True BIM

[jmatthei]

Time for my yearly request, I guess:  Please provide true BIM technology for site design - Civil 3D is marketed as such, but is not.  Civl 3D is currently lacking:

1)  Piping bends/crosses/tees/wyes/laterals

2)  Conduit & ducts, lighting, etc...

3)  Sign & pavement marking objects

4)  Vegetation objects

5)  Site fixture objects

6)  Curb entities (outside of corridors)

7)  Pavement & vegetation sections (outside of corridors)

😎  Volumes of pavement/topsoil sections (outside of corridors)

9)  Automated subgrade creation (outside of corridors)

10)  Autolabel spots/slopes on feature lines (ie one click to get every vertex and segment)

11)  Curb/driveway ramp objects

12)  Sidewalk objects

13)  Parking stall data automation

14)  Setback objects

15)  Syncing to lighting design software

16)  Support for different soil layers in different areas, including earthwork breakdowns

17)  Full interoperability with Revit in the building:  One model, one project.  No artificial barrier at the building wall.  Also great for handling retaining walls, bridges, and gazebos with Revit Structural.

18)  Full ability to make and link views as in Revit

19)  Full detailing and keynote capabilities as in Revit

20)  Construction phasing breakdowns as in Revit.

21)  Smoother workflows without excessive dialogue boxes for standard, frequent procedures.

22)  Manhole drop connections

23)  Vaults with non-centered pipes or ducts

In short - Revit Site.  Basically take the Revit engine, add Eaglepoint's Siteworks and LandCADD, add Civil 3Ds corridor and grading functionality--and profile view and structure schedules, add SignCAD, add ParkCAD, extend Revit MEP/C3D pipes to really cover proper site objects with things like curved piping and drop connections.  Then we'll be happy.  I can tell you're expending effort on developing things, but they're not what matters when trying to approach true BIM.

We'll be running a pilot with Revit & Siteworks, to see if that gets us closer to what we need, but I have a feeling it's going to be a world of workarounds importing between the different packages (some still in C3D) to take advantage of the strengths of each.  What we really need is a good, solid BIM package designed for sites that plays well with Revit.  It can either be Revit expanded to sites, or Civil 3D transformed to be more Revit-like.  Site BIM tools are a decade behind architectural BIM tools, and even the comparisons of what I can do in apps on my phone or on games like SimCity and Civilization vs what we can do in C3D are crazy.

Somebody, please take us where we need to go.  Autodesk?  Eaglepoint?  Carlson?  Bentley?  Anybody else?  There's a big market of civil engineers and landscape architects that work with architects who would love a solution like this.  Our PMs and architects would really like us all to be on one platform, and I agree.  Sure not everybody would go for it - and there's less of a need among the sitework-only firms, but there is definitely a market out there for site BIM.  Autodesk:  If you're not interested in providing this, please open up your Revit & C3D code to somebody else who is.  We've been waiting a long time.

Thanks,

Jeremy

[NeilSpoon]

What he said --^

🙂

[jmatthei]

I just wanted to add one thing:

The thing that's frustrating me most here is it looks like all the tools already exist -- it's just that they're split up into the different silos of Civil 3D, Revit, and Siteworks/LandCAD.  (And a little side bit in SignCAD).  Nothing new really needs to be created--just pieced together.

Autodesk:  Please consider this a request to break down the glaringly separate Revit & C3D silos, combine the features of the two platforms, and create a truly state-of-the-art site BIM platform.  Eaglepoint looks like they've done some of the work already with Siteworks/LandCAD, so I'd recommend including them as a part of a joint venture.

I feel like we're really close - most of the program tools have been created - they just need to be put together.  At the risk of sounding cheesy, this really is an example of 1+1+1 = 10.  Our company models 100% of everything in the buildings in Revt, and we've been one of your biggest supporters.  We'd really appreciate the tools to model 100% of our sites too.

We'd love to be a part of any product development or beta testing on this, should it go forward.  I don't want to directly give my email address here but Autodesk--you know how to reach me.

Jeremy

[enrique-evs]

I very much agree. Any update or news from Autodesk saying they are launching some new product or adopting these necessary tools in their Revit or Civil3D?

Site-BIM ASAP!!!

Enrique