadata, and provide them to AEC firms in the form of Revit families (Autodesk Revit-native content) increase the likelihood that firms will specify their products. In fact, a survey of users of Autodesk® Seek—a web service that lets design professionals discover, preview, and download BIM files, models, drawings, and product specifications—found that BIM content specified in designs had a significant impact on brand choices, and that specified brands were 80 percent more likely to be purchased (see Figure 2).1

How much does the availability of BIM content impact the likelihood that you would choose a specific manufacturer’s brand?

80% significant impact

How likely is it that the branded products you specify/recommend in your designs and drawings will be purchased for the project?

80% likely

Figure 2. Autodesk Seek users reported that BIM content specified in designs was 80 percent more likely to be purchased.

View key findings of the 2013 Autodesk Seek User Survey.

1 View the 2013 Autodesk Seek User Survey results.

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Deciding how to create BIM content for your products You’ve decided to create digital BIM content for your products. The pressure to get up and running, and to show measurable sales results, can be stressful. But you can navigate the process. First, you’ll need to choose how you want to create BIM content—developing it in-house, outsourcing content creation, working with a local partner or vendor, or partnering directly with Autodesk.

Developing content in-houseDeveloping BIM content in-house, or insourcing, is a cost-effective way to create BIM content. Manufacturers often have in-house Revit staff familiar with the family creation process. For more information on how to create data-rich families and product workbooks per industry standards, look at Autodesk’s guide to creating your own product models.

However, insourcing can pose challenges. Manufacturers with in-house engineering departments often look into utilizing those resources for content creation. However, content standards for engineering software such as Autodesk® Inventor® or Pro/ENGINEER® are very different than those for BIM software such as Revit. In-house BIM content creation requires engineers or other employees to learn Revit, and to develop working knowledge of how content is typically used by architects and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineers. Another common plan, repurposing existing design content as BIM models, can result in models that are too complicated or lack necessary product attributes.

While creating BIM content in-house is possible, it does pose a high risk of incomplete content that is not optimized for Revit use. Such content reflects poorly on the manufacturer, as engineers and architects often decide which models to specify based on how easy the associated BIM content is to use.

Outsourcing content creationAs with many other technical tasks, outsourcing BIM content creation can sometimes reduce costs and accelerate schedules. While the front-end benefits are appealing, manufacturers should consider issues that may arise around back-end management and ease of access.

If an architect, engineer, or contractor downloads and designs around outdated Revit content, it may lead to expensive project delays when new products must be sourced and replanned. Manufacturers must ensure that their BIM content is as up to date as the information on their websites and information materials. Each time you update a product, update the associated data and geometry of your BIM content. Coordinating these changes with external BIM providers can become difficult when taking into account such issues as staff changes, time zone differences, and language barriers. In addition, outsourced consultants are typically incentivized by winning a project; unfortunately, with some consultants, quality and service levels can drop after initial content creation because there is no longer a large financial incentive to provide them.

Developing content with a local partner or vendorWhen entering unfamiliar business territory, it’s natural to want to work with people you know and trust. When creating BIM content, many manufacturers will look to hire an architecture firm or other partner with an in-house BIM department, a local reseller, an AEC student intern, or a friend who offers to handle the project.

Many manufacturers have strong partnerships with architects and engineers who specify their products; often these professionals are those requesting the BIM content. They may even offer to handle content creation services, avoiding the need for the manufacturer to deal with the software, or to think about how Revit operators will use the content.

Creating your products as BIM content is a big decision, and an even bigger investment. Having the content created correctly, professionally, and according to industry standards should be your number-one priority. If you choose a local firm to create the content, try to avoid self-focused or regionalized content practices that cater to only a few users; instead, opt for industry-recognized standards that ensure that your product can be seen and used by the largest group of professionals possible.

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Creating your BIM content with Autodesk To help manufacturers through the process of creating BIM content, Autodesk has assembled a Content Service Provider (CSP) team comprised of industry specialists with extensive experience in BIM creation. There are several advantages to having content created within Autodesk’s network, including:

• Manufacturers can stay productive by keeping in-house resources working on their assignments.

• Content is created in the United States, by professionals who have been fully vetted, and whose work is guaranteed, by Autodesk.

• Manufacturers can reach a wide range of potential customers with content created in line with industry-recognized standards.

About the Autodesk BIM content creation processPartner with Autodesk for BIM content creation, and you get professional, efficient account management and design. To begin, an Autodesk project manager will guide you through the four-step process of BIM readiness:

1. Kickoff and planning. Our knowledgeable team will meet with you to review the creation process, get a sense of your needs and objectives, and formulate a plan.

2. Product information gathering. Once you’ve gathered detailed product and design information for each product, the Autodesk team will provide free content analysis and consultation and guide you through the next steps.

3. Model development. Our network of highly skilled, certified Autodesk CSPs will convert your product information into BIM-ready product models that are fully compliant with the Autodesk Revit and Autodesk® AutoCAD® families of software products.

4. Review and approval. You will have an opportunity to review all models created by Autodesk CSPs.

Getting the most from your investment in BIM content One of the best ways to take advantage of your investment in BIM content is to host that content on Autodesk Seek. Seek is a content service that enables architects and building designers to quickly discover, preview, and download BIM models and specifications directly into their design sessions in Revit or AutoCAD software. By providing your products digitally in the file format that industry professionals use most, you also integrate your products—and your company—directly into current and prospective clients’ building models.

The Revit Seek toolbar (see Figure 3) makes it easy for architects and building designers to find product models in Revit.

Figure 3. The Revit Seek toolbar which comes pre-installed with Revit.

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Including BIM content on Autodesk SeekAutodesk Seek provides AEC users with the highest quality content, all created per industry standards. If your BIM content was created through an Autodesk CSP, then your content already meets the requirements to be hosted on Seek. If your company has content from another source, the content will be required to pass our Quality Assurance check before being hosted on Seek.

Once your content is approved for Seek, our team will guide you through the publication process, including how to build product pages and make your content easy to find.

To learn more about Autodesk Seek, visit www.autodesk.com/seek or call us toll-free at +1-844-GET-SEEK (438-7335).

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2014 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.