Likelihood to Recommend Well suited for the owner's side of managing multiple projects as it allows for all aspects of a project from development to closeout to be managed on one platform. Not as appropriate for a general contractor as there is better software out there. e-Builder's app is not as effective as others.
Read full review Revit is well suited for creating collaborative projects that are fully integrated into the design and construction document process. We work a lot with engineering firms who also use Revit and the program allows us to fully integrate and coordinate our models together to make sure that everything is correct. I can see where my electrical engineer has placed lighting into the model and same with my mechanical engineer and their HVAC equipment
Read full review Pros Provide a document structure that is easy to navigate. All documents, even within a process, are stored in the document structure and easily accessed by those with the correct permissions. Scheduling, especially with the new module is easy. It is helpful with a large organization where many hands touch projects to be able to forecast workloads (we have an in house engineering team who reviews all projects during their design phase) Allows for easy interface with contractors and makes the submittal process more straightforward. Read full review 3D Models - It's kind of a no brainer, but the key benefit of Revit is its ability to model in 3D. It's a somewhat complex modeling environment, however, it's not impossible to learn and I have seen users from a range of abilities to effectively model content in Revit. Schedules - 3D is great, but the ability to quantify your geometry is contains valuable data if modeled correctly. If you model how you will build it, Revit has the ability to give very accurate schedules which includes quantities, and any data you would like to incorporate into your model. Industry Standard - Revit is the industry standard. With that being said, it really help to use software that is compatible with other agencies for collaborative model review. Read full review Cons The restrictions in formatting, and sorting of information rendered, in a way, affects the reporting output. At certain times of day, e-Builder traffic causes the loading of filtered searches to take a while. This is probably common regardless of the site or software used. More complicated reporting has some limitation, though the program is highly efficient in assisting with simple format reports. Read full review There are often several ways to draw certain things, but the object will have different capabilities based on the way it is drawn. This can be confusing when trying to use the object. The way objects are drawn is not always user-friendly. This program would be difficult for someone to figure out on their own without having any Autodesk background. There should be a better way to track changes in the model. Often times the architect will not share a model during construction to avoid sending changes that aren't finalized or complete. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Because again, one of our biggest clients entrusts E-builder to work with their systems. And its functions work for us as well.
Read full review We will almost certainly be renewing all of our current seats of Revit and will likely be adding seats as we look to get more and more of our staff trained and using Revit. The software is starting to become the standard for our projects as we move forward as more and more of our clients are requesting or accepting use of it
Read full review Usability Simple, because have a used it for the past two years, so i'm very familiar with the particular aspects of its program that I need to accomplish my tasks.
Read full review It is a professional environment, but far from easy and overly complex in many places. The system is often too deep in settings and overrides (see Visibility/Graphics in combination with linked files, filters, color overrides and view templates). I don't really like the dialog-in-dialog interface and its spartan looks. But it works well overall if you know what you are doing.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Revit seems to always be available when I need it. I have not experiences an outage. There are occasions where we need our internal IT department to trouble shoot a file on our Revit dedicated server and that sometimes causes a delay however that is not a software access issue
Read full review Performance Revit is a fairly graphics heavy piece of software. It is powerful in its capabilities but as a result it takes a lot of the graphics card, the memory, etc. For all that it can do and the specs of my computer I find it pretty good from a performance standpoint
Read full review Support Rating Again, because our technical support is great. He doesn't always answer the phone but he definitely responds to emails fairly quickly. In addition, I like that he actually resolves an issue and I have yet to encounter the same issue twice. Actually, I haven't encountered many issues at all in the two years I have used the software.
Read full review Autodesk has always had a good support system in place. There is a massive user base for Revit, and there are thousands of forum threads and other discussions online about any and every problem that you could ever run into. For being such a large program with so many different options, there aren't many roadblocks or pitfalls that users can fall into.
Read full review In-Person Training The training was Revit Essentials and it was very beneficial. I would say that it is best to get the training right before you know you will be using Revit as learning the basis then applying what you learned immediately is the most effective and best value for your money.
Read full review Online Training The online training is hit or miss. I feel that its better to be live to be able to pace and ask questions to a live person as you are learning hwo to do things. Its not natural to learn Revit especially if you know AutoCAD so my suggestion is the live training
Read full review Implementation Rating 1. Set up the time to get training on the sytem before you go all in.
2. Listen, ask questions and actually practice using the tools and features while in class. It helps tremendously with becoming comfortable and remembering how things work.
3. Don't be afraid to mess up. They are helpful and will help resolve your issue in a timely manner
Read full review Implementing Revit as your main drafting software (i.e. moving to BIM from CAD) may be a tough decision if you have learned drafting. It is a different way to approach and think about developing a project. However, if you are able to adapt to a new way of thinking and get used to it by working through a few projects than it is as efficient as CAD in most areas in general and will also be both better/worse in some areas
Read full review Alternatives Considered We have not compared other plans since the boss prefers this program from personal experience. But from using this program for 2 years I can see why we don't need to compare. Why fix something that isn't broken? It gets the job done, yes we might run into some issues but I feel like with all companies that can happen
Read full review Revit like
AutoCAD can produce both a 3d model & 2 dimensional drawings such as plans, elevations & sections which are required for any design project to be communicated on paper for construction. But unlike
AutoCAD , Revit's focus is to build a 3d model that contain smart information for construction. So for Revit the 2 dimensional drawings becomes a byproduct. In addition to the required drawings needed on paper to communicate the design, Revit offers so much more information in the model for all engineering disciplines.
Read full review Scalability While I am not directly involved with the deployment of Revit, it seems that our internal IT department has appreciated the ability to increase or decrease the number of seats. I have never had an issue with the deployment if and when needed, especially regarding the availability of a set
Read full review Return on Investment Has added extra steps to processes that were previously easier. And I work for a university that complicates everything Has more than cut in half the time it takes to generate reports about project status Has made project management more efficient Read full review It's positive. It saves quite a bit of field time when used correctly, and lets us make sure we have proper room for all equipment and ductwork. Helping minimize field 'thinking' time is an immediate add to the bottom line. 1 guy designing on the front side saves down time of 5-10 guys waiting in the field. Cost savings on labor is apparent. Coordination time is also cut down, saving on office time. It's easy to spell out what your plan of attack is. All these savings directly add to bottom line profit by not expending labor. Read full review ScreenShots