Archibus Smart Client Extension for Revit

Adding Additional BIM Parameter Data to Archibus

Suppose you have information in a parameter in a Revit BIM model and want to see this data in Archibus. For instance, you may have Equipment Manufacturer, Model, Assembly Code, and Description information that you want to catalog for all Revit models across your portfolio, so you can use them for lifecycle management purposes, such as Asset Inventory and Maintenance.

For example, suppose you have the “Department” parameter filled in for all Room elements and you want to see this in the “Option 2” field for the Rooms table. You would perform the following steps to do so:

  1. Map the Parameter. Ask your BIM Manager to establish a mapping between the Revit “Department” parameter for Rooms and the “Option 2” field in the Archibus Rooms table. See Adding a New Revit Parameter Mapping. This task is a BIM Manager duty because it changes how all Revit models map to this Archibus project for all users.
  2. Catalog Assets. Catalog all rooms in your BIM model. Doing so will read all the Department parameter values to the Archibus Option 2 field. Doing so will also read any information you read in Archibus to your BIM model. For instance, if your site has established that Room Category and Room Type in Archibus should be mapped to Revit Room parameters, the Catalog command will also create the Room Category and Room Type parameters in Revit and then the command will read in the values for these parameters from Archibus.

    Archibus performs a similar synching of both model-driven and database-driven values with all linking commands – Number, Edit Data, Edit Data Multiple, and Catalog. The Archibus dynamic update feature also performs this synch whenever you make a change, such as changing the size of a room. In this way, the data in the model and in the database stays in synch.

  3. Review Data. Once cataloged, you can review the data in Archibus. To do so for this example, start the Archibus Smart Client and load the Space Planning & Management / Space Inventory & Performance / Room Inventory / Draw Rooms view. Use the View / Fields command to turn on the Option 2 field, which holds your data.
  4. Edit Data. You can also edit the data in Archibus. You can correct misspellings and inconsistencies; for instance, changing “accting”, “Accounting”, and “Acct” all to “ACCOUNTING”. You can also cut-and-paste between multiple rows for speedy entry, or restrict to a set of rows and then use the Replace Column command to update hundreds of entries at once. This is one of the major benefits of the Archibus Smart Client grid is that you can sieve and filter data quickly to find and resolve inconsistencies.
  5. Read Changes. If you have made changes in the Archibus database, you may wish to reimport the corrected values into your Revit model. To do so, invoke the Read Database Values command, which will read the updated “Option 2” values into the associated Room’s “Department” parameter.