Do we really need to transition to Revit. Merriam-Websters calls it “an act or process of passing from one state, stage, place, or subject to another”. So simple to change to Revit. Change to Revit? From what? Are we to stand up and go from AutoCAD to Revit, just do it and never look back! That does not seam to make any sense to me or the world of Structural Consulting that I work in.
Why would I leave a perfectly good tool behind? Would I leave my hand saw behind just because I bought I new table saw? Most definitely not. As there is always a time when a good old trusty hand saw does the job just as good or if not better depending on the situation. On a personally note, sometimes I just want to use my hand saw. It is satisfying in what you need to do, to make it work for you.
So why do some many people feel and believe that we need to Transition to Revit from AutoCAD? Autodesk has given us this great AEC package, that has both Revit and AutoCAD in it, as well as bunch of other cool useful tools. Take Advanced Steel for example; need some shop drawings done, that’s the one to lean one.
Would we not be better suited to start looking at in a more all-inclusive sort of way? We are going to introduce Revit to our workflow. We will add Revit to our production capabilities. We shall use Revit on jobs the client requests a full BIM workflow and a data rich model. We will use Revit when it is needed and suites the job requirements. Not just because we have Revit and that is the only thing we should use.
Companies and people that feel you need to move forward by making the choice to use only one piece of software, and abandon the rest are bound to end up not being able to fulfill, maybe not current project your using Revit, but future project needs and client requests.
Revit is a very powerful BIM tool, and is the tool of choice for BIM workflows, producing data rich models, coordinating large multi discipline projects. Coming from a consulting world, where no two jobs are a like, no two client requirements are the same, and not being able to have the right tools at my team’s disposal could lead to having to say no. And in consulting, “NO” is not the right answer. We need to be able to work with and for our clients to give them the best out come with the tool they ask we use, or that we choose to use to give them the best product.
The best out come in a project comes by using the right tools to achieve the right end to the job. This maybe a date rich BIM Model produced in Revit that will be used for coordinating, clash detection and future facility Management. Or it may be a 3-drawing house project for a local home builder, that just wants high quality drawings and a AutoCAD DWG file for his use and records.
Let’s start looking at it as an addition to your skill set, not a move to something different all together. Add not change.
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