r/bim

Hey guys, I am in process of developing a tool that will help BIM Coordinators sort out clashes and prioritise. This would save time to sort out thousands of clashes and focus on the critical ones based on the hierarchy. I will also be incorporating AI for the same. I would appreciate feedback, advice from industry experts.

Hi everyone,

I recently finished a basic Revit/BIM postgraduate course (mostly focused on modeling). I already had some basic knowledge, but I wanted to structure it better. During our last class, we spent a lot of time discussing BIM protocols, and since then, I've gone down a rabbit hole I can't get out of.

I’ve been reading through BIM Forum and watching various conferences about standards. I noticed it’s very common to structure projects using a matrix that splits the model by both levels and disciplines, using "Master" files to coordinate everything. This means working with multiple smaller linked files instead of one massive central file.

My question is: Is this the actual industry standard, or am I getting into something that is overkill? It's not strictly required to pass my course, but I want to make the most out of it for my portfolio. The only requirement for my final submission is to write a basic "protocol" explaining my choices and how I organized the files.

If you have any literature, podcasts, lectures, or YouTube channels you'd recommend to deep dive into this, I’d really appreciate it.

Sorry for my English, it's not my first language.

Thanks in advance!

Currently managing a model on site, the contactor's making a lot of changes. First we thought of managing those changes with design options (revit) but the file size it's getting out of hand.

Is the Best practice to This kind of scenarios is reliying on another file ?

Hi everyone,

I'm facing an issue where my Revit installation is missing many of the default families and templates. Is there an official procedure to download or restore the missing default Revit families separately?

Also, could you recommend reliable websites for downloading high-quality structural steel Revit families, such as:

• Steel beams
• Columns
• Bracing members
• Structural connections
• Steel plates
• Anchor bolts
• Base plates
• Structural framing components

I'm looking for sources that provide well-built, parameterized families suitable for professional structural projects.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a BIM Modeler from India with 2 years of experience in Architectural/Structural BIM. I work mainly with Revit, Navisworks, AutoCAD, and BIM coordination.

I'm currently looking for new opportunities, preferably with companies that have international projects or opportunities to relocate in the future (Singapore, Middle East, UK etc.).

If your company is hiring, or if you know of any openings, I'd really appreciate a referral or job lead. I'm happy to share my resume and portfolio.

Thank you!

We are looking for senior BIM roles including a BIM Manager and a BIM Director
Can be remote. In house preferred
110-200K depending on experience (Range from Manager to Director) Salary is negotiable
STIP Included and standard benefits as well (Medical, 401K, Vacation)
Bentley and Open Buildings Experience is required
Work is in the tristate area (NYC,NJ, Connecticut)

Please DM me if you are looking and interested. We have various BIM positions open, so feel free to DM should you have any interest

Edit: Due to the confidentiality clauses on many of our contracts U.S candidates are preferred and on some projects required

Long read, but just want to share since I'm on my last bit of patience.

I was hired as an Achitectural & Structural modeler for a contractor in SG for a new multi block project.

When the project started, I was only working with a manager who managed 3 projects, while I was alone at site - this, along with an outsourced team of around 5 who also handled a few projects for the company.

My work was okay, until the outsourced team had to sign off since their work quality wasn't up to par with the site managers standard.

Workload went to me, I was getting chased with deadlines but I tried my best to cope.

A new coordinator was hired, but the company made him handle another project, so he was busy coordinating with subcontractors and rarely modeled with me, which I understood.

A new outsourced team was hired from China, who I wasn't able to communicate with, so they hired another Chinese modeler who was supposedly able to liaise with them, but he can barely speak english - hence I have to chat with him to communicate (he'll use a translator on his PC).

Then the chinese team resigned, their models failed too, which I had to fix again. What made it worse was that I found out that our new staff couldn't even use Revit properly. He doesn't know how to use filters, plot, edit views, and even the basic commands, he also needs to use a translator for Revit.

I give him instructions, he tries to do them but he can't follow. I tell him to chat or give me screenshots of his questions, but nothing. He needs full time supervision, which I could give if I had the time, but the work load is already killing me.

The site people are expecting twice the productivity since they already have another modeler with me, but it ends up getting halved because I have to review his work, the model gets messed up, and I have to fix everything, teach him, and all that.

Luckily the coordinator understands my situation, but the site people can't seem to understand and are expecting me to catch up while adding more demands with their micro requests of editing a few CAD files here and there.

I'm on my way to setting up my portfolio to jump ship, but don't know if it's the best choice.

I'm okay with my BIM supervisors, but I feel like I'm barely learning anything since I'm still stuck with modeling, we don't use ACC, the company doesn't have standard templates, the master models are messed up, and a lot of other things that don't help with growth. It'll be around 4 more years before we finish the project.

Lastly, part of whats stressing me out is that I have to do overtime to cope up with all this - which I've been trying to avoid. As much as possible I'd like to only work a maximum of 8 hours a day, which was okay prior to the outsourced teams resigning.

I don't feel comfortable doing overtime work, especially if the cause isn't my fault. After a traumatic burnout of working 8-11pm for a year for a previous company, it's starting to stress me out a bit - and I don't want to act hero since I'm not really getting anything in return.

I'm now working an extra 2 hours, which may increase along the way. Sadly, we don't even have overtime pay.

My first job is going to start next month in the UAE. As an Infrastructure Draftsman.

No previous experience with this industry.

My goal is to earn well with job security. That's why I'm also thinking of learning BIM.

Also i want to move to Germany in the future via Ausbildung.

I don't have any bachelors degree. I'm 23 Year Old.

Need advice from seniors.

Thank you.

I'm a Civil Engineering fresh grad and would like to take the path of BIM modeler -> BIM manager -> BIM automation

It's frustrating that there are rarely job openings for entry level in this field.

What are your advice to someone taking this path with 0 career experience?

I have a water treatment plant project (building with piping and tanks including all MEP) where one of the PM's wants to use a point cloud model to update our models for record drawings. I'm curious if you guys would find that helpful vs using the classic redlines that have been kept throughout the construction of the project. The point cloud is coming from some LiDar program ran through an ipad. I haven't seen the size of the files or anything yet, but is this something you guys have done? I almost figured the best use of the point clouds/mesh was to use that as the sole as built "record model", but now having to use it to update seems counter intuitive given its just going to slow down my model and possibly look confusing. Appreciate any input!

Looking for any other BIM techs that like to talk shop and collaborate! I’m building parametric families for AV devices that collaborate with MEP.
Just barely scratched the surface of PyRevit and Dynamo, but I can see why people have a love hate relationship with Revit. I for one respect it, and expect to see/design an immersive interactive model in the near future.

I don't work on this field, I'm just curious, can anyone become a BIM modeler even without a degree on an engineering related field? and can this job be done fully remotely for a junior/entry-level BIM modeler? Are there lots of jobs offering full remote positions for junior BIM modelers?

I have seen some saying the above, it was probably internet misinformation, I just wanted to confirm.

My research says that there are hardly any fully remote positions on BIM modeling and also the qualifications require at least an associate degree on an engineering related field and technical knowledge. There are other dozens qualification requirements for this job even for entry level.

I mean, this looks like an advanced skill that require in-depth technical knowledge and experience, there are some that try to make it look like you can learn revit and get a remote job right away. It's not that simple right?

I am working to fill some industry gaps with my own developed BIM Software.

What are the gaps you can think of in current BIM professional software's?

Right now my software can import IFC files and get IFC data. i am focusing on manipulating IFC data at this time.

Can run the program on Windows.

I've been in VDC/BIM for about 7 years, and lately I've been questioning whether some of the problems I run into on every project are just "normal construction" or if there are better ways to manage them.

For context, I learned under one person for most of my career. He was incredibly intelligent but also about as unorthodox as you can get in the BIM world. My first major project was a multi-billion-dollar design-build, which, looking back, wasn't exactly a typical project environment.

These are the issues that seem to come up over and over:

• Unrealistic BIM durations in the project schedule. During precon and bidding, BIM coordination often gets a fraction of the time it realistically needs. We typically aren't consulted during this phase, so I'm not sure how the durations are being developed. By the time I get assigned to a project and provide a realistic BIM schedule that accounts for the inevitable conflicts and RFIs, I'm usually told to make it shorter.

• Pressure to start coordination immediately after award. I'm constantly told that coordination needs to begin as soon as subs are under contract, but many times they don't even have detailers assigned yet, only a handful of RFIs have been submitted or returned, and we end up coordinating incomplete information. A lot of issues only get uncovered because I start asking questions during coordination that nobody had considered beforehand.

• Coordination getting held up by RFIs. We uncover numerous design issues that require RFIs, which pushes both the coordination schedule and sometimes the construction schedule. We then have to justify those delays later through owner change documentation.

• Starting coordination before product submittals are reviewed. I've had projects where we're halfway through coordination and then equipment submittals come back with different dimensions, stub-up locations, embed requirements, etc., causing major recoordination. Often the detailers modeled based on assumptions instead of verifying that their work aligned with approved submittals, despite us repeatedly emphasizing this in meetings.

• Managing huge initial clash reports. When you first run MEP vs. structure and get thousands of clashes, how are people actually managing that? Whether it's Navisworks or Revizto, I can't realistically create thousands of issues manually, and the auto-generated issues in Revizto are often unusable because the viewpoints are terrible.

• Subcontractors modeling outside of Revit. Despite our BIM Execution Plans and subcontract requirements, we still get models in Civil 3D, AutoSPRINK, CAD, etc. Then I end up spending a ton of time converting files, fixing coordinates, and creating usable models for everyone else to reference.

• Recording as-builts. I'm also the go-to person on site for control, surveying, layout, and as-built documentation. That alone feels like a full-time job. How are people holding trades accountable for keeping their models updated to reflect field conditions? We've made it a requirement that models be updated within 7 days of installation—which I know is pretty unrealistic—but we've had enough issues with crews hitting existing work that we felt we needed some kind of requirement.

For those of you who have been doing this a long time:

1. Are these issues just part of the job and impossible to fully eliminate?

2. What processes or contract language have you implemented that actually improved things?

3. At what point do you refuse to start coordination because prerequisites aren't in place?

4. How do you handle massive clash reports efficiently?

I'm genuinely trying to figure out whether our expectations are unrealistic or if there are best practices out there that my teams simply haven't adopted.

Hello,

I have a question: Is there anyone here with a degree in architecture who has successfully transitioned into working as a BIM Specialist or BIM Engineer, particularly in areas such as 3D, VR, automation, plugin development, app development, etc., which require a solid understanding of mathematics and programming?

If so, what was your career path to get there?

Thanks!

I’ve started a new full time job at an architecture office using Revit, but I have previously been using Archicad for quite a few years. I’ve resigned myself to learning Revit as a professional necessity these days, but would nonetheless like to remain rooted in Archicad (since I like it) and am considering pursuing freelance work with it.

But given the need to continuously keep up to date with software advances and update for any BIM software, is this sustainable at all to be proficient in two softwares simultaneously?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently developing a Revit plugin tool that helps create Revit families directly from manufacturer datasheets.

The idea is to reduce the time draftsmen and BIM teams spend manually creating families, adding dimensions, and entering technical data from datasheets.

At the current demo stage, the tool is more suitable for RCP-related items such as air grilles and light fixtures. It can help generate basic family geometry and populate key parameters from the datasheet.

For more detailed 3D families, such as sanitary fixtures or complex manufacturer-specific products, further improvement, testing, and validation are still required.

I’m developing a few practical BIM/Revit plugin tools focused on saving time for drafting, coordination, and documentation teams, and I’d appreciate feedback from people working with Revit families regularly.

For BIM teams, draftsmen, or coordinators:
Would a tool like this be useful in your workflow?
What type of families take the most time for you to create manually?

Hi, I am a BIM Engineer with 2 of experience in the feild, coordinating with structure, MEP, Architecture. Mostly Industrial projects.
I am aiming for leadership roles in BIM after persuring masters.
I am well aware that experience is the most important, but will the masters help me , to get to a position I am aiming for?
And also masters cause to get opportunities in BIM in europe .