Invicara Releases BIM Assure 1.2: Intelligent Rules for the BIM Model

Marty Chobot, vice president of Marketing for Invicara spoke with AECCafe Voice about the latest BIM Assure 1.2 release.

Configurable report templates let users export model data to Excel for review or further analysis. Data slices and related element data reports help users get the right data for the right elements in a very familiar and easy-to-use format.

From our previous article Focus on the “I” in BIM with Invicara’s BIM Assure on BIM Assure, here is a little background on the product: BIM Assure brings to the table a focus on the information in the model.  It’s really difficult to find missing or incorrect information using traditional tools.  BIM Assure has intelligent rules that make it very easy to find issues.   So – instead of wading through thousands of points of information, BIM Assure takes you right to the problems. In addition, it also brings “BIM to the BIM-less”.  You don’t need to have to be a BIM guru to be able to view the model, search the model, and view the information about the building elements.  Also, models have massive amounts of data.

AECCafe Voice: Many press materials suggest this about their products – what makes BIM Assure stand out? “…new features focused on making BIM data validation and reporting easier and faster.  The latest tools help users edit data quickly and share information with people that don’t have access to BIM.”

The key features that make BIM Assure stand out include rules-based data checking, data slices, and reports.  All of these allow our clients to focus on the data that matters to them.

BIM Assure’s rules highlight any missing or incorrect information in the model. That means the user can focus on just fixing the issues not manually searching massive spreadsheets or navigating through the model to find issues.

Rules: Users can set up rules that check the model to make sure the data meets their expectations.  The rules highlight any missing or incorrect information.  That means the user can focus on just fixing the issues not wading through massive spreadsheets or navigating through the model to find issues.

Data Slices: Data slices are a new feature in BIM Assure that our users are very excited about.  With a data slice, you can tell BIM Assure what elements are important to you and then focus the BIM Assure model viewer on those elements. This is really valuable for people that aren’t BIM users. This takes away a lot of “noise” in the model.  Building models contain huge amounts of elements and information that can be easily overwhelming if you’re not a BIM pro. And most users only need a portion of the model. Slices make models manageable by focusing the experience on the parts that matter to the user.

Data slices let users focus the BIM Assure model viewer and data reports on the model elements that are important to their workflow.

Reports: Also, we have configurable report templates that can then use a data slice to report model data to Excel for review or further analysis.  Excel is everywhere and familiar to just about everyone.  So, you can create a slice and a related element data report to easily get the right data about the right elements in a very familiar and easy-to-use format.

AECCafe Voice: For those who don’t have access to BIM, can they use BIM Assure to markup and comment and provide updates or are they in view only mode?

A BIM Assure user can be given either editing or viewing permissions for a project.  However, BIM Assure doesn’t support model markups and commenting in the traditional sense. We have designed several methods to improve communication between the person reviewing the model and the modeler.  First of all, any issues found by rules are visible in the BIM Assure plugin inside of Revit – essentially giving the Revit user a “punch list” of issues to address.  Also, for issues that are found by manually reviewing the model and data in BIM Assure, clients use BIM Assure’s data editing and reporting capabilities to update the model element “Comments” property or customer properties to communicate issues to the Revit modeler.

AECCafe Voice: Who can sync updates back to Revit?

Only people that have the source Revit file and access to the BIM Assure project.  This is an important point – the owner of the Revit model retains full control over their data in Revit. Also, when that person downloads the changes, they have full visibility into what has changed in BIM Assure and can choose what data gets updated in the model.  So, for example, if a modeler has done significant work in the room elements, they can choose to not download updates for those elements from BIM Assure.

AECCafe Voice: Can BIM Assure be used with other BIM software other than Revit?

At the moment, BIM Assure only integrates with Revit.  However, other direct integrations and support for IFC files are currently in development and expected later in 2017.

AECCafe Voice: Does BIM Assure data reside somewhere separate from the BIM model?

Yes.  BIM Assure is a cloud-based product, so the data resides in BIM Assure and remains associated with the model elements.  This creates opportunities for new data management workflows.  For example, a modeler for an engineering firm can publish to BIM Assure and allow an engineer, who might not be a BIM power user, to edit the data for the mechanical system.  This is much more efficient than having the engineer make manual markups to plans that the modeler then has to re-enter.  As mentioned before, a Revit user with access to BIM Assure can update their model with the data in BIM Assure.

AECCafe Voice: Can you provide an example of a typical workflow from design through operations?

The attached infographic should give you a good idea of the ideal workflow based on everything we have learned from our clients.  It shows how designers, builders, and owners can work together throughout design and construction to streamline handover.  One thing to note is that this shows the “best practice” and our clients are still getting benefits from BIM Assure even if it is only utilized during a single phase of a project.  So, regardless of where an AEC firm or owners is in regards to their BIM maturity, BIM Assure can help them get better outcomes.

AECCafe Voice: What is the price point of BIM Assure? Is it on subscription?

Yes, as a cloud service, BIM Assure is on subscription pricing.  There are two ways clients can buy BIM Assure.  They can buy on a project basis, which gives them unlimited users, models, and analysis for specific projects.  Also, they can buy an enterprise license, which gives them unlimited use across their organization.  We work with our clients to tailor the pricing to their operations and needs.

Tags: AEC, architects, architecture, BIM, building, building design, building information modeling, CAD, Cloud, collaboration, design, engineering, infrastructure, Invicara

Categories: 3D, AEC, AECCafe, apps, architecture, BIM, building information modeling, buildingSMART, collaboration, construction, data archiving, engineering, file sharing, mobile, project management, site planning, sustainable design

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