IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

Revit Roadmap - see & contribute to the future Revit

Over the past two years, Autodesk has been consistently providing insight for planned features for Revit and adopting suggestions/recommendations.

In the last quarter of 2016 we had our first ever look at the Revit Roadmap showing upcoming changes to Architectural, MEP and Structural with updates to the Platform. Each section was divided into two blocks:

The following April 2017, Autodesk published an update to the Revit Roadmap. Again showing planned features for each discipline and the Platform, but there was something different this time. We didn't just have the two blocks Delivered and Planned; instead we had Delivered, Planned, and Accepted Ideas. 

The “Accepted Revit Idea” section became a way for Autodesk to directly incorporate requests from the Revit user community. These ideas came from all over the web, blogs, forums, YouTube and most notably the Revit Idea forum.

In the last update to the Revit Roadmap (August 2017), the community was thrilled to see that several of the accepted Revit ideas already integrated into Revit, with even more added to the list.

This tells us that Autodesk is listening to the community, and working hard to integrate features that are most impactful and relevant to us, the end users. So don’t hesitate, there's never been a better time to join the conversation on your favorite Revit Blog or Form or the Official Autodesk Revit Forum and let your voice be heard.

Updates to Revit for Electrical Design

Yes folks it's happening, Autodesk added new features to Revit for Electrical design!

Since the release of Autodesk Revit 2017.1, Revit has evolved enormously to allow design intent to be more thoroughly captured within the model without reliance on third party software or complex and time consuming workarounds.  Two of the new adopted features are important and easy to implement into your current and future Revit projects so they are features that you must know.

First is the Electrical Apparent Load Calculation options now found under Electrical Settings. Keep in mind that this is a project wide setting and only one option can be picked per project. 

 

This allows the default calculation to be set to:

Sum of True Load & Reactive Load

OR

 

Sum Apparent Load

Follow Link for complete list of electrical formulas used in Revit. 

 

The second feature is the Electrical Circuit Pathway which allows for editing of the circuit pathway to Farthest Device, All Devices or Custom. This also includes a total length all in one easy-to-use location.

 

The Custom mode allows for intuitive layout of the circuit path in plan view.

 

You can also work in a 3D view and use the Path Offset feature to fully customize the path with different elevations. 

 

Don't forget to Add or Delete Control Points (by right-clicking the path) to create additional branches.

  

 

 

Want to know if you're getting all you can from your Revit setup? Consider a health check with IMAGINiT.

 

Healthcare Accreditation: Using Technology to Streamline Audits and Protect the Organization

Savvy facilities management teams are using technology to manage life safety issues throughout the year and then refer to that information at audit time.

ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance is one example of this technology in action. The visual system makes it easy to see and log where deficiencies exist on different floors and in different rooms. From one interface, healthcare facilities managers can send work order requests for immediate corrective action, , create plans for improvement, and track the history of different issues.

When auditors from The Joint Commission (TJC), NFPA, DNV GL, or other accrediting organizations come onsite, it’s easy to quickly call up details about various deficiencies and the plan of action. Auditors get the information they need quickly, rather than waiting for facility managers to search through paper files.

By staying on top of key life safety deficiencies, hospitals and healthcare organizations can avoid negative audit results and potential closures. Adopting comprehensive healthcare compliance systems allows facility management teams to proactively defend against financial and reputational damage to the organization.

To learn more about the role of technology that can play in facilities management and healthcare compliance, feel free to reach out to us.

Facilities Management and Healthcare Compliance: Go Paperless and Reduce Time and Errors

Dealing with deficiencies is typically a paper-and labor-intensive process. Many surveyors walk the facility with paper floor plans in hand to flag problems while making notes. This information is often then entered manually into Excel spreadsheets, work order systems, and more. Duplicate data entry is not only inefficient, it’s also error prone.

ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance eliminates these issues by taking a paperless approach to life safety monitoring. With a mobile app, surveyors can drop deficiencies directly onto a digital floor plan. They can easily attach photos and other details. ARCHIBUS automatically synchronizes the information entered into the mobile app with a central data repository. Thanks to ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance’s integration with other facility management systems, teams can generate work orders with the click of a mouse. Once a deficiency is resolved, the facility manager can close it in ARCHIBUS and the history of actions is recorded for future reference.

A paperless approach to compliance just makes sense. It saves time, money, and is more accurate. To learn more about ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance, feel free to contact us.

Reduce Accreditation Stress with ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance

Accreditation is serious business for hospitals and healthcare organizations. There are many aspects to the accreditation process and facilities management plays an important role. Life safety deficiencies, for example, can close a hospital’s doors resulting in financial and reputational damage.

ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance is a new solution that supports proactive facilities management for hospitals and healthcare organizations. It streamlines the accreditation audit process and quickly generates the information that auditors from The Joint Commission, NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), and other accrediting agencies look for.

ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance supports hospital facilities managers long before the accreditation auditors arrive onsite. Surveyors can use the ARCHIBUS mobile app to identify deficiencies as they walk the facility. The graphical interface enables surveyors to flag deficiencies on the digital floorplan, rather than carrying reams of paper. This information is then synchronized with a central data repository.

Once deficiencies have been identified, work orders can be generated seamlessly. ARCHIBUS integrates with hospital work order systems, eliminating the need to enter information into multiple systems. If a deficiency will take longer than 45 days to resolve, the facilities management team can create a plan for improvement (PFI) in ARCHIBUS and copy that information directly to the TJC website.

On the day that the accreditation auditors arrive, the facilities management team can quickly access requested information in ARCHIBUS. ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance demonstrates a commitment to comprehensive tracking of life safety issues. As accreditors drill down into specific deficiencies, they may inquire about past actions. ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance captures the history of every deficiency to provide a comprehensive audit trail.

If you’re ready to reduce the stress associated with the facilities management aspect of hospital accreditation, reach out to our team and learn more about ARCHIBUS Healthcare Compliance. We’d be happy to provide a demonstration and discuss how this solution can be integrated with your existing facilities management systems.