RTC AUS 2014 BIM in the Green Zone

BIM in the Green Zone
Jason Howden

Overview
• About the Speaker
• Revit as a Database and using Breadcrumbs to capture data
• Using Revit to track and record Safety in Design
• Using Revit to track and record HomeStar compliance
• Using Revit to track and record Carbon analysis
• Overview of the Revit Daylighting Analysis plug-in
• Questions and Answers

About Jason Howden
• Jason is passionate about design, technology, BIM and
collaboration.
• Over his 20 year career Jason’s passion for design technologies
has been applied to complex projects in Australia, New Zealand
and the United Kingdom, across the Healthcare, Research,
Institutional, Commercial and Residential sectors.
• Currently as Technical BIM Manager for Warren and Mahoney,
founder of RTV Tools Limited, Jason believes that the AEC industry
must embrace change, BIM and ICT to remain sustainable in a
world driven by technology.
• Jason’s strengths are in design technology adoption, BIM
implementation, project documentation delivery and digital
workflow automation.

About Warren and Mahoney
• Founded in 1955 by Sir Miles Warren in Christchurch.
• A multidisciplinary design practice offering architectural, interior, graphic,
urban and environmentally sustainable design services.
• Studios located in Queenstown, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and
Sydney.
• Christchurch rebuild is being seen as a critical step in the development and
take of BIM nationally within New Zealand.

Revit as a Database
• Don’t be a afraid to use Revit for more than just Modelling.
– Why just use Revit to produce better 2D documentation.
• Unlock the power of Shared Parameters.
– Create a common list of Shared Parameters and use them.
– Think about Safety, Performance, Sustainability opportunities.
– Information = Knowledge, Knowledge = Power.
• Don’t be afraid to add elements to capture data.
– Think about creating a ‘breadcrumb’ family.
• Learn how to manipulate schedules to extract the captured data.
– Master Filters to quickly edit, view and extract valuable information.
– Learn how to manipulate data with Calculated Value Parameters.
– Create visibility in your data with Conditional Formatting.

Creating a “breadcrumb” Family
• K.I.S.S, Keep It Simple Stupid.
• Make it graphical, a simple picture can say 1,000 words.
• Make it parametric, why use two when one will do.
• Think about what data you’re trying to capture.
• Use a face based Family for quick application to the Model.
• Method 1 or Method 2?...

Creating a “breadcrumb” Family –
Method 1
• Create a Generic Model Revit Family.
• Can use fun 3D graphics, along with 2D symbolic graphics.
• Schedule-able.
• Use your our Shared Parameters to capture and extract the
required data.
• Easily review “tagged” item by ‘Highlighting in Model’ from
the schedule.
• Downside – Only in Model views.

Method 1
DEMO

Method 2
• Create a Annotation Revit Family.
• 2D only.
• Schedule-able, with a Note Block schedule.
• Use your our Shared Parameters to capture and extract
the required data.
• Easily review “tagged” item by ‘Highlighting in Model’
from the schedule.
• Downside – Can’t be placed in 3D views.

Method 2
DEMO

Revit for Safety in Design –
Some Background
• What is safe design?
– Safe design means the integration of control measures early in the
design process to eliminate or, if this is not reasonable practicable,
minimise risks to health and safety throughout the life of the structure
being designed.
• Safe design begins at the concept development phase of a structure when
making decisions about:
– the design and its intended purpose.
– materials to be used.
– possible methods of construction, maintenance, operation, demolition
or dismantling and disposal.
– what legislation, codes of practice and standards need to be
considered and complied with.

Some Background
• What is ‘reasonably practicable’ in relation to the designer’s duty?
• Deciding what is ‘reasonably practicable’ requires taking into account and
weighing up all relevant matters including:
– the likelihood of the hazard or the risk occurring.
– the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the risk.
– knowledge about the hazard or risk, and ways of eliminating or
minimising the risk.
– the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk.
– after assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways of
eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated with eliminating or
minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate
to the risk.

Some Background
• Information transfer (the BIM opportunity).
– Key information about identified hazards and action taken or required
to control risks should be recorded and transferred from the design
phase to those involved in later stages of the lifecycle.
– Communicating this information to other stake holders will make them
aware of any residual risks and minimise the likelihood of safety features
incorporated into the design being altered or removed by those
engaged in subsequent work on or around the building or structure.
• The designer must also, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide this
information to any person who carries out activities in relation to the
structure if requested.

Some Background
• Points for designers to consider when providing information include:
– making notes on drawings, as these will be immediately available to
construction workers.
• Providing information on significant hazards, as well as:
– hazardous substances or flammable materials included in the design.
– heavy or awkward prefabricated elements likely to create handling risks.
– features that create access problems.
– temporary work required to construct or renovate the building as designed
(e.g. bracing of steel or concrete frame buildings).
– features of the design essential to safe operation.
– methods of access where normal methods of securing scaffold are not
available.
– any parts of the design where risks have been minimised but not eliminated.
– noise and vibration hazards from plant.

Sample Report

Capturing the data in Revit
• Safety in Design ‘breadcrumb’ Family.
• Shared Parameters include;
– ID Number
– Raised By
– Category
– Consequences
– Likelyhood
– Risk Rating
– Impact Rating
– Mitigation Strategy
– Responsibility
– Priority/Status

Reporting the data in Revit
• Create a New Schedule for Generic Model elements.
• Filter the ‘noise’ by selecting a common identifier.
– Shared Parameter, Common Value etc
• Highlight the important issues.
– Conditional Formatting, Calculating Parameters etc.
• Retain the Data for hand-over.
– Place the Breadcrumbs on a separate Design
Option, Workset, or Phase to keep the model ‘clean’
but retain the data.

Revit for Safety in Design
DEMO

Revit for HomeStar Compliance
- Some Background
• Homestar is the environmental rating tool for New Zealand’s new and
existing homes.
• What really matters when it comes to home performance?
– Warm and dry.
– Use less energy and water.
– Reduce waste.
• HomeStar looks at the performance of the whole house.
• Location, Size, and Product selection count for better HomeStar ratings.

– The Rating System
• Broken into 6 key areas, each with a rating of up to a 10.
– Health & Comfort.
• Insulation, Double Glazing, Ventilation, Passive Solar Design.
– Energy.
• Lighting, Appliances, Heating, Hot water, Generation.
– Water.
• Efficient Appliances, Rainwater, Greywater, Stormwater.
– Waste.
• Recycling, Green waste.
– Site.
• Location (Schools, Shops, Public Transport), Garden.
– Management.
• Maintenance, Safety and Security.

Revit for HomeStar Compliance –
• HomeStar ‘breadcrumb’ Family.
• Shared Parameters include;
– Category
– Targeted Rating
– Designed Rating
– Description
– Improvement Strategy
– Responsibility
– Priority/Status

Revit for HomeStar Compliance –
Reporting the data in Revit
• Create a New Schedule for Generic Model
elements.
• Filter the ‘noise’ by selecting a common identifier.
– Shared Parameter, Common Value etc
– Conditional Formatting, Calculating Parameters
etc.
• Retain the Data for hand-over.
– Place the Breadcrumbs on a separate Design
Option, Workset, or Phase to keep the model
‘clean’ but retain the data.

DEMO

Revit for Carbon Footprint Analysis –
Some Background
• What's the difference between a Carbon Footprint and Embodied Carbon?
– Embodied Carbon is the Carbon Footprint of a material.
• Whilst a Carbon Footprint can be used to express the Carbon of operating a
building, Embodied Carbon cannot.
• Embodied Carbon tells you the Carbon Footprint of constructing the
building.
• Embodied Carbon calculations require an understanding of all of the
materials, and all activities related to those materials, such as processing
and transport.

Revit for Carbon Footprint Analysis -
Inspirational facts!
• It takes more energy to make 1 kg of paper than it takes to make 1 kg of
steel.
• Switching from the font ‘Arial’ to ‘Century Gothic’ saves 30% ink on printing.
• More energy is wasted in the UK’s electricity generation system than is
consumed to heat all of the UK’s homes.
• There is up to 30 times more gold in a tonne of old mobile phones than in a
tonne of gold ore.
• The embodied carbon of constructing a an average UK house is equivalent
to driving around the earth over 10 times.
• Even in the UK climate solar PV panels normally payback their embodied
carbon within 4 years.
• 1 kwh of electricity from a UK plug socket takes almost 3 kwh of energy to
produce.

In the Scale of Carbon
• As a measure of sustainability, buildings, materials and processes are
commonly judged by their ‘embodied carbon’ – the amount of carbon
dioxide (CO2) that is produced during their operation or manufacture.
• CO2 accounts for 76% of all greenhouse gas emissions making it the
primary contributor towards climate change, but, by its nature, quantities of
this colourless gas remain frustratingly intangible.
• In the Scale of Carbon brings carbon dioxide emissions out of the abstract
by physically representing the volume of various architectural materials
that can be produced for one tonne of CO2 emissions.
• http://www.inthescaleofcarbon.com/

In the Scale of Carbon

Revit for Carbon Analysis –
The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE database)
• Embodied energy is the amount of energy consumed to extract, refine,
process, transport and fabricate a material. It is often measured from cradle
to site. Likewise, embodied carbon is the amount of carbon emission (CO2
or CO2e emission) to produce a material.
• The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (also know as the ICE database) is an
embodied energy and embodied carbon footprint database for building
materials.
• The ICE database contains data for over 200 materials, broken down into
over 30 main material categories (such as cement, concrete, glass, timber,
plastics, steel...etc).
• http://www.circularecology.com/ice-database.html

The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE database)

• Creating the Schedule of the Model elements.
• Getting the correct units to calculate the Embodied Carbon.
– Calculated Parameters.
– Conditional Formatting etc.
• Use the gathered data to inform the design as it evolves.

Revit for Carbon Analysis
DEMO

Revit for Daylight Analysis
• Currently two options available for use in Revit (out of the box)
– 1. (in BETA) Revit daylighting extension
– 2. Autodesk 360 Rendering Service
• Why use these tools?
– Minimum daylighting levels are core design requirements
– Streamline your design processes to get access to data without
engaging 3rd parties
• The GIGO effect
– New technology is GREAT, but Garage In = Garage Out!

Revit for Daylight Analysis -
Daylighting extension for Revit
• An Autodesk Labs extension for Revit 2014
• Currently only available as a limited time only ‘preview’
• Core processing delivered via the Autodesk Cloud
• Currently configured for LEED IEQc8.1 2009 daylighting analysis
• Very fast – 24x – 1000x faster than Radiance technologies
• Preview being extended from the 19th May – get involved here;
labs.autodesk.com or beta.autodesk.com

• Access is via the Analyze Tab on the Revit ribbon.
• Data is sent to the Autodesk 360 Service for
processing.
• Processed data is displayed back in Revit as
‘floating’ rendered ‘planes’.
• Data can be viewed in 3D or 2D views and
Scheduled.
• Simple and easy to understand with meaningful
data being returned to the user quickly.

DEMO

Autodesk 360 Rendering
• Access is via Render in the Cloud on the View
Tab on the Revit ribbon.
• Data is sent to the Autodesk 360 Service for
processing.
• Processed data is displayed as rendered
images, doesn’t include 2D views.
• Data can be loaded into Revit as a image.
• Simple and easy to understand with meaningful
data being returned to the user quickly.

• Access is via the Autodesk 360 Rendering services or here;
rendering.360.autodesk.com
• Does it cost anything? Yes.
– charged at one cloud credit per total number of Mega-Pixels (MP)
i.e. 1,500 x 1,029 = 1,543,500 px, or 1.54 MP’s or 1.5 Cloud credits.
• Is it good? Yes.
– Calculations are being validated by Top Daylighting consultants
working alongside Autodesk.
– Results have been very positive in all areas and Autodesk continues to
make the tools simpler for ‘mortals’ to use.

DEMO

Summary –
BIM in the Green Zone
• The BIM promise – Is not to replace us but to make things easier for us.
• Safety, Sustainability and BIM are here to stay.
• The Minecraft Effect - Future generations are growing up with technology,
kids are already collaborating in interactive 3D virtual worlds, in real-time
on pocket-sized mobile devices!
• The GIGO Effect – Garage In = Garage Out.
• Technology is a tool, be creative with it, openly share knowledge on it’s
application.

References
• http://www.circularecology.com/
• http://www.inthescaleofcarbon.com/
• Safe design of structures - Code of Practice 2013
• http://autodesk.typepad.com/bpa/2013/04/daylighting-as-a-service-raas-
illuminance-radiance.html

RTC AUS 2014 BIM in the Green Zone

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