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Production tips

chm@

What are your best tips to speed up production? I am an intern at a large firm with Revit, delivering packages.

 
Nov 30, 18 3:24 pm
SneakyPete

Leverage schedules. They're not just for putting on sheets.

Nov 30, 18 4:05 pm  · 
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archanonymous

Learn Dynamo and actually use it. 

Good project planning by your PA is the best way to speed up production. In lieu of that, try to communicate well with teammates and coordinate who is doing what. 

Nov 30, 18 4:50 pm  · 
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chm@

Can you elaborate on the good project planning reference? I was recently involved in a small project where coordination was slow and poorly enforced. Drawings had to be amended several times. It felt like the consultants didn't care about producing good work and that looked bad on our end as it was such an arduous process to get the drawings right. I found the more people involved in the process the worst it gets.

Nov 30, 18 5:48 pm  · 
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archanonymous

It is difficult and takes experience and time to do correctly. I think you said you were an intern. That means this stuff is absolutely not your job, you need to see a few good examples and do it a few times before you try to take it on
. Best thing you can do is find another firm to work at that does it better, or another team at your current firm with a competent project architect to lead it.

Nov 30, 18 6:10 pm  · 
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chm@

Can you give some specific criteria for good project planning? Also, how can I speed up production on my end? My Revit skills are ok, I use shortcuts and apps. A lot of what I do atm involves replicating drawings from past projects. I have identified it takes longer than I expect to set up the required drawings and get them right. I get stuck with something, fixing a smaller thing leads to fixing other bigger problems, coordination with the team takes time. Sometimes even if I plan the workload, I struggle to finish on time.

Nov 30, 18 8:09 pm  · 
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axonapoplectic

I’ve been using revit for many years. Sometimes small things can turn into bigger issues and it can bog down production. Its a real problem with the software. Don’t beat yourself up over it. My other tip is sometimes revit isn’t the fastest/best tool to get something done.

Nov 30, 18 9:10 pm  · 
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chigurh

agree - pick the best tool (software) for the task...even a pencil if that allows you to work through a problem in 15 mins that would otherwise take a day in revit to execute...

Dec 1, 18 1:18 am  · 
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archeyarch

the problem is cheap shit.  You are using an amazing program to crank out shit.  Imagine if you had a great mind orchestrating the building, revit and you would be in heaven.

Nov 30, 18 11:46 pm  · 
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chm@

The projects I work on atm are repeat, low specification jobs. It's a part of our business and the principal suggested I will be in this team for a while to learn the ropes and see how I get on. I personally think I am not a good fit in this team because I care too much about quality.

Dec 2, 18 5:42 pm  · 
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chigurh

After I have a defined task with a clear end goal I usually take some time to think about the best approach/method before jumping in...it might seem like wasted time, but it allows me to think globally and loosely about the best way to complete the task.  I think it saves me from redundant work or backtracking because I have already worked through it to some extent before starting and have given myself time to consider coordination items that might be overlooked otherwise.  

Don't waste time on the things that don't matter for the task at hand...you can drive yourself crazy trying to make something perfect that will never be.

There also has to be acceptance of the fact that design is a fluid and ever changing process.  The more one draws/designs and learns about details and specifics of a project the more things change and respond to better the design...  If you are doing this for somebody else it is confusing/annoying and difficult to understand why it wasn't right the first time....but the reality is that never happens.  We get better, but never perfect without an iterative process.      

Dec 1, 18 1:14 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

This is great advice.

Dec 1, 18 10:23 am  · 
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chm@

Thanks for the advice. One thing that I notice is sometimes I do more than I have to, in my effort to please my boss. That's the mentality I had at school but I found it's not always well received at work. The other thing I have noticed is that if you generally pull a lot of work, people notice that and they expect more out of you and faster. Managing expectations is important

Dec 2, 18 5:49 pm  · 
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archanonymous

Scotty (character on original Star Trek) is the fuckin master of managing expectations, and taught me everything I know about telling people how long something is going to take.

Dec 3, 18 10:37 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

"I can't change the laws of physics. I've got to have 30 minutes!"

Dec 3, 18 11:02 am  · 
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IF you are doing very similar work for each project invest some time in developing a template for those projects. 

Dec 3, 18 10:27 am  · 
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