Although it’s very important to have BEP (BIM Execution Plan) before starting any modeling in Revit, the very common case is that BEP is not a workable document but more like a formal document. Here are some tips that can help you to structure a BEP that can be really practical and executable.
At the very beginning of a BEP you have to define what is the “end”, then go through BIM modeling requirements, linking structure, coordination procedures, and other. The structure of a workable BEP will look similar to this:
- Project goals. Together with project manager make it clear what is the end of the project. Then “translate” it to the BIM model – decide how you will develop the Revit models. Also here you will define BIM uses – for which purposes you will use Revit models i.e. why you create Revit models. Some of the BIM uses include design authoring, design reviews, drawing production, existing conditions modeling, 3D visualization, 3D coordination, quantity take-off, etc. You may put here information about procurement route (IPD, DBB or DB) and BIM Level (1 or 2).
- Project participants. Make the list of all project participants from every discipline and their roles. The list also includes Revit modelers and their contact emails.
- Project phases. Together with project manager determine the project phases. “Translate” it to Revit models: define main tasks and results for every stage.
- BIM modeling requirements. Write down the location of the most important files related to Revit model, including locations of: Revit project template file; loadable families; Revit project file with system families; Revit project file for sharing coordinates, grids and levels across your models; shared parameters file; keynote file; library of details, etc. Then specify the modeling rules for the main Revit categories including Walls, Floors, Ceilings, Doors, Windows, Stairs, etc. Define any general modeling rules for the specific project, rules for worksets, and change management. Also here you will specify modeling rules for models of other disciplines – Structure and MEP models – which will facilitate the 3D coordination throughout the project. This section of the BEP is the most important for the BIM modelers on a workshared Revit project.
- Linking structure. Specify all the Revit models of the project and their linking structure. It is a good practice to put every linked model on its own workset. Then you can open model as Editable and open only necessary worksets without reloading all of the links (which can take a lot of time).
- LOD (Level of Development) table. The LOD/LOI table contains guidelines for the development of BIM models by stages (see “Project phases” above). The LOD table is a quick way to agree with collaborators what the expectations are for BIM on a project. It helps you to avoid unnecessary modeling, and don’t miss the necessary modeling. LOD refers to the precision of the element geometry, the precision of the element position, and the level of information contained in the element. In general, you will probably develop design models up to LOD 350, construction models up to LOD 450, and the operation models to LOD 500. LOD scale can be a matter of convention or you can use references such as BIMForum LOD Specification.
- Naming conventions. It is important to specify naming conventions in order to avoid mess in your Revit models and keep them well organized. Although usually specified in the BIM Standard, it’s a good practice to repeat such things in your BEP for a specific project. It is about the naming of your models, views, sheets, legends, families, family types, levels, view templates, filters, parameters, schedules, etc. The naming must be logical so that anyone can know immediately what it is about. It is a bad idea to give generic names or leave Revit to automatically give name (usually with the addition of an incremental serial number at the end of the name). Also you need to specify Browser Organization in Project Browser (for views, sheets, and schedules), if it is not already specified in your Revit project template.
- Coordination. Together with design authoring, 3D coordination is usually the most important BIM use. You will specify here what is CDE (Common Data Environment) for the project, clash detection procedures, rules for coordination plans, etc.
- Documentation and add-ins. Here you can specify where sheets are created – in the same Revit models where you create geometry or in separated models. Also you will specify print settings and export setups, and a Revit add-in for printing and exporting of sheets and views. You can make a list of Revit add-ins and Dynamo scripts that can be used for automation and additional functionality. For example, you can use add-ins and scripts to edit Revit data in Excel (and turn it back to Revit), automate copying of views and sheets, bulk renaming, automate numbering, joining, advanced purge, and many other things.
- Checklists. Checklists are about Revit models, not about project. Checklists serve to coordinate teams throughout the project and to achieve consistency. Checklists focus teams on the modeling needed to achieve the goal, and help determine what is important and what is not important when modeling. Checklists are connected with “BIM modeling requirements” section. Checklists enable good 3D coordination, and they are essential in the Design Development (DD) phase. It is ideal to use special software (e.g. Solibri, or Revit plug-in) to control the model. You can group tasks in the checklist by disciplines.
- BEP revisions. Every change in the BEP should be documented, starting from the first release of BEP at the beginning of the project.
