The only thing to be concerned with is mapping out a proper implementation for Revit in your firm. I work for a reseller, and the firms that fail are the firms that are not willing to spend the money to properly transition over to Revit. Don’t go into it think that today we’re AutoCAD, tomorrow we’re Revit – it takes most firms a MINIMUM of 6 months to become somewhat proficient to the level they left off at with ACAD / ADT. I am not trying to scare you, but rather prepare you. You know how to drive a car today, but if I put you behind the wheel of an eighteen wheeler tomorrow, you would be a wreck on the side of the road in no time. Training, mentoring, pilot projects, set goals and objectives through the process, take it slowly and build upon your knowledge as you go project by project. If you don’t use 3D today, don’t worry about 3D in Revit to begin with; work in 2D and leverage the power of the parametric engine for coordination purposes only – this alone will net your firm a huge productivity gain not to mention much better quality working drawings. Revit is a DESIGN tool – AutoCAD / ADT are DRAFTING tools. Always keep that in the back of your mind. Don’t abandon AutoCAD, go with Revit Series and use the AutoCAD for drafting tasks and Revit for the designing tasks.
First step is selling the principles the concept and make sure you have their buy-in and 100% commitment to move the firm to Revit. If there is any reluctance, address in now up front. It is critical to have the team all aiming for the same goal line. Second step, plan, plan, plan the implementation. We usually recommend picking a group of 3 to 6 people to be the first Revit team. These should be people in your firm who are most excited about the change and welcome a better way – the technology gurus of the firm. Next, define a pilot project that Revit can be applied to (preferable a project type that the firm has done many times before and that the Revit Team is overly familiar with – this keeps the learning dimension to Revit only, not the design). Map out the timelines for the project. Set deadlines for the project’s various phases. Make sure to include time for training and mentoring on Revit through this process. Then the Revit team starts with being formally trained in the Revit Fundamentals (3-day course – OFF-SITE from the office so there are no distractions). Next, go back to the office and start on the pilot project. This needs to include mentoring with an Application Specialist (AS) on-site. At first, the AS will be there the first couple of days to help deploy the software, set up the pilot project with Worksets, get the project up and running, etc. Then at least once a week the AS should be coming by to help the Revit Team through the pilot project hurdles. Each user should keep a notepad beside their workstation to jot down problems as they go so the mentoring sessions can address these items. At some point, the users will require to start creating custom content in Revit or Family Creation. This is when the Revit Team should go off-site again and get the next level of formal training in Revit Advance (2-day course). Upon the completion of the pilot project, there should be a post-review to address any successes and/or deficiencies in the implementation process. Now the next project can be considered and another group can start the program. The first group becomes an internal source of knowledge that the second group can call upon, which inevitably speeds the second group’s progress. Over this period of time, the firm can slow wean off the mentoring as they become more and more self sufficient.
This is only one methodology. Every firm is different. You have to find what works best for your people. I have only included this as a detailed example of what a firm should be thinking about through the transition. For budgeting purposes, you should look at the cost of a new seat of Revit Series and double it. This will make up the funds for the implementation portion. We usually aim for at least 15 to 20 hours of mentoring per user plus the training courses with an optional mentoring block if required (really depends on the team).
I hope this helps and I wish you well in your venture towards Revit. Remember, the only consistent thing in life is change!
P. Bardati
SolidCAD
1-866-698-2831
