To start a project with Vico Office, simply publish all the available models to the Vico Office application using the Vico Office Client. There’s no need to convert files or ftp them – the Publish to Vico button appears in the BIM-authoring applications from Autodesk Revit, Tekla Structures, and Graphisoft ArchiCAD.

Using special Importers, you can also import CAD-Duct files and IFC files.

Once inside the Vico Office environment, users can interrogate the models, see how they’re organized, combine them, and prepare them for whichever task we’d like to do next.

In this case, we’re going to run a clash detection and constructability analysis next, so let’s select which models we’d like to use.

You can see in the Manage Model workflow pane that we have several active models to work with. Now we can combine the models we’d like for the clash detection and constructability analysis. By using the filtering palette, we see that we have the substructure model from ArchiCAD, the structural model, and we can add the external and internal architectural models, as well as the site and mechanical model.

Model Manager, part of the Vico Office Client, provides functionality that allows project teams to monitor published model versions and activate newer model versions when this is desired. Older model versions are kept and can be re-activated if needed. Models can be published and activated from any of the supported modeling platforms (Revit 2009 and 2010, ArchiCAD 11, 12 and Constructor, Tekla Structures 15, and – new –AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP), or imported (with the new IFC file import functionality and CAD-Duct importer). Model Management allows for tracking the models and model versions that have been published, and for activation of these models when desired.

Using the orbit command, we can circle the model and explore it further by using the transparency mode and other settings to help us visualize the building much easier.

After defining the Clash Detection Settings, an automated detection can be run, using the defined selection sets in the active Detection Setting.

During the clash detection process, found clashes are added to the list of clashes in the Constructability Manager view. Each element that collides with another element is considered a clash.

It is here that the user can review and prioritize the clashes. Reviewing the clashes is made easy by a unique set of viewing tools. The user can turn the model translucent to quickly identify the clash, or strip away the model elements to hone in on the clash. And, of course, the use can automatically zoom to the clash location which has been highlighted in yellow.

By prioritizing the clashes, we mean: Ignore, Group multiple clashes into one Constructability Issue, or promote the clash to a Constructability Issue. When a clash is classified as “Constructability Issue,” it is moved from the “Clash” list to the “Constructability Issues” list – it is this list that can then form the input for meetings. This is important because we do not want the team and/or the Subs sifting through hundreds of superfluous clashes. By identifying the real issues, we can streamline review meetings.

When processing constructability issues, users can save a viewpoint that presents the detected problem in the model. The saved view can then be used to add markup to allow for further explaining of the problem that was found. Viewpoints with markup can be associated with both Constructability Issues and RFI’s, and can be included in Constructability and RFI reports.

A “priority” can be assigned to clashes and a “severity” can be assigned to Constructability Issues, to provide a sort order for urgency. Filtering and Sorting provides an easy way to see the desired set of clashes or Constructability Issues.

The “assignment” property allows for assigning Constructability Issues and RFIs to team members and for managing responsibility and follow-up for found problems.

Creation of RFIs is an integrated part of the Constructability Manager process. When the (preprocessed) set of Constructability Issues is reviewed by the project team, items that require additional information in order to be resolved can be escalated to an RFI status. In this case, a copy of the Constructability Issue is placed on the RFI tab of the Constructability Manager view and becomes an RFI with a number and description. Required information for RFI submittal can be entered and RFI reports can be generated.

Constructability Issues and RFIs can be reported with the reporting engine. Attached images and viewpoints with markup can be included in the report.

With the Reporting feature in Vico Office Client, Clashes, Constructability Issues and RFIs can be printed and saved in various file formats, including Excel, PDF and Word.