Larger commercial work... how are you all doing it?

[PMMully]

I have a big commercial job potential, i am wary due to all the details in the various requirements for MEP. Has anyone been doing this in CA? What I am seeing in the field is each MEP is engineered, and supplied separately (assuming in Autocad). Looking for any advice.

[mtldesigns]

Hey PM

 

I've only had one commercial project come up like this, that would need input from other MEP designs.. but that church addition got put on hold when their preacher resigned to move back to TN.  My plan was exactly like you mentioned though, you do your part as if your designing a home (except for any structural, electrical, hvac).  Keeping in mind locations that would be needed for these things.  Once done, pdf's and CAD files were going to be sent to the MEP teams, and the structural engineer, and they would draw their items up on their own borders.  I was going to ask for their CAD files or STEP (if done in 3D) to load into my model, to show a more accurate model, but it never got that far.  Because this required a lot of coordination, I had one POC (acting as a project manager).  Don't know if this helps, but that's my only action with the bigger commercial projects.

 

Where in FL are you?  Always looking for a Chiefer close by..

[PMMully]

Never a silver bullet, and the configuration mgmt on these big projects can be a full time job. No surprises, thanks for the input.

 

Here in Merritt Island, would love the chance to connect. East of Orlando on the coast.

[lbuttery]

Chief has limited BIM 

 

Chief can't do bi-directional BIM sharing

 

You probably need industry capable BIM software

 

Chief is capable of doing "small" commercial projects where BIM is not a factor

 

Lew

[HetrickDesign]

If your situation allows for it, you can have the base building as one Chief file, then reference in the other trades as overlays. I assume this would help keep the file size smaller, but I've never done this on a large commercial project. You'd just have to do clash detections and ensure the files are in sync. Also, limit your usage of things like furniture and use basic casing/trims.

 

Revit is the industry standard for large commercial projects. Although, I could never figure out why so many people think Revit is good for residential lol

[PMMully]

In my area I am only seeing Revit in large public sector government stuff, used to document existing buildings, etc., taking advantage of all the collaboration and project management stuff. The feds are the only ones that will pay for that type of detail and precision around configuration management. In the commercial private sector world (i.e. offices, retail space, etc.), I mainly see Autocad. In the small public sector stuff, I see some revit here and there, but mostly autocad.

 

If I pursue thing.. and if I get the job, I will stick to the basics. Use CA for all the concepts, but when it get locked down, each MEP will get to do their own thing and supply a sealed PDF. Thanks for the inputs all.

[joey_martin]

I did a church project (12,000 sqft) in Chief, no issues. Sent PDF's to engineer(s) and others and they sent back red-lines for me to add to the plan set. No issues with performance and I think I was using X1 back then. In the newer versions I have completed a few restaurant build-outs in strip malls, and a duplex office building (6000 sqft), also no issues.