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How much screen does one person need?

One thing I see a lot in my travels is people who work with electronic drawings and models working on screens that are too small. That makes work harder than it should be.

It's like if you showed up for your first job at an architecture or construction office, and they gave you a coffee table to lay out your paper drawings on. The big sheets would be falling off onto the floor, getting lost, and you'd be wondering why you were having such a hard time reading them, making so many mistakes, etc. Then one day you see a drafting table and your world changes!

Same goes for electronic drawings and models. You need a big workspace - and that means a big screen. Too many people use office-work-oriented screens (like 17" LCDs) when bigger screens are cheap and easy to get, and make construction work that much easier.

That's why I created the Pratt Screen Productivity Index (PSPI). Check it out below. You can figure out your PSPI by adding the diagonal size of every screen on your desk, and then adding 10 points for each screen that is over 22" (the "large-screen bonus" that takes into account the needs of construction/design folks.)

You want your PSPI to be between 40 and 80. Over 80 is fine, but might be overkill. If yours is less than 40, you need to stand up right now, march into your boss' office, and show her this blog posting. She needs to get you another screen, or a bigger screen.

(On a side note, it's trivial to set up multiple monitors these days - so that's recommended also, especially if you can't get a 30" LCD, which admittedly is pretty darn big. The recommended PSPI minimum of 40 pretty much means you'll be on multiple monitors, and that's the point.)

[These are screenshots of a slideshow presentation I gave at Greenbuild 2008.]

All in a Day's Work for the Buzzsaw Activity Log

I just got this great little tidbit from KBR's Aakanksha Luthra - what a great story! I've personally been in meetings just like this, when it was discovered that somebody was doing a little jiggery-pokery with the facts...it's great to have Inspector Buzzsaw working on the case with you! That Activity Log sees all!

 

Autodesk Buzzsaw's "activity log" feature saves my day!

 

One of the biggest benefits of Autodesk Buzzsaw (over FTPs) that I've come across working as a BIM coordinator for a general contractor is the ability to view all actions under the "Activity Log". These logs are available at various macro and micro levels - site, project, user and file. It was one of my early morning meetings where we had to review the clashes for overhead MEP coordination for a specific floor in our project. The subcontractor's draftsman was supposed to have uploaded his NWC file to Buzzsaw by noon the day before, but he called it a day without uploading his submittal. When we met in the morning for the meeting, he maintained that he had uploaded the file on time. All I had to do is to pull up the Buzzsaw Activity Log for that project, filter for his member ID, and everyone could see that he had uploaded the file just 2 minutes before the meeting! (Not many users in our team know that this detailed list can also be filtered on the basis of users, actions and item types, thus, working like a search.) Whoops!

Way to go, Aakanksha! Way to use that Activity Log to full advantage!

The DPR Revit Model Slicer is now free to download

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update here to let you know that the good folks at DPR Construction have decided to release their Revit Model Slicer add-in for free, so go over there and read about it and download it and use it to make your buildings better, since that's why we're all here....and they're kind enough to help us out, so let's thank them and be kind enough to use their software!

Plus I'm sure they'd love your feedback on the thing. There's a mail link on the download page. Enjoy!

 

Fix for QTO 3D issue

Mark Hadwen on the QTO development team, writes:

I figured out what is causing the 3D graphics issue with QTO 2010.   As previously known, some graphics cards do not work in 3D mode in QTO with hardware acceleration turned on.

It seems that QTO and Design Review share the same registry switch for the model driver selection.   So when you select “Direct3D” as your model driver for Design Review it turns it on for QTO which causes the problem.   If “Direct3D” is selected as the View Settings for the model driver in Design Review, Deselecting “Enable Hardware Acceleration” in QTO does not turn hardware acceleration off.

To fix this, open the options dialog for Design Review, in the Model tab, in the View Settings section set the Driver to “OpenGL” or “Software (OpenGL)”.

 

The next time you open a 3D Dwf in Design review and “Direct3D”  is not being used a message appears:

“Direct X Driver Found, Autodesk Design Review has detected the presence of the DirectX graphic drivers on this system.  Would you like to switch to DirectX to take advantage of better 3D model performance?”

Select “Do not show this message again” and select the cancel button.

Thanks for the tip, Mark!

Um...

Video: How to use Revit Custom Parameters in QTO

Watch full screen for best results!

BIM Networking event at Autodesk headquarters, Waltham, MA 7/23/09

Meet, greet, and learn.

Join Autodesk, the Boston Society of Architects, and Microdesk for a networking event at the Autodesk Gallery Boston on Trapelo Road.

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Time: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
Location: 1560 Trapelo Rd, Waltham

In partnership with the Boston Society of Architects and Microdesk, Autodesk is hosting a networking event for job-seeking architects, engineers, and designers in the Boston Area. Meet potential employers in your field, network with peers and learn more about how you can benefit from the Autodesk Assistance Program.

Please RSVP to [email protected] by Friday, July 17, 2009.

Registration is limited.

What a Slice of BIM looks like

Making DWF files for QTO from Revit and ACA

Here's how you make DWFs for use in Autodesk QTO (and other tools) that require smart (i.e., property-containing) DWF files from AutoCAD Architecture and Revit Architecture. Enjoy!

How to publish DWF files from AutoCAD Architecture and Revit Architecture from Jason Pratt on Vimeo.

Exterior Siding Takeoffs in QTO

Hi guys,

I continue to post videos at vimeo.com because of the high-def capability and no ten-minute limit and so forth.

Here's one from a little while back on how to take off exterior siding in QTO. Enjoy! (remember: watch it full screen for best results!)

QTO - Exterior Siding Takeoffs from Jason Pratt on Vimeo.

BIM Appears in a Shopping Mall

You might say BIM has arrived when you see it in your local shopping mall. Autodesker Ilya Bass writes:

"BIM is seeping into the consumer world.  See the attached picture - Tocci Construction is remodeling Crate & Barrel at the Natick Mall, and is promoting their use of technology (Revit screen shots I believe)."