Forensic Analysis of BIM

[liam_forry]

Hi, I work in construction claims and a lot of claims we get involved with involve recovery of additional time and costs associated with design changes and design errors. These issues more often than not result in the BIM production being delayed. My question is does Navisworks have data within it that logs when BIM coordinators /engineers are working within the models and what areas of the model were being worked on? 

Any insights on what type of data is logged within the BIM would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Liam

[brett_parkerLUEP7]

Hello,

Thanks for posting to the forums.

No tracking or logged data in the manner described in done in Navisworks. 

Regards

[liam_forry]

Hi Bret,

Thank you for your reply. You mention that "No tracking or logged data in the manner described in done in Navisworks.".

Please could you advise if there is any other form of tracking data that we could use within Navisworks?

Regards,

Liam

[brett_parkerLUEP7]

Nothing that is accessible by a user. Some crash reports and other data is collected but nothing as described is accessible by a user or admin.

Regards

[liam_forry]

Thanks Bret, I really appreciate your replies. 

However, based on the amount of technology in BIM I am surprised that user data is not collected. Is the information not readily available because of GDPR /data protection, or is it simply that Navis works does not collect the data?

If it is the latter I think it would be useful feature to add to the operation of the model as I know this would be of great use across the international construction industry (and i am sure there would be a way of producing the data so that personal identities could be protected. 

Many thanks,

Liam

[brett_parkerLUEP7 · Accepted solution]

It is not currently something we are looking to add however Autodesk Construction Cloud will likely have more of this collected data available. 

Regards

[liam_forry]

Many thanks Brett. 

[liam_forry]

I would like to keep this open...just in case any others members of the community have any ideas of forensic data that might be drawn from Navisworks? 

[hmunsell · Accepted solution]

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@liam_forry wrote:

 My question is does Navisworks have data within it that logs when BIM coordinators /engineers are working within the models and what areas of the model were being worked on? 

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Revit will not track "User" information. But, depending on how the Navisworks models are made, if you have good archives, you should be able to see a history of issues in the Clash Detective (New vs Active vs Approved, etc... ).

You may not be able to see individuals, but you can track the parties the models came from, and the issues associated with those issuances. 

Using the Appearance Profiler, you can color code the linked models to better see what's happening. The appearance profiler can also be configured to show all sorts of other information too like Phasing, Systems, Materials, etc....  

[liam_forry]

Really good and informative answer again Howard. 

Many thanks,

Liam