Users automatically connect BIM and specifications through BSD LinkMan-E

ATLANTA, Sept. 24, 2013 — (PRNewswire) —  Building Systems Design, Inc. (BSD) today announced at the annual convention of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) the release of its latest innovation – intelligent Revit objects that are pre-linked to the appropriate specifications in SpecLink-E, BSD's automated specifications software. Simply by using these objects in a Revit project, users will automatically be connecting BIM and specifications through BSD LinkMan-E, an add-on to SpecLink-E that manages the linking process.

In its 2013 and 2014 releases of Revit, Autodesk introduced new capabilities that BSD has employed to achieve this automated linking. Revit materials are now capable of assuming significant new properties, which Autodesk calls "assets." Thermal properties, for example, can subsequently be used in computing heat gain and heat loss. Another new feature is the ability to create an independent list of materials that can be imported into a project and subsequently used in the same way the Revit materials are used.

BSD took advantage of both these new Revit features to create a list of 1,600 BSD materials that can be imported into any Revit project and applied to objects in the same way Revit materials are used. The difference is that the BSD materials have all been pre-linked to the appropriate specifications in BSD SpecLink-E through LinkMan-E.  Any office that has created a library of objects for frequent use can apply these BSD materials to those objects within Revit, thereby connecting the objects to the corresponding specifications in SpecLink-E – all without even opening LinkMan-E or SpecLink-E. The library of 1,600 materials can be downloaded at no charge from BSD's website.

The next step in this approach has now been implemented, with BSD's release of a catalog of non-proprietary Revit objects that already have the appropriate BSD materials applied. In addition to being pre-linked to SpecLink-E, these objects are organized into discrete Revit projects, so they can be sorted using Revit's scheduling capability. For example, the 200+ wall types can be sorted by hourly fire rating, STC rating, structural type, wall thickness, or finish materials to find the wall type that is appropriate for a particular situation. Then the wall can be simply copied to the clipboard and pasted into any other Revit project. Copying an object to modify it – and thereby automatically changing the name – will not disconnect the copied object from the specifications, as long as the applied materials remain intact.

The initial release of BSD's Revit objects includes over 400 wall, window, door, and floor-ceiling objects, and subsequent releases will add other objects such as plumbing fixtures and toilet accessories. According to Robert Dean, president of BSD, "These objects will be useful to any Revit user – not just those who already have SpecLink-E and LinkMan-E. We at BSD are very proud of this latest advance in interoperability and hope our customers enjoy the improved productivity that is possible with intelligent Revit objects."

About BSD:  Building Systems Design has offered innovative software tools for the architecture, architectural engineering, and construction markets since 1983. The company creates and supports advanced cost estimating, specification writing, and interoperability products that are used for over thirty thousand commercial, institutional, and industrial projects annually. BSD was acquired by CSI in 2010. www.bsdsoftlink.com.

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SOURCE Building Systems Design, Inc.