Client Profile.
The client is a leading Netherlands-based building product manufacturer dealing in customized façade supports and related products including girders, parapet supports, prefab water retaining cavity trays and lintels. The company commands a turnover of over $5 million.
Business Need.
The client used a partially automated quote process which was time consuming estimation process negatively impacted resource efficiency. It also led to poor user experience and low sales closures. 2D drawings were created in a separate file and did not have any link to the location where it was to be placed. Besides the quotes, many of their clients expected final building products to be incorporated in their Revit/IFC files. However the existing system of the client supported only 2D drawings.
The client hence partnered with HitechDigital to accelerate/streamline their current estimation processes, upgrade to BIM deliverables and get their team members trained on Revit software.
Challenges.
- Lack of detailed façade product drawings (They had only generic drawings and spreadsheet with parameter details)
- Inputs were not in standard format. There were different Revit models / IFC files with different level of details, design standards, modeling methods from their end clients
- Ad-hoc requirements were added during the development
Solution.
HitechDigital offered the client a fully automated BIM-supported quote solution which:
- processed inputs received in RVT and/or IFC file format and
- integrated with their current process where the design excel sheet was being used
This solution enabled the client to generate the final Bill of Material (BOM) with accuracy and speed, get their Revit/IFC model back with the products incorporated at the exact location.
Approach.
- Based on a detailed understanding of the client’s product range, the HitechDigital team of BIM experts created a Revit Family Library for all the products and parts.
- They also studied the current process (as-is) in terms of the inputs received from client and the deliverables to work out the best solution.
- An API was created which extracted data on opening sizes and location from the Revit/IFC file provided by the client.
- This data was exported to the existing design excel for further calculations. Design specifications were derived for the products to be used. This saved the estimation engineer from doing manual entries.
- Based on the inputs received from the design excel sheet, the Revit API further created Revit Families by assembling the different products (from the library) and placing them on the exact location of the opening.
- In the entire process, besides quality checks, there was no need for the client to work in Revit, and they could share the updated Revit file back to the end customers.
- A separate API was developed for automating the manual quote generation process which fed data from the design excel file and Revit model and prepared quotation. The quotation included specific details of locations and specifications of those openings.
- This process also helped in managing and keeping a track of any changes in design and corresponding cost changes.
- A total of 13 APIs were created to support model generation, quotation, and simplify family placement.
Tools and Technology used- Revit, Revit API & Visual Studio (C Sharp / C #)
Business Impact.
30% overall time saved by deploying BIM automation
100% accuracy of BIM models and quotes
100+ Revit families were created as a part of client’s product library
Revit families placed in end client’s BIM models from the library
Ongoing training support and maintenance through a detailed user-guide
