shelidonJune 29, 2018Leave a Comment

Post originally authored for the blog of Strategie Digitali, on June 29th 2018.

As we progress from lonely BIM to a more mature version, model and code checking is becoming more and more of an issue in the industry. Until few years ago, the only solution to perform this kind of activity was a beautiful but rather expensive software with a name that sounds a little like a little bird but starts with S. We love that software. Don’t get us wrong. Still, it’s good to have different options and nowadays you can even rig your own bike with Dynamo.

One solution we recently tried and would like to talk about is Retriever.

Being dog lovers, we can’t help but appreciating the logo. Anyway, if you go on their website you can ask to join the early access program. Even if you’re a cat lover. I think.

When you do, one of the amazing guys over there will share with you a Google Drive folder with a bunch of stuff and a his Google Calendar to schedule a follow-up meeting. We’re in the new millennium, guys. This is how’s being done.

The Retriever is a plug-in for Revit 2018 and, although Windows will try to make you not install it, it positions itself as a separate “Join” tab in Revit.

. .
Just click on “More Info”: nobody asked you to protect my pc, Windows.

When you launch Revit, it will whine that it has unauthorized content, but just hit load. Another thing you need to do is signing up with an account, if you haven’t already. It’s simple. You just need to remember your own name. You can make it.

And now you know my personal e-mail too

All done? Ok, let’s rock it.

1. What’s a model checker (and what do we mean by “rules”)

There’s no such thing as a “good” or a “bad” model. Well, ok, maybe there are models that are objectively bad, but usually the point is if a model is compliant to a set of standards and follows agreed best practice. A bad model for me would be a model using groups for residential units. Someone else might disagree. What to do, then? As usual, you need to set up a set of objective and measurable rules.

Model Checking is not an expression born in BIM: it’s a concept of Computer Science and it’s performed throughout all industries. You have two levels of checking and validation: one refers to the simple checking of the model with information modelling specifications. In other words, it’s checking if a parameter is there and has a value in it. The other level refers to checking the project, through the model, against rules and regulations. The BIM Dictionary considers it a model use. In other words, it’s checking if the value of such parameter is “right”. You can’t have the second without the first.

Rules are what we tell the computer to check and you might have different sets of them. Does a parameter exist? Does the parameter have a value in it? Two very different rules already.

2. Setting up Rules in Retriever

When you start with a fresh canvas you’ll find your Retriever wondering what you want to retrieve.

What it wants here is for you to create a physical folder on your computer. Just do it. We’ll see in a minute what goes inside there.

As soon as you’re done, you can click on it and it offers you the different kind of rules I was mentioning before.

You have to love the “Elevations or Plans with excessive drafting elements”, so let’s try that one. The neat little thing will ask you for which kind of views you want to check and a treshold for how many lines and hatches you think it’s reasonable to have in a view.

It’s completely Open Source, so if you hit “Show Source” it will show you exactly what it’s doing.

By hitting “Run”, it take its time to check the model and gives you back the results.

For instance, if I pick to check how many roofs I have on a level called “Roof Level”, this is what I get.

I can keep on going and create a set of rules to check roofs for each level. It will look like this:

3. Categories of Rules

Rules in the retriever are grouped in 7 thematic categories:

• Start from Template, including things like naming convention for elements, views and sheets, your basic clash detection, worksets compliance, elevations or plans with excessive use of drafting and hidden elements, untagged categories.
• Code Compliance, including checks like ramps that are too steep, daylighting, door fire-ratings and so on.
• Constructability, with an advanced set of rules for clash detection and some MEP checkes like unconnected pipes.
• Documentation, with rules concerning dimension rounding, phase filters, texts not in English (I love this one), non imperial units (I love this one a little less) and lots of other little gems.
• Model Health, with rules for file sizes, in-place and non-used families, furniture outside of groups (guys, guys, they’re supposed to be that way!), upper or title cases for naming, volumes and warnings.
• Selection Inspector, with the ability to select elements by category, by class, by group and by host (trust me, you’ll love this one).
• Updating Model, providing specific workflows such as to inspect Manufacturer and Model for curtain walls, update fire doors referring to a single room, update by view your view templates.

And if you’re out of ideas, you can check out the rules made and shared by the Community on GitHub (here).

4. Use in combination with other tools

As it always happen in our job nowadays, efficiency is found when you can make different tools work together for your own workflows and purposes. This tool is so flexible and powerful that you might as well find yourself in need of it even if your regular tools are elsewhere.

The selection inspector for instance is very useful if, for your own coding, you need to know how Revit is calling a specific element.

Oh, who knew Revit was calling it this way…

The tools about documentation are wonderful in the early stages of an implementation, if you need to know if someone on your team is cheating or drafting like a cadder. You can also check for other messed up things, like Overridden dimensions and such.

If you need to make analytics of your data, the best way you have right now is hitting the three dots at the right of the “re-run” bar and either save it to csv or copy them to clipboard. I suggest you save them to csv.

If you manage to save them with a naming convention that makes sense, you can automate your model manager dashboard. And your BIM Coordinator, trust me, will be happy.