Excitech’s Toolkit for Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Inventor

Blog writing time again! What to blog about? That’s always a question that I have had to ponder for a while, and it is so often the case that an external prompt gives me the initial steer. This time is no different; I was asked a few weeks ago about the Excitech Toolkit for Autodesk Revit, specifically, which were the tools I used most, and hence his article will focus mainly on the CAD Software for Autodesk

Legend by Category

The Excitech Toolkit for Revit  contains a great many useful additions to the standard Autodesk Revit functionality, but I will focus on just a few here. My first choice has to be “Legend by Category”; every time I teach Revit Architecture, I dread the time that I will have to introduce students to the “Legend” view. Why is this tool still such a tedious, and manual exercise? Unable to even distinguish between those elements placed into a view and those simply loaded into the project. But no more! I introduce you to:

There are a number of outstanding features in this single tool:

1. The default setting will place only those elements that are actually being used in the project,
2. Legend components, tags, parameters, borders, are all created automatically, and,
3. If anything changes in the project, simply re-run the tool – it even remembers all the settings for that legend.

Configuring the tool is simplicity itself; after selecting the category required (door, window, wall etc.), select a suitable layout, select some parameters to include, decide on how you would like them sorted, and press the button…

  

You will notice, in the image above, that you must override the default if you should require a legend that includes un-placed objects. After that, you can choose from either a horizontal or vertical layout (my favourite is the vertical), each option providing a choice of family to use to create the grid, and which orientation to use for the legend component (elevation, front view etc.).

Choose the parameters that you would also like to show, sort order, and even rename column headers if you like, then press “OK” and stare in wonder at your mastery!

Notice that there is also a count of each element used. If something doesn’t suit, or if you simply wish to explore other layouts, just fire up the tool and have another go. Try changing some doors in your project and then re-run the tool; it never fails to make me smile!

Room to Floor

Another firm favourite from the Excitech Toolkit for Autodesk Revit is “Room to Floor.”     . This allows for a specified floor type to be placed below any selected rooms, even allowing an offset from the level to be entered; a great tool for adding floor finishes as real Revit floor objects, that can be scheduled, or used in visualisation views.

You first select the rooms, then run the “Room to Floor” from the Excitech Toolkit ribbon.

There are options for selecting the floor family, level, and offset. Additional settings allow you to choose the location from within the wall build-up to use as your floor boundary, and to union floors that have coincident edges. Press “OK” and view the result.

I appreciate that this floor doesn’t flow into the door, but I only have to edit the floor to amend this instead of creating them all manually.

You can find more information on all the tools available in the Excitech toolkit for Revit here: https://www.excitech.co.uk/Products/Excitech-Toolkit-for-Revit.

If you would like to more information on any of the tools in the Excitech Toolkit for Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Inventor, please get in touch by calling 01992 807 444 or emailing us at marketing@excitech.co.uk.

Compliance: How completely do you address your responsibilities?

Can you tick every box on every compliance element that touches your business?

There are a lot of boxes to tick. The good news is, there is no shortage of guidance when it comes to ensuring that the environment you provide for your employees to work in is safe all the time. Nobody should be exposed to any sort of danger at work, no matter how minimal it might seem. 

The harsh reality of business life is if you get it wrong, or simply forget or overlook the necessary actions set down by regulators, you could find yourself committing a criminal offence. This blog is about getting it right everywhere, by adopting a very simple approach to mastering a very complex issue. This involves a three-step process:

• Define your own compliance landscape
• Explore and understand the value of software solutions to enable you to manage risk
• Deploy an integrated software solution across the business 

A great starting point for gaining a detailed overview of what the responsibilities are that affect any business can be found on the Health and Safety Executive's website. It offers guidance on what your responsibilities are, the reporting you need to be aware of, and plenty of useful and practical advice on how to do things right. It focuses on keeping people safe and healthy at work.

Large companies may have a facilities management team, or at least a facilities manager, charged with the role of planned and preventive maintenance. It’s possible that these specialists are using Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) Software to simplify and automate the many complex processes involved in maintaining the physical estate. But this isn’t always the case.

Let’s now define the three-steps mentioned previously:

Define your compliance landscape: What does compliance mean to your business? 

HSE guidance is one part of the statutory compliance responsibilities matrix that affects a business. There are others. Compliance is a many-tentacled beast that reaches into every part of every organisation. 

Even if your business is a mid-sized operation, or relatively small, you’re affected. Your premises may not involve complex sites and building services. These might be maintained by a building owner providing maintenance services within your lease agreement, but compliance still touches your business. You may not require dedicated staff to attend regularly to physical assets, and never be concerned with hazardous waste, or similar ‘process-specific’ threats, but there are other aspects to compliance beyond the physical; beyond the environment you can touch and feel. 

This is another environment where dangers and risks are not always as self-evident as in the physical realm, but where compliance is of equal stature and importance even in areas where the well-being of employees is not at risk; in the areas of financial management and IT compliance.

Manage risk: Comply in every dimension 

There are practical ways of keeping on top of compliance, not just of the many regulations that might affect you but, more pertinently, the actions you can take to make sure you’re doing the right thing. The essential starting point is to define precisely what compliance means to your business. Outside of estates compliance, the main areas are HR, financial, and IT (not least data governance as per GDPR, but also steps taken to protect third party data from external attacks or compromise).

Given the diversity of these areas, it’s simply best practice to have a centralised means of control. A recommendation I quite often make to companies, is to look closely at how Facilities Management Software can help in all your compliance management. It’s designed to take complexity in and deliver simplicity out. 

When you simply redefine the input parameters to match your total compliance exposure, you can gain a view of the overall picture all in one place. A solution we work with our customers on at Excitech, to manage compliance, is ARCHIBUS; originally created as a Facilities Management Software solution but adaptable to be far more than that. 

Deploy an integrated solution across the business: Protecting the health and safety of the business, and its people

You can be sure that the overall regulatory environment will never stop evolving as new risks emerge. Organisations must meet wide-ranging legislative requirements around fire safety, water treatment, legionella management, staff duty of care, medical equipment, elevators, gas safety, electrical testing, asbestos, owner/tenant agreements and how they conduct affairs financially and digitally. 

Facilities Management Software supports strategies to manage and ensure compliance of all elements. It enables you to map, schedule, action and audit the measures you have in place. It can act as a central repository for all necessary information. It provides the complete picture both for senior management and the personnel within the business whose responsibility it is to keep affairs on track. 

Specific regulations and contract terms can be associated with exact regimes in each area from how you deal with data and finance to planned and preventive maintenance for the estate. The software can be tailored for critical areas of your business; service-level agreements, for example, and the compliance verification actions that govern them. They can be applied to manage contractor works, as well as those handled by direct employees, essential with the wide range of elements to keep compliant. Compliance certification can be completed immediately whilst on the move.

It’s easy to overlook the complex details of compliance. The risk involved is too great not to apply rigour and diligence to being completely aware of what has to be done to address all your responsibilities and having the visibility to know when.

Talk to us about your Compliance and Facilities Management challenges by getting in touch with us on 01992 807 444 or by emailing marketing@excitech.co.uk.

Opening our doors to FREE training – Reflecting on the Excitech training event

I’m Alan Skipp, and I’m the Training Delivery Manager for Excitech. I tend to spend a lot of my time in the office, however, Excitech recently held a training event at our Bishopsgate, London training centre, where I had the pleasure of meet a few of our clients. During his event, Excitech provided a number of free sample training sessions and the opportunity to meet some of our trainers.

Bishopsgate is a terrific training centre in the heart of London and is very popular with our customers. Our aim was to showcase this centre, and more importantly some of our talented people who have been responsible for delivery so much technical knowledge over the years.

We provided twelve one-hour training presentations held in our two training rooms, covering eleven subject matters. At the heart of this were a number of CAD Training courses, including:

• Autodesk Revit Architecture - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Revit-Architecture-Fundamentals
• Autodesk Revit Structure RC Detailing - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/RC-Detailing-with-Revit-Structure-2016
• Autodesk Revit MEP - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Revit-MEP-Fundamentals
• Dynamo for Revit - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Dynamo-Fundamentals-for-Autodesk-Revit
• Autodesk Civil 3D - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/AutoCAD-Civil-3D-Fundamentals
• Autodesk AutoCAD - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/AutoCAD-AutoCAD-LT-Essentials
• Navisworks - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Navisworks-Essentials
• 3DS Max - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-3ds-Max-Fundamentals
• Infraworks - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/InfraWorks-for-Civil-Engineering
• Inventor - Sheet Metal Design - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Inventor-Sheet-Metal-Design
• Inventor - Design Automation - https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Inventor-Certified-User-Part-1

The Dynamo session was the most popular of the sessions, so much so that we ended up putting on two sessions. To provide the expertise, we had six trainers on hand, each an expert in their own subject area.

During the day, we also had an opportunity to learn a little more about our own customers, so took time to have a chat. It was great hearing about their individual industries and stories, and to learn about their thoughts on training as individuals and how their organisations see training. It was particularly heartening to learn that in many cases training is embedded as part of their company culture, and classroom training is still the preferred method for the majority of our clients. Furthermore, it was interesting to learn, that many view the “basic training” course as only part of the journey and not the destination, so most saw the value in furthering their skills through more advanced training.

I hope those who attended learnt something new and will visit us again for further training. We have some very talented people here at Excitech who can help our customers effectively use some amazing products and help them with their personal learning journey.

Interested in finding out more? Click here to find out more about our portfolio of CAD training courses which are available in our London centre or any of our other training centres. Or why not enquire about in-company CAD training which can be delivered at a location of your choice.

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training

Create Your Own Materials in SketchUp Pro

SketchUp Pro provides a wide range out of the box materials for some of the most common uses. However, in some cases you may have a need to create your own. The process is straight forward, all you need is an image file containing the pattern that you would like to repeat in the material.

The following workflow provides step-by-step instructions on how to create your own materials from an image and how to create a custom collection for them in SketchUp Pro:

Click on the highlighted icon to create a new material from the Materials section of the Default tray, as per the follows image.:

Select a name for your material, check the Use texture image option and browse to the image (supported file types below). At this point, take note that you also have the option to select the size of the image in the material. The image will be repeated to fit the entire space i.f it is applied to an area that is larger than these sizes. 

At this point, your newly created material will show in the Materials section of the Default tray, under the In model collection. If you save your model as a template (via File -> Save as template…), you can then use the custom material in any model that is created from that template.

If you want to access your materials from any model, regardless of the template, you can create a custom collection. In order to do this, you need to save your material as a Material file (*.skm).

The Save As dialog will open in the following path
C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp2019\SketchUp\Materials. Create a folder in this particular location with a name of your choosing for the collection and save the material file in that folder.

In order to add the collection, select Open or create a collection… from the Details button and pick the folder that you created for the collection in the previous step.

You can now access the collection from the drop-down menu, with all the materials that you saved in the folder.

If you would like to know more about SketchUp Pro and its full range of capabilities, please call your account manager on 01992 807444 or email marketing@excitech.co.uk. 

How to Avoid Coordination Problems in Navisworks Manage

It’s not ideal to start manually moving models in Navisworks Manage, especially if the plan is to run some clash tests. No one wants to take responsibility for coordinating models that may result in inaccurate clash detection.

But, sometimes the need to move models is unavoidable and there are some very useful tools in Navisworks Manage to assist with accurate coordination.

So how can you avoid coordination problems?Let’s start with coordinating project models that were originally authored in Revit. The key to this is that all delivery teams involved in a project should be aware of how their individual project models are coordinated within Revit. Hopefully this very important aspect would have been discussed, agreed and documented at an early stage. For many projects authored in Revit means setting up something called “Shared Coordinates” i.e. a common coordinate system shared by all project models. Once all project models are set up to the agreed shared coordinates, utilising this in Navisworks Manage to ensure accurate coordination is quite straight forward. 

Ensuring the accurate coordination of project models is carried through will depend on the way the models are being brought into Navisworks Manage, and there are two possible ways(assuming shared coordinates have been used):

1. Open a Revit model directly into Navisworks
2. Export a native Navisworks file from Revit, to be opened in Navisworks

Either of these methods will require the option of “Shared Coordinates” to be selected.

The image below shows the Options Editor within Revit for the export of a native Navisworks Manage file:

And this one shows the Options Editor for the import of a native Revit file:

If the Revit project models are set up with shared coordinates, “Shared” needs to be the option selected in either scenario.

With the Coordinates setting established as Shared, project models appended into Navisworks Manage should be aligned and ready for review.

So, how do you avoid coordination problems if the project models do not originate from Revit or do not share the same coordinate system?

If the project models do not share the same coordinate system, then some intervention may be required to ensure correct coordination. As mentioned previously Navisworks Manage has a range of options that can be used to manipulate the position and orientation of project models to ensure alignment with other project models, and the method used will depend on the project model that needs to be re-positioned:

1. Units and Transform
2. Override Transform
3. Move with the Gizmo
4. Transform Selected Items

Units and transform  

 

Define a new origin and rotation for the project model so that alignment with existing project models is achieved.

Override Transform

Alter the position of the project model relative to its current position.

Move Gizmo

Use the Move Gizmo, or the extended Transform panel for greater accuracy.

Transform Selected Items

After taking a point to point measurement and selecting the model to be moved, choose Transform Selected Items from the extended Measure panel.

The methodsyou will need to use will depend on the specific situation, but whether you are using Revit models sharing a common coordinate system or if the project models originate from other authoring software, good communication between delivery teams and use of the correct tools and settings can help you avoid coordination problems in Navisworks Manage.

Talk to us about your Navisworks Manage challenges. We offer consultancy services based on your specific needs, so you gain the most out of your time with an Excitech expert. Excitech Consultants come from a wide variety of industry backgrounds, all bringing expertise directly relevant to the architecture, engineering and construction sector and affiliated businesses. This makes them best placed to assist you.

Find out more here: https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Consultancy

Is There A Simpler Way To Check For Clashes In 3d Design Models?

As part of the overall project delivery process, it is increasingly becoming a requirement to deliver a clash resolved model. Why? Because determining the presence, location and severity of interferences within the digital environment is more simple and cost effective than trying to manage and fix issues as they arise during construction.

With an increased number of design models being created in 3D modelling applications, there are greater opportunities for managing this process in a more controlled environment. Whether you’re a specialist contractor, a lead architect, or a consultant offering a clash detection service, Navisworks Manage and Clash Detective provides you with the tools to check for clashes in your own model, or in a federated model of project files from multiple delivery teams.

Navisworks Manage and Clash Detective produce clash points and automatically generated reports, resulting in more productive review meetings with outcomes more readily reached and definitive calls to action.

Of course, finding clashes and producing reports is only one part of the story. There has to be processes, procedures and outcomeseginternal decisions or defined as contractual requirements.

Whether you are thinking about investing in Navisworks Manage to check your own project models for clashes, your clash detection is carried out by a third-party consultant, or whether you have already invested in Navisworks, there are many things you should be considering:

• What training courses are available?
• Is ongoing support available during initial adoption?
• Are we using Navisworks to its full potential?
• How do we formulate an effective clash detection strategy?
• How can we minimise the number of clashes reported?
• How can we effectively distribute the relevant information?
• Can someone else run this for us as a service?
• Are we receiving clash reports to the standard and level we expected?

I am sure you will have many other questions, but whatever your interest, Excitech have a team of experienced Application Specialists and Consultants to offer guidance, training and support.

Whilst the primary interest in Navisworks Manage is Clash Detective, Navisworks Manage also has a wide range of other tools to assist with tasks ranging from marking up views to visualisation, animation and quantification. 

If you are interested in finding out more about Clash Detection using Navisworks Manage or any of the topics raised here, then contact your Excitech Account Manager or visit our website to see training courses involving the use of Navisworks Manage and Clash Detective at:

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Navisworks-for-Construction-Management

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Navisworks-for-Lead-Designer

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/Autodesk-Navisworks-Essentials

What’s New in Revit 2020 - Platform and Architecture Features

The new release of Revit includes a host of new features. In this blog I have outlined the features that relate to the overall Revit platform, specifically the Architectural discipline.

The functions have been grouped into Create, Optimize and Connect. Create relates to creating the model, Optimize for optimising workflows and the building analysis tools, and Connect relates to connecting both teams and products in the workflow.

Create

The only real feature that has been added to this group is the ability to model elliptical walls. Whilst this is something that has been incorporated from the user wish list, I don’t think it will be a widely used function. Building elliptical objects in the real world is difficult due to setting out problems and using a series of arcs to replicate an ellipse would be preferred.

The ability to schedule and tag the elevation of objects has also been included. This will allow users to automatically pick up on the height of objects placed in the model rather than having to use workarounds to get this height data into schedules and tagged on drawings. Although this will mostly be used by building services engineers, the ability to take this information from Casework and Furniture families will also prove useful to Architects and Interior Designers.

Finally, there has been some improvements to the Materials workflow. The Material Browser has the option for larger thumbnails to better inform the user of material appearance and new filter icons to for material classes to be more consistent with the general interface.

Optimisation

Several features have been added to the Optimisation group. A new ‘Path of Travel’ routing analysis feature will assist in plotting emergency exit routes through buildings.

Enhancements to the filters allowing ‘or’ rules to look at all parameters rather than just common ones and to check whether a parameter has a value or not will allow for much more complex and comprehensive filters for views.

The ability to include Scope Boxes in View Schedules and Copy/Paste Legend Views between multiple sheets will also add to the usability of Revit 2020.

Connect

The headline feature for the Connect group is the ability to import PDF files. This has been a long-requested feature and one that is very welcome. They are imported and managed as an image, although the option to enable snaps will allow us to use the vector data to measure and re-model from the PDF. This will help greatly with the refurbishment of existing buildings where drawings are only available in PDF format.

The SketchUp import has also been updated to support the latest SketchUp version.

The Revit 2020 release continues with the Revit evolution. No doubt there are still many features that we would like to see added or refined, but this is a positive step along the Revit development path.

Flow and Return Piping Systems in Revit MEP

I have been using and provide Revit MEP training for over 10years, and for most of that time when asked if it can create a flow and return piping system my answer has been no.

Contemplate a closed loop system made up of a boiler, a pump and several radiators. Revit will see this as 2 separate systems that would require a flow rate to be added to both the flow and return side of each radiator. As such we have two separate systems, and two sets of Mechanical Flow information where in reality this is a single flow and return system.

If the flow rates were to be removed or altered on either the flow side or the return side of 1 or more of the radiators, there would be either no data or inconsistent data when interrogating the system pipework. Referring to the first image below the flow rate has been removed from the return side of all radiators resulting in no values for that half of the system, but if we look at the flow side in the second image there is Mechanical Flow data.

Closed Loop Systems

The issue of treating this arrangement as a single flow and return systems in Revit MEP can be addressed using the Hydronics Networks feature, which was introduced in the 2018 release of Revit MEP. In the below image we see the option in Mechanical Settings to utilise the feature.

There are 2simple steps you need to take:

1. Set the system’s pump Classification to Pump in the family editor and load it back into your project.

2. From Mechanical Settings enable the option shown below.

What does our flow and return system look like now?

If we interrogate the same section of pipe as before we see that even though there is no flow rate value added to the return side of the radiator there is Mechanical Flow data in the properties.

If we look at the pump properties, we will see additional values for Calculated Flow and Calculated Pressure Drop for the complete flow and return system. Properties that were previously unavailable, without creating a pipe pressure loss report and adding the values together. 

Using this feature allows you to interrogate values in your flow and return system without the need for creating reports and adding values together repeatedly. It also means that you will not have to apply separate values to both the flow and return sides of your radiators (or whatever is in your closed loop system).

To learn more about Revit or Revit MEP, join us in one of our Revit training courses. During these courses you will have direct access to our trainers who will advise you of the best way to use the software, in the most efficient ways. View our website for a full list of available Revit training courses here.

Alternatively contact us directly and we willbe happy to discuss your specific needs with a bespoke Revit training course.

Office Relocation – “Should I Stay, or Should I Go?”

To get the eighties pop lyric references out of the way, and apologies in advance for the forwardness but “Darlin’ you got to let me know. Should I stay, or should I go?”

There were many theories about the exact meaning of The Clash’s infamous lyrics but it’s fair to say they spoke of a dysfunctional relationship and whether to end it, or not. In this, at last you might say, we come to the title of this blog and office relocation. Because, the relationship between businesses and their space portfolio can, at times, become somewhat dysfunctional.

Like any dysfunctional relationship the costs of the misalignment between the business requirement and the space provision can be both obvious and unseen. The result is often a breakup, “Go on now, go, walk out the door!” One too many pop references? Ok I’ll stop.

So, when the space an organisation owns does not match its needs then the two often part company. The process of moving is costly, time consuming and not one to be taken lightly. Planning and executing a large office move is something that our space and moves management software Excitech FM can assist with, but let’s hold that thought for now and rewind a bit.

Wouldn’t it be better if an organisation could avoid having to relocate all together? Or if a move was deemed to be essential then would it not make sense if the reasons for the move were better understood? To avoid entering into yet another portfolio relationship which was just as dysfunctional as the one you were trying to escape?

The precursor to any significant restructuring of a real estate portfolio should always be a full and detailed review of the organisation’s current space and how it is utilised. Only by undertaking this can they then know if there is a real need to change, what alternative resolutions there are, and if a move is essential then what requirement must the new property fulfil. An effective space management software can help you understand your organisations current space situation that little better and can even offer move scenario’s.

Excitech FM can be deployed on a long or short-term basis to help organisations evaluate their space and its utilisation. Helping them understand their requirements through accurate space reporting integrated with a number of utilisation monitoring approaches ranging from manual tablet-based surveys to automated sensor technology.

If the outcome is either internal movement of staff, a full office relocation or a combination of the two, then Excitech FM offers the tools to plan and manage these.

All too often organisations will make significant decisions around their property portfolio without access to accurate information about their current space and requirements because they may not have the right space management software in place. Often relocating or taking on real estate that is not really required simply because the symptoms of their current dysfunctional real estate relationship hide the best course of action.

Click here to find out more about Excitech FM, our space and moves management software.

Or contact us to discuss your space and moves challenges on:

01992 807 444 or marketing@excitech.co.uk

Even Older Super-spieslike 007 Can Learn New Technology

I laugh when I hear those earlier in their careers state that those more advanced in their careers find it difficult to move to new technologies and workflows,and that many don’t even want to, or are thought of as being displeased of adjusting the way they have always worked. This is unfortunately a common perception, and I am sure I made the same assumptions earlier in my career when I was moving from drawing boards to the new world of CAD.

But aren’t we referring to the same individuals who are now tied to their smartphones, use satellite navigation to get from place to place, buy products online and in many cases purchase the very latest technology available? At the age of 50, Daniel Craig is about to play James Bond 007 once again, which portrays a spy using the latest technology and the most advanced cars. Are cinema goers going to say that he is too old to learn any new technology provided by Q? Okay, I'm being slightly flippant,but my point is,we may assume that those further in their careers cannot, or will not, learn new technologies and workflows. This is simply wrong.

It’s well established in academic research that older workers are less likely to participate in training (Rosen and Jerdee 1976; Chiu, Chan, Snape and Redman 2001; Maurer 2001; Posthuma and Campion 2009). Ageism is considered very discriminatory but is still evident and can potentially have a negative impact on organisations. When management adopt a stereotypical view that older workers don’t need training or development opportunities, companies are less likely to invest in them. This will result in older workers become less confident in their training abilities, their skills rapidly become out-dated, and their productivity is adversely affected (Maurer 2001; Van Vianen, Dalhoeven and De Pater 2011).This doesn’t help anyone.I personally believe that another factor should also be considered; older workers benefit from years of experience based on equal measures of success andthe resolution of difficult challenges.In my experience, they will typically question things based on past experiences compared to those earlier in their career.

Research suggests that the age when companies consider investing in employee’s as less desirable is not 60 or 50, but actually just after your 40th birthday!There are different research results but typically it falls between 40 and 45 years of age. If you are at, or approaching 40,and reading this, do you feel that you’ve had less training and development opportunities? Or do you feel resistant to change, obstructive or unable to learn new technologies?

To further support this, the following study states that companies begin to invest less, including in terms of training and development opportunities,when workers reach the age of 45 years. The beginning of the final stage of the worker’s career (Schein 1978; Maurer 2001; Van Vianen, De Pater and Preenen 2009).People in the UK potentially work until the age of 67, which means there is 22 years of someone’s career that could be undeveloped and left behind. Let’s compare that to a University graduate entering the workforce at say 22 years of age who would potentially work for at least 47 years.They would still have 47% of their career ahead of them. How can that be the final stage?

I started this blog saying I laugh when I hear ageist views that those more advanced in their careers cannot learn new technologies. The 007 films, with DanielCraig, are based on a changing world where James Bond is considered out-dated and a dinosaur in a modern,constantly changing world, but of course he always succeeds and wins. In the real world of construction, we see constant reports of skills shortages, a need to keep expertise in the industry and of course individuals working for longer and having extended careers. At the same time, the Construction sector is embarking on rapid change, a digital transformation and change management process that is both disruptive and collaborative at the same time.Can we afford as an industry to allow one of our greatest resources to fall behind due to a lack of investment in training and support?

First of all,employees, you have many work years ahead and just think how much has changed in the last 10 or 20 years of your career.You need to maintain your knowledge of the latest technologies and workflows.With the increased importance of BIM, this hasn’t slowed up. Over the last few years we have watched the industry looking for understand of what BIM is beyond 3D modelling,and how it can help them. The best way to learn many of the aspects is to attend BIM training sessions.

Even if you’ve been using CAD or BIM systems for many years, you are probably working inefficiently not realising that the software has moved on and there are quicker ways to achieve your goals and deliver outputs.Quite often in our BIM training courses, delegates’feedback indicates this, which is provides real value and increased efficiency from attending a BIM training course.

Employers shouldn’t assume that mature employees aren’t capable of moving to new technologies.Encourage them to develop and pass on their vast amount of knowledge and experience to those newer in their careers.

One of my many mottos is “if something adds no value to you personally, for your organisation, for your projects or your customer, just don’t do it”.When it comes to investing in BIM training and support for those staff later in their careers I can only see a Win-Win for everyone. It allows employees to build upon or update existing skills and feel motivated,the organisation will benefit from increased productivity, the projects will benefit from staff who are able to apply years of industry experience and manage new technology assisted workflows, the Client will benefit from projects delivered at the highest standard

After everything I have discussed within this blog, consider me, the author. I’m a Principal Consultant at Excitech working towards joining the grey brigade and have worked for over 35 years in the construction sector. I have a passion for technology which has never faded; at home I convers with Amazon Alexa which controls my lighting with my voice, I use a robot vacuum cleaner, I'm a PS4 gamer, and I'm researching a PhD in Data Quality in Facility Management. My career has transcended Drawing Boards, CAD, 3D Modelling and BIM, and I will continue to look forward but knowing we can always learn from the past.

Excitech provides a wide range of BIM training courses from BIM Workshops, BIM Documentation writing retreats, COBie delivery course to specific technologies such as Revit, Navisworks, Civil 3D, and so on.

To give delegates an overall view of BIM, we offer a “BIM Workshops and Fundamentals, Processes and Procedures” training courses that are designed to provide a general understanding of the principles of BIM Level 2. During the training courses, delegates are guided through all BIM Level 2 standards, specifications and guidance in order to develop an understanding of what information should be managed, delivered and used throughout each project stage from design, into construction and finally during operation.

Select one of our BIM training courses or talk to us about your training needs: https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses?LocationIds=&SupplierIds=&IndustryIds=&ProductIds=&TrainingTypeIds=&OrderByScheduleValue=&OrderByValue=&PageNo=1&StartPrice=&EndPrice=&PageType=&SearchText=BIM&StartDate=&EndDate=

Is Your Business As Mobile As It Could Be?

No matter how well organised the file structure within your business is, one of the main issues with the organisation of data today is that most of it is inaccessible via your mobile devices.

With today’s rapid increase of mobile working, we should be able to view, mark-up, edit and approve documents on the go directly from the devices we use every day; our mobile phones.

Despite the fact that many people nowadays do not even own a desktop PC, mobility is something that many businesses are slow to adapt to.  

This thinking applies to all businesses today, but even more so within the construction sector. On average, around forty photos are taken on-site of a construction project. Whether these are images of snags, defects or simply views of the structure so far, most of these will be taken on a mobile device.

What happens to these images once you are back in the office however? In most cases, you’d have to plug your mobile device into your laptop and drop the images into a folder on a file server somewhere which is quite a long and manual process. Can you be sure that you or your colleagues could find them months later?

Imagine you could upload those photos directly to your engineering document management software from your mobile device, associate them with a project, and locate them based on the most minimal information you know about them from your mobile device whilst out on-site. Not only would this save huge amounts of time, it would also prevent difficulty when you or your colleagues are locating the images at a later date. 

This can all be achieved with engineering document management software like Excitech DOCS. Know who took the photos ow which month they were taken in? You could create a filter to view all photos taken within a particular month or by a certain person. 

In addition to searching for documents based on minimal information, our engineering document management software will also provide users with information about where the photos were taken using geolocation properties which are already embedded into photos taken with smartphones. For example this could prove useful if you have captured defects on-site where the location is unidentifieable from the photo alone. With Excitech DOCS you can view exactly where this photo was taken on a map.

You'll also be able to view all project emails filtered by company, contact or by project via all mobile platforms as they are helpfully converted from email form to PDF form for easy reading.

Excitech DOCS is a forward thinking and easy solution which allows you to view drawings, photos and emails all from a single source of truth. To learn more about our engineering document management software solution, please call us on 01992 807 444 or click on the button below.