I am sending this note through several channels because it addresses several concerns. If you know of another person who you think should see it, please pass it on to them also. Thanks!
August 18, 2009
A little more than a year ago, I began to look for a Facilities Management solution. After a bit of research I settled on FM Desktop software from Autodesk. As a long time user of AutoCAD, (AutoCAD II with ADE 3 in January of 1985) I had every confidence that this was a good decision. I was impressed with its ease of use and the reports that it could generate along with a drawing of the affected areas. I also liked the methods by which items such as fire extinguishers could be highlighted.
I examined several paths toward implementing FM Desktop and chose to begin the process by implementing Revit Architecture. There were many reasons for choosing this path and the ability to pass data from Revit to FM Desktop was one of the more significant ones. Another strong reason was that I could to use my existing AutoCAD drawings as a starting point. To date, I have entered a significant amount of building and occupant data into Revit. (7 buildings, 14 levels.)
The early promotional materials touted Revit as part of a “Building Lifecycle Management” system. That is a better definition of what I am looking for. Our buildings are built and now need to be managed for maintenance and occupancy.
Earlier this year, I learned that FM Desktop would no longer be available. There was some speculation on the discussion group as to what would be its replacement in the future, but there was nothing definitive. I also started looking for alternative methods from among the software and tools available from Autodesk.
Although the majority of my previous experience is in the mechanical design arena, I do have some experience using AutoCAD Map 3d and Map Guide to build a facility management application. However, I am reluctant to throw away my time invested in Revit in order to re-create similar data in Map. I have also used high-end MCAD software and am well aware of the many advantages of having 3 dimensional models such as the ones I have developed in Revit.
I also investigated the RDB Link tool that is available on the Autodesk Labs site. It looks like it has great potential but I have been reluctant to build too much dependence on this tool since it is a technology preview and expires on September 30th. What is the probability that this functionality will be built into the next version of Revit, and does this make sense as a potential method of building more Facility Management capabilities into Revit?
Several side notes:
I was excited to learn of a new file format “.adsk” that I was told would allow me to move data from one Autodesk application to another, specifically from Inventor to Revit. I downloaded the Inventor LT trial software and modeled a concrete bench as an experiment. I was unsuccessful in transferring that model into Revit and received an error message stating that the model was not of the correct work flow.
I have also downloaded the Inventor Fusion technology preview and am very impressed with the user interface and ease of use. I am hoping that some of this functionality makes its way into AutoCAD as well as Inventor.
I bring these items up to demonstrate that I am not afraid to try new things and am willing to approach problems from several different angles to get the results that I am looking for.
Where do you suggest that I go from here? I would prefer to have an Autodesk solution, but if there is none, I will have to look elsewhere.
Sincerely,
David Carlson
Project Engineer
Workplace Planning, Headquarters Operations
Donaldson Company, Inc.
Bloomington MN
dave.carlson@donaldson.com
www.donaldson.com