Master Plumbing Fixture Schedule

[amontemayorAZZG5]

Good Evening,

My team and I are looking into editing our project template to include information of every plumbing fixture we use to auto-populate our schedule without needing to type every time we submit. The problem is our template was already complete with some families and we don't want to have to dedicate to much time to go through it and delete unnecessary information.  Anyone have a better way to solve this?

[iainsavage]

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@amontemayorAZZG5 wrote:

Good Evening,

auto-populate our schedule without needing to type every time we submit

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What are you typing?

If you have properly populated the parameter values in each family and then include the correct fields in the schedule the information in the schedule will auto-populate.

Require more information on what you are doing to understand why you are having to type so much "every time".

[RSomppi]

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@amontemayorAZZG5 wrote:

we don't want to have to dedicate to much time to go through it and delete unnecessary information.  Anyone have a better way to solve this?

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Better than what? You don't say how you are doing it or anything about the parameters themselves. 

Have you looked into any add-ins that help with managing parameters? These can be quite handy especially if you use families from external resources.

[amontemayorAZZG5]

The parameters are there but our fixture's parameter values are not adjusted. For example, if I add in a water closet, it will show up with the correct type and pipe size, but the notes and model are incorrect.  These factors can vary in every project so we have a list of the details that go into every family. For example I set up something like WC1(American Standard Toilet) and WC2(Kohler) where each plumbing fixture will be different. I can now choose the one I need for the project and revit can just make my schedule. The problem is that the families I have now are all incorrect so I have to fix them in the template and it would take me a long time to finish cleaning that up. That is why I am aiming to hear suggestions on a better way to create a Master Plumbing Fixture schedule.

[amontemayorAZZG5]

The simple answer to my question would be to go to our project template to edit every family and set up the information that will go in each family correctly.  But this would mean I'd have to dedicate a lot of time to cleaning the template and deleting a lot of things. Is there a better way to create a Master Plumbing fixture schedule? I couldn't think of anything else, that is why I am looking for other opinions.

[RSomppi · Accepted solution]

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@RSomppi wrote:
Have you looked into any add-ins that help with managing parameters? These can be quite handy especially if you use families from external resources.

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[amontemayorAZZG5]

I have not. Is there a specific one you would recommend?

[ducmap2212]

Hi,

Here's a basic workflow you can follow:

1. Create a Standard PDF Guide:

   • Develop a comprehensive PDF guide outlining the standards for your team, covering topics like naming conventions, parameter usage, and best practices for Revit modeling.

2. Automate Parameter Removal:

   • Using a Revit add-in to automate the process of removing unnecessary parameters from families.

3. Test New Parameters:

   • Implement the new parameters from your standard guide in your Revit models.
   • Thoroughly test the functionality of these parameters to ensure they work as expected and meet your team's needs.

By following these steps, you can establish a solid foundation for your team's Revit workflow, improve efficiency, and maintain consistency in your projects.

[ducmap2212]

Hi,

Here's a basic workflow you can follow:

1. Create a Standard PDF Guide:

   • Develop a comprehensive PDF guide outlining the standards for your team, covering topics like naming conventions, parameter usage, and best practices for Revit modeling.

2. Automate Parameter Removal:

   • Using a Revit add-in to automate the process of removing unnecessary parameters from families.

3. Test New Parameters:

   • Implement the new parameters from your standard guide in your Revit models.
   • Thoroughly test the functionality of these parameters to ensure they work as expected and meet your team's needs.

By following these steps, you can establish a solid foundation for your team's Revit workflow, improve efficiency, and maintain consistency in your projects.

[iainsavage]

I think one possible workflow for you would be to have your master schedule in your template with either typical (most used) values, or blank entries.

Have another file, text or spreadsheet or database or whatever you prefer, which has your library of pre-typed values.

Then for each Revit project file export the schedule to a spreadsheet format, copy & paste values from the library file into the various fields in your spreadsheet, then re-import the spreadsheet into your project.

There are (free) utilities which can help with this - the one that I have used before is Sheetlink by DiRoots.

There may be more sophisticated utilities available, probably for a fee though - I think Ideate might have something but I've never used it.

[RSomppi]

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@amontemayorAZZG5 wrote:

I have not. Is there a specific one you would recommend?

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Not really. It's been years since I used one. There are probably a number of them that will get the job done. I'd look for one that has other features that you might find useful.

[robert2JCCH · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you have a company standard of fixture specifications, but you're lacking the data entry in Revit that reflects those specifications?

The way I'm doing ours in-house is to have model/trim/support information in an excel database, editing the data there, and then using a Dynamo script to push the curated information into the corresponding template fixture families (which only contain basic information like rough-in sizes and fixture units). The same method works through third-party add-ins.

If your company has a limited specification directory, it might just be easier to build it once in Revit and use 'or equal' language as application for the project requirements.