Project Skyscraper - Revit Server for the Cloud.

Yeah, finally Autodesk has announced Project Skyscraper!

Project Skyscraper to bring Revit Collaboration to the Cloud  

Project Skyscraper is a technology preview for Revit that will allow architects, engineers and contractors to collaborate on the Autodesk 360 cloud platform, eliminating the need for firms to invest in costly IT set-ups.

Basically it's Revit Server on the Cloud! YES! No more trying to share models with our consultants, trying to break through firewalls, being restricted with bandwidth restrictions, frustration of sync issues.... Revit Server on the Cloud! About time! It's the one piece in the collaboration puzzle that's been missing.

With collaborative workflows across teams spanning different firms and locations becoming more and more common, architecture, engineering and construction firms are looking for ways to simultaneously co-author models across firewalls. Project Skyscraper allows project stakeholders from multiple companies or locations to concurrently author a model using the BIM process. 

Wrapping this up within the Autodesk 360 platform make sense, in my opinion 360 was more for contractors and designers didn't really reap the benefits until after design. Skyscraper will complete that circle so we can now all collaborate real time...which does bring up other issues....

Do we really want to share our models real time? I think in the early stages of design we'll have to work out some sort of protocols and restrict sharing to bi-weekly or weekly. Nothing worse than working on a design only to find that it's all been changed 10 minutes latter.

Cant wait to try it out...

Sc

For additional postings and BIM information check out the BIM User Group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OkanaganBIMUsers

Workshare Monitoring Vs Bluestreak... the Smackdown!

I have users who like to use the Workshare Monitoring tool to monitor who is syncing and when on their projects.

Unfortunately Workshare Monitoring doesn't work on projects hosted on Revit Server... and we put all our projects on Revit Server....! 

there is a solution!
Project Bluestreak allows you to connect with your other team members. you can communicate similar to instant messaging, and see when team members are syncing or relinquishing objects.

With the Revit Activity Stream add-on app for Bluestreak, teams who work on a single Revit model can see all worksharing actions on the model to ensure smooth handoffs. When a Revit user saves to central, that action appears in the Bluestreak design stream and is shared with members of the selected Bluestreak group. With Bluestreak Desktop, these actions appear in real time. The latest Bluestreak Desktop includes a new Worksharing tab to display the current synchronization status of shared Revit central files. The Activity tab continues to display notifications from Autodesk applications and team communications as before. And in the Activity tab, team members can post comments or questions related to the saved model, or they can request other group members to synchronize with central models when needed. 

Features

• Share Revit Worksharing events with your Bluestreak Group through Bluestreak
• Track relinquishment of Revit objects
• See Revit Synchronize with Central comments
• See current synchronization activity on Revit central files
• Compatible with the Revit Server environment
• Compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Revit products

So if your a Workshare Monitoring junkie who cant get a fix because or Revit Server give Bluestreak a try.

Sc

AU and Known and Unknow Issues.

I got back from Autodesk University Last Friday and came down with the Flu on Saturday night! Aghhh!

First day back at work today and wanted to quickly put down some thoughts on some interesting things I found out while I was at AU.

My old nemesis has returned, this nemesis is so illusive he doesn't have a formal name and is only know as "Missing objects on my pdf!"

Thought I banished him forever when I first came across this issue a number of years ago (in my ACA days) we would print to pdf using an unnamed pdf print driver and random objects would disappear... objects like the the fire rating legend, or notation... you know the kind of things that can cause legal grief for an Architect! Needless to say this was quite discerning since everything looked great in the file and even in the plot preview. Granted this was before the ACAD to PDF that latter came with the new ACAD release and our solution at the time was to find a new pdf driver.

Well to my surprise I get a email from one of my Revit users asking why objects are not showing up!
Didn't think this would happen with Revit! (how naive!).
So we will now evaluate a new pdf driver!
Anyone else ever had this issue with pdf's?

We are testing a couple projects using Revit Server and have had a couple error messages stating that "This Operation could not be Completed", after asking around at AU I found out that there appears to be a known issue between Riverbed and Revit Server (wish I had known about it earlier...). anyway apparently the guys at Riverbed are working on a solution, in the mean time I have to look for a work around!

Speaking of Revit Server, I'm sure Autodesk is working on a better way to collaborate using Revit Server. File exchange on the cloud doesn't cut it, I want real time collaboration just like how the Revit Server should be used, but I don't want to have to deal with setting up a outside server.... Hurry up guys! ;-)
I think the new year wll bring some interesting changes from Autodesk.

AU was once again a blast, caught up with my regulars, Bruce McCallum from Dialog,  Brian Anderson (go see his session on BIM Management at AU and RTC), Gord Luckett from  Arrow Geomatics, as well as the usual Autodesk guys I know and not to mention my posse from BC and Alberta. I even sat and had lunch with David Light!

I also had the opportunity to meet some Autodesk icons namely Shaan Hurley and Scott Sheppard, met with Phil Read of M-Six showing the latest software (more on this latter!) interesting guy!

More soon!!!
I'm still recouperating!

Sc.