Mining Concrete: How to Modify a Concrete Model for Estimation and 4D Simulation

This presentation will focus on practices that we at Clark Builders Group have found successful when taking quantities from structural concrete design models provided by consultants. By strategically adding custom materials and modifying specific families, we are able to pull not only material volume but also formwork contact area off of models. The presentation will highlight some common practices that can throw off quantities (connections, constraints, joined geometry, and so on), and I will cover some effective practices while auditing models. Additionally, I will demonstrate how to break up the model using the Parts tool to divide the concrete structure into its pour sequences; by adding identifying parameters to that specific geometry, we can utilize search sets to expedite the setup in Navisworks project review software for a 4D simulation downstream.