Do not use the “monitor” function of the “copy/monitor” button. The button in discussion is the one on the left in the image below.

Using the copy/monitor button is fine for copying. However, I highly suggest clicking “Stop monitoring” for all elements that are copied. That way the elements will not be monitored and will not hinder your model and team working performance.

This copy/monitor tool is typically used to copy levels, grids, and design coordination elements such as light fixtures.

But why is the monitor function bad? Isn’t it useful to know immediately when an element in another model has moved so that elements can be well coordinated all the time reducing work to communicate changes in the model and speeding up coordination?

It is totally logical that we would want to be warned when there are changes to the model so that we can stay on top of the work especially during a deadline. However, for anyone who’s worked in large scale projects on multiple models with over 10 team members and 10 consultants, they will agree that “monitoring” elements is more troublesome than what it’s worth.

Even on a small project, a team that doesn’t discuss when elements have been updated is not coordinating effectively. There needs to be a point where design is frozen before another team can coordinate their work. That point of handover should be scheduled as part of the coordination process. It’s rather flawed to think we should rely on Revit to automatically handle coordination.

Another problem is model performance. Imagine the copy/monitor button was used to copy elements from a base model into another model, such as at the very beginning of a project when models are set up for multiple teams. The problem is that every time the model is opened or synced, Revit checks whether those elements have been moved or not. Model processing performance is taken up to check the elements and report back, displaying a pop-up if anything had changed. Imagine opening a large model already takes a 1 to 2 minutes to load, and then “monitored” elements are checked adding another process and increasing the model opening time. While this is happening you turn away to another task rather than stare at the monitor waiting for the model to load. In the background, a pop-up shows a warning, “instance of link needs Coordination Review”. This stops the loading process and requires user input before continuing. After another minute or two trying to multi-task we finally turn back to Revit realizing a pop-up stopped the loading process, anxiety kicks in as we’re not sure if we should skip or address the pop-up. Clicking past the pop-up then resumes loading the model which takes another 30 seconds to a minute to finalize. All of this amounts to 5-10 minutes of load time before you’re able to get into the model. This is a lot of time to be waiting every single day, every time you open a model. If no elements were monitored, the checking process can be skipped, no pop-ups will delay the opening process, and the model will load as normal reducing the over all time to get into a model.

Let’s say a new Revit user sees the pop-up warning and has no idea what the message means. The user ponders for a minute to decide what they should do. Should they skip? Should they reach out? Should they close the model and open it again? A few minutes pass and they’re still staring at the warning. They tap their colleague on the shoulder who also doesn’t know what it means. Two staff are now focused on the issue Together they decide to ask the project manager. The project manager doesn’t know so they bring in the BIM Manager. The BIM manager needs to ask another member on the team if they are monitoring any elements and if they are aware that changes need to be addressed. Five staff members are now focused on the issue. That team member decided to reach out to their external consultant by email to ask what the changes were. The external consultant then spends another hour to respond that a meeting should be held to discuss the issue, which starts the conversation all over again. This is somewhat an exaggeration, but also not really. A single pop-up could impact anywhere between 1 to 5 staff members and even external consultants, slowing down production across the board, and not to mention the added anxiety.

See below an image of the vague message that pops-up. Who has time to dive in and investigate the issue? Who knows how? Everyone is on the clock. There’s no time for checking this.

FAQ

Q: How would you coordinate if there were changes to the elements and we’re not using the “monitor” button?

A: Simple. These changes should be coordinated in meetings. Let’s think about this for a moment. Take levels and grids for example. They are incredibly sensitive and important components of a project. They have to be in the right location and height for all models to be aligned. Any changes to levels and grids have large impacts requiring long discussions and multiple teams. It is unreasonable to think that these changes should be left to an automated checking system and pop-up message to communicate the changes across teams. “Oh I got a pop-up on my screen that the level changed, I’ll just move them since the pop-up says it’s now unaligned. We don’t even need to discuss this with the teams because that’s what it says right there in the pop-up.” No. that’s not the way anyone should work. There are consequences to these changes. This requires discussion. Plot the changes to PDF and discuss what the changes are with all consultants so that the appropriate changes can be made in their models.

Suggestion: For something like levels and grids, have a separate Revit model used to control the project’s levels and grids and have each team insert this “levels and grids” model into their model for checking and aligning purposes. Just align and pin. Alternatively, the architect’s model can be used as the main model for alignment. The importance is for one model to be absolutely correct for all other models to reference.

Q: But don’t we want to make sure that those levels and grids are never moved? Don’t we want the system to notify us so that we don’t make a mistake?
A: The levels and grids should be pinned in your model. Those levels and grids should be dimensioned. Any misalignment will be visible when models are linked together and visually checked. If there is a repeating issue that levels and grids are moving by accident in your model, then training will be required.

Q: How should we copy the levels and grids from one model to the other at the start of a project?
A: The BIM Manager should set up an RVT model (not a template) in which all teams can start with. That model will have the levels and grids already set up in them for the teams to start. In addition a “levels and grids” model should be set aside for reference. If there are any additional levels and grids to be added or existing levels and grids to be updated, the BIM Manager can update the “levels and grids” model and the teams can use that model to check.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Leave your comments below.