Discover how cutting-edge BIM technologies are solving complex project challenges, enabling real-time coordination, reducing risks, and delivering unprecedented efficiency across design, construction, and management teams.
How do BIM 360 and Navisworks help BIM Workflow?
Navisworks helps improve BIM project workflow. Navisworks project review software lets architecture, engineering, and construction professionals holistically review integrated 3D models and data with stakeholders to better control project outcomes. Navisworks tools enable greater coordination, construction simulation, and whole-project analysis for integrated project review. Some Navisworks products include advanced simulation and validation tools.
Navisworks is used primarily in construction industries to complement 3D design packages (such as Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, and MicroStation). Navisworks allows users to open and combine 3D models, navigate around them in real-time and review the model using a set of tools including comments, redlining, viewpoint, and measurements. A selection of plug-ins enhances the package adding interference detection, 4D time simulation, photorealistic rendering and PDF-like publishing.
Navisworks helps professionals connect with their team for collaborative project review and coordination workflows. The integrated BIM 360 Navisworks solution gives you access to the most up-to-date project data in the cloud. Access BIM 360 models in Navisworks, and use the rich Navisworks tools, data and workflows to carry out tasks such as model alignment. Then push models back to the BIM 360 web environment, to share with your project team.
BIM 360 Overview
BIM 360 is the perfect tool for Project, Field and BIM Managers to accelerate delivery, save money and reduce risk. BIM 360 construction management software enables almost anytime, anywhere access to project data throughout the building construction lifecycle. BIM 360 empowers those in the field to better anticipate and act, and those in the back office to optimize and manage all aspects of construction performance.
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BIM 360 helps design professionals deliver projects faster – giving project teams the tools needed to better coordinate, communicate more effectively and resolve issues quickly, resulting in faster and more efficient project delivery.
BIM 360 helps the project team minimize risk. Not having a standardized way of managing project quality can lead to delays, increased costs, rework, and customer dissatisfaction. BIM 360 allows issues to be resolved and communicated in near real-time. Whether it’s managing quality or safety, or documenting as-built conditions, BIM 360 makes sure your projects are delivered with your best practices built in.
When you use BIM 360, you can extend BIM to the whole project team. BIM used to be limited to just a few members of a project team who were involved with creating the design. With BIM 360, the whole team can access BIM data and contribute to the project in real-time, helping the team stay in the loop through all stages of the project.
When you use BIM 360, you can access project data anytime, anywhere. You can say goodbye to outdated plans, drawings and data. By storing all project data securely in the cloud, anyone on the project team can access it wherever they are using a computer or mobile device.
BIM 360 integrates successfully with external third-party applications. Leveraging the unified Autodesk Forge development platform, BIM 360 APIs offer a secure, private mechanism to connect BIM 360 accounts, projects and project data with external and third-party applications.
How to use BIM 360 and Navisworks on your projects
Let's face it, today's building and infrastructure projects are complex. Time and cost overruns are often due to unresolved conflicts between disciplines and not having access up-to-date information. These complex projects require better coordination and collaboration across disciplines, companies, and locations – and project team members need accurate, up-to-date information. Essentially, they need a single source of truth for BIM, and that is where BIM 360 comes in.
So how can BIM 360 help improve your coordination and collaboration process to prevent issues and drive higher quality and profitability?
By using Navisworks with BIM 360, you can ensure that everyone on the team has access to the "single version of the truth," collaborate and connect with the rest of the team for collaborative project review and coordination workflows. This integrated BIM 360 solution gives you and your team access to the most up-to-date project data in the cloud, anytime, anywhere. There are different points of access tailored for specific roles, such as direct access from desktop apps for designers and VDC managers, and mobile access for project managers, clients, and field personnel.
It's important to know that Navisworks and BIM 360 share the same core technology for large model viewing, navigation, and clash detection. If you run a clash test in Navisworks and the same test in BIM 360, you will get the same results. Navisworks and BIM 360 share the same data structure – which supports round-trip data exchange throughout.
There are various approaches on how you can use Navisworks and BIM 360 on your projects. It depends on your project scenario which approach is right for you. So let's look at the options available to you:
1. Share coordinated models with the team
The first approach is to take the aggregated project model in Navisworks and share it with the rest of the team in BIM 360. To do this start by bringing the various discipline models together in Navisworks, just like you do today. Then, use the BIM 360 add-in app to "glue" the model to BIM 360. This provides access to the latest model and intelligent model data for the rest of the team. BIM 360 enables collaborative project review workflows, where team members can have "one-click-to-BIM" access to the model, and easily view and navigate the model and add markups and comments.
2. Collect project models from the team
The second approach is to use BIM 360 to gather and manage the models from the team and then bring those models into Navisworks for coordination and analysis. You can use BIM 360 to collect the models from your team and centrally manage these models with version control, activity tracking and notifications whenever a new model or version is added. Once the models are in BIM 360, you get all of the other benefits with anywhere access and project review and markup for the rest of the team. And design professionals are saving many, many hours a week because they no longer need to manage files and manually distribute updates. Inside Navisworks use the BIM 360 add-in to open the latest models from BIM 360 Glue.
3. Empower the team to coordinate and resolve clashes
Beyond leveraging BIM 360 for anywhere access, the next approach is to empower the team to coordinate between themselves, which helps them to resolve many of the smaller, obvious clashes before the weekly coordination meeting. With BIM 360, the team is empowered to continuously coordinate between themselves and resolve clashes quickly. The continuous, collaborative team-based coordination greatly reduces the number of clashes to review at the weekly coordination meetings, and lets the team focus on what's important.
There are several options to get access to the model offline. The BIM 360 Glue mobile app caches models on your iPad so you can view these and even create markups while offline. Opening the model from BIM 360 Glue in Navisworks lets you keep a local copy which gives you offline access for your desktop, laptop or notebook.
4. Coordinate the project in BIM 360
The construction and design teams can take the approach of using BIM 360 for all project clash detection and collaborative coordination, and Navisworks for advanced workflows such as model-based quantity takeoff, 4D animated timelines and develop stunning renderings.
There are various options that will help connect the project team.
Today’s construction team benefits by taking advantage of today’s best integrated BIM platforms to ensure a best-possible construction solution. Using Navisworks and BIM 360 are changing how project teams design and build their projects.