How to Optimize Your Project Management Success in 5 Steps

Whether you’re a project manager, contractor or designer, you could benefit greatly by improving your asset tracking or progress monitoring during project management. Doing so could take your project success to the next level, with streamlined workflows, improved stakeholder communication and fewer errors and delays.

In the recent webinar on installation progress and asset management, “Tracking Your Project from Start to Finish,” Mark Petrucci provided tips on how to optimize your project management with asset and progress tracking in Autodesk Build.

Assets

The Assets tool tracks and manages the lifecycle of all project assets and equipment that are installed into a building. From design and commission to handover, you can track an asset from specification to acceptance, including using customized status sets. With the Asset tool, you can maintain an inventory, conduct inspections, document defects, and generate issues related to assets.

Progress Tracking

The Progress Tracking tool allows you to monitor how the installation activities are progressing on the project. Your team can see progress on sheets and understand when activities are falling behind.

Both Progress Tracking and Assets were formerly different modules in Build; now they are combined. As Mark explained, “You can have assets without progress tracking, but you can’t have progress tracking without assets.”

Following is how to optimize your project management success in 5 steps using an Assets and Progress Tracking workflow:

Step 1.     Determine When to Track 2D or 3D Assets – The module handles assets the same way, whether you are tracking assets on a 2D drawing – from a PDF file or a Revit sheet – or in a 3D model.

When using 2D sheets, you can create assets on-the-fly using 2D markups like lines, rectangles and circles. Typically the tool is used to track installation of sections of ducts, pipes, walls and components like equipment, fixtures, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or structural components.

3D assets are imported from a Revit model. This is useful for tracking Revit components, such as System Families and Component Families. Revit System Families are components such as walls, floors, ducts, and pipes; typically these are objects built at the jobsite. Component families are typically objects delivered to a jobsite, such as doors, windows, MEP equipment, structural beams and columns.

Step 2.     Create Categories – Separate Category names are recommended for 2D and 3D Assets.

For 2D assets, Mark recommended creating Category names, then using subcategory names to track the actual assets. Consider descriptive subcategory names like “Interior 3-5/8” Mtl Stud Wall”, “Hot Water Pipe” and “Supply Duct”. This is helpful when creating assets on-the-fly. Associate any Custom Fields to your Asset Categories.

For 3D Assets, create the asset categories before mapping your Revit model. Categories cannot be created on-the-fly. Again, remember to associate any Custom Fields to Asset Categories. Check out the webinar at 13:00 for Mark’s examples of 2D Asset subcategory names. For the 3D assets, the name is created automatically to match the Revit model family name.

Step 3.     Create Custom Fields (optional) – For 2D assets, consider Custom Fields for tracking unique or specific data linked to the asset. For 3D Assets, select objects in the LMV (large model viewer) and review the asset’s Properties; you may want to link some of these properties to the asset’s Custom Fields. Remember to link Custom Fields to the specific Asset Categories prior to creating new Assets to make it easier to track data.

Step 4.     Create Status Sets – Create Status Sets in the specific order set by your company; there is currently not a way to alphabetize them after they are created. Assign your Status Sets to Asset Categories. Name your Status Sets to align with Asset Categories.

For 2D assets, consider leaving the first status empty or naming it “not installed” and assign an appropriate color (perhaps red or gray). You will see these colors on the 2D drawing. Mark prefers Red because it is easily seen. However, if you prefer for the first status to be less obvious, then gray can be used.

For 3D assets, consider leaving the first status empty or naming it “not installed” and assign an appropriate color followed by a typical color pattern. Mark prefers gray->red->yellow->green. While the colors will appear in the Asset logs, you will not see the colors on the 3D model.

Step 5.     Track Progress and/or Assets

Mark explained that there are no default settings for Assets. Just as you have to set up different RFIs and Submittals settings and workflows for GCs, designers or subcontractors, the same situation applies with Assets. He suggested doing some advance planning, particularly for categories, subcategories and status sets, so you get started correctly in using these workflow-improving modules.

Mark gives a helpful demo of using the Assets and Progress Tracking tools beginning at 18:00 in the webinar. He begins with tips for defining import rules and also covers mapping Revit properties to asset properties.

Learn more about Autodesk Build and Autodesk Construction Cloud in the free eBook: The Importance of a Common Data Environment.