B4 - Automation of Clash Detection Report Generation Using Dynamo

Project Description: “Design Project - Write a code in Dynamo that generates detailed clash detection reports; synthesizing data between Revit and Navisworks and exporting a formatted document with meaningful information regarding model clashes.”

Some of the inspiration from this project came from the desire to learn more about automating certain tasks that would make my job easier. This spring I will be going on my third and final co-op as a BIM/VDC Co-op at CRB in Plymouth Meeting. I will be developing project documents, inspecting designs to be within industry standards and regulations, and coordinating interdisciplinary problem-solving during project development. I would love to be able to walk onto the job in April and be able to offer suggestions on automating certain practices directly related to my job. Also, as we have seen in multiple lectures now, the AEC industry is in the middle of an innovation hotspot and the use of technology and automation on the job increases every year. My main goal for the project is to explore the Dynamo interface and familiarize myself with its capabilities.

My project would automate one of the more common responsibilities of a BIM coordinator: clash detection in BIM models between elements and trades. While this is only the tip of the iceberg of what construction technology is capable of, it is one of the most used functions of integrating BIM into projects. Clash detection identifies problems early in the design phase, where its financial, schedule, and quality impacts can be minimized; however, clash detection is tedious and often has the BIM coordinator adapting model files back and forth between several software and manually running analysis programs. This is incredibly inefficient and could benefit greatly from automating the task using Dynamo.

I imagine the most difficult parts of this process will be learning how to accurately import and export data using Dynamo and developing a workflow for moving a Revit model from the Revit platform to the Navisworks platform efficiently and accurately. I am excited to, at the very least, familiarize myself more deeply with Dynamo, Revit, and Navisworks before starting my co-op this spring. Hopefully I can be successful in developing this workflow and potentially benefit future-Spencer on co-op.

Comments:

Andy,
I am very excited to see what you and Mike come up with for this project. I have used BIM as a general contractor, owner's rep, and designer and have seen first hand which features are most useful to which users. I am interested to see the research that the two of you come up with and see if it matches my personal experience.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/02/bp-4-final-project.html

Abigail, Ina, and Varsha,
One thing to keep in mind with your project is the capacity of a robot's ability to think for itself (although with AI progressing like it has, this may no longer be an issue). A robot is capable of performing very complex tasks with the proper programming, but if the user tells the robot to do something incorrectly, the robot will perform those incorrect directions to the best of its ability. Technology in our industry is only as good as the training the end-users have received to capitalize on it.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/02/b4.html

Andre,
Code compliance and regulations are some of the most frustrating components of the design process. I am interested that you've chosen to focus on life safety and general safety aspects of a design. It is a trade in construction that can pass or fail a project during the permit acquiring phase. With very clear guidelines and checklists for this aspect of design, it makes sense to code a program to check for those regulations rather than going through them by hand. I am excited to see the end results of this attempt to automate a critical part of project design.
https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/02/code-compliant-automation-through-dynamo.html