Assemble Systems - Revit Model Compare

Assemble Systems provides an easy to use mechanism to compare two versions of a Revit model for differences between the two. Assemble will then graphical represent those difference in a color coded 3D view and a model inventory view (Figure 1). This model inventory view gives you an excel spreadsheet like structure that allows you to filter, group and sort data in the model comparisons.

Figure 1 - Visual Variance View

Assemble's compare functionality is available when two or more versions of the model have been published to Assemble. When Assemble performs the comparisons, the latest version of the model that has been published to Assemble is considered the primary model. The previous version is considered the secondary model. Assemble then compare the model elements of the primary model to the secondary model.

When there is a model change between, Assemble looks at the quantity for the element in the source model and the quantity for the element in the secondary model and presents the variance in the model (Figure 2). The 3D model (Figure 1) uses a color coded Legend (Figure 3) to mark model elements that have changed.

Figure 2 - Compare Function

   

Figure 3 - Variance Legend

Assemble does this comparison by comparing the Revit element IDs between two versions of the model. It will then report in a spreadsheet like view and graphical view items that have been Added, Removed, Type change, Quantity change and Type and Quantity change. Other systems like Revit, Navisworks, Tekla BIMSight can perform similar functions, but Assemble does it very quickly and the user does not need to be a BIM Authoring application user.

Model Review - What's in the Model

During a visit with a client this morning, I was reminded on a common task we perform to review models. One of the first things I like to do when reviewing models is see how the Revit sheets were put together. Is the geometry from model elements, Revit's 2D elements or CAD.

Our process is very simple. We simply compare the original sheets provided by the designer to sheets we create out of Revit after we get rid of any linked CAD files, CAD imports and Revit's 2D linework. We then use the power of Bluebeam to compare the two sets of PDFs. Bluebeam will highlight the differences between the two sets of PDF's.

Why is the beneficial? It really depends on how you intend to use the model.

I have seen a lot of "BIM jobs" that have sheets that have been exported out of Revit and "embellished" in AutoCAD. The embellishments are very interesting as this can be anything from adding new callouts to altering the geometry. Using this PDF compare method will quickly allow you to see what is from the model and what is from elsewhere.

This process can be done very quickly. In 15 minutes you can determine how deep you need to dive into your Revit model review.