A Brief Dubai Adventure

Stepping away from the world of BIM and construction tech for a moment, I recently had the opportunity to visit Dubai for work, as part of two global standardisation initiatives. It was great to catch up with old colleagues from Dubai and Ireland, and meet new people from Poland, the UK and the US. One of the best parts of…

Building a Material Cube Farm

When you’ve got 200+ materials in your model and someone in the viz team asks for a preview, the last thing you want to do is manually place and assign materials one by one to a cube. But that’s exactly what we were staring down on a recent project — a clean export of every used material in the Revit…

From Niche to Necessary. Making Revit Skills Count in a BIM World.

Digital By Aug 14, 2025 No Comments

In a recent Reddit thread, a Revit modeller shared their frustration after spending 9 years creating high-quality, parametric Revit families for big building services brands. Thousands of families, deep knowledge of lookup tables, nested content, type catalogues.. and yet, they now find themselves unemployed and wondering if those skills still hold value. It’s a question that resonates deeply within the…

Setting IFC Material Overrides for Cable Tray and Conduit

Digital By Aug 07, 2025 No Comments

In a previous post, we looked at how to set IFC material overrides for pipe fittings. But when it comes to cable tray and conduit, things get a bit trickier. Unlike pipe and duct, cable tray and conduit don’t belong to a system in Revit, so there’s no MEP System parameter to piggyback off. That’s why most teams colour them…

Dynamo vs. Revit API. Choosing the Right Tool for Your BIM Automation Needs

Digital By Jul 31, 2025 No Comments

A recent post on the r/BIM subreddit sparked an interesting discussion: should you learn Dynamo or the Revit API for automating tasks in Revit? As a BIM professional, you’re likely no stranger to the quest for efficiency and automation in your workflows. But with multiple tools at your disposal, it can be daunting to decide which one to invest your…

The Highest Paid Opinion in the Room

Ever been in a meeting where everyone magically agrees with the boss? No debate. No pushback. Just a room full of nodding heads. That’s the HIPPO effect—when the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion wins by default. And it’s one of the fastest ways to kill good ideas. Why This Is a Problem The second the big boss shares their thoughts, most…

Your Pipe Fittings Are Grey in IFC? Here’s Why (And How to Fix It)

You’ve exported your model to IFC. Pipes look great. Fittings? Grey. Again. What’s going on? This one trips up a lot of teams, because pipe fittings in Revit don’t actually carry system data, even though they look like they do. So when you rely on system-assigned materials for your IFC exports, fittings get left behind. Revit’s built-in exporter just shrugs…

The Corporate Personality Test. Useful Tool or Workplace Horoscope?

Disclaimer: This post isn’t about any one specific personality test but rather a critique of the broader trend of corporate personality assessments. These tests promise to improve teamwork and communication, but they also come with significant limitations. If you’ve ever been handed a color, an animal, or a vague descriptor and told, “this is who you are at work,” then…

Workplace Chaos as Productivity. Are You Really Getting Things Done?

There’s a certain kind of workplace that thrives on chaos. If you’ve ever been in an environment where meetings stack up, spreadsheets multiply, and priorities shift on a daily basis, you know exactly what I mean. It’s not just busy work—it’s the swirl. The swirl is that exhausting cycle of constant pivots, unnecessary check-ins, and never-ending documentation that creates the…

The Difference Between Performers and Pretenders

Ever been in a meeting that could have been an email? Sat through a conversation where someone talks in circles without getting to the point? If that frustrates you, you’re not alone. High performers hate wasted time. In any workplace, there’s a clear divide between those who get things done and those who just occupy space. High performers focus on…