The SketchUp Outliner and 3D Construction Models

The SketchUp Outliner organizes a construction model so it can be used to display the sequence and time embedded in the model’s assembly. In fact, without the ability to visually represent time, SketchUp would have little value as a real-world construction communications tool.


Though its features are often overlooked, the Outliner makes it easier to:

1. Break the model down into the pieces of its construction. These pieces are the “named” Groups that make up the deconstructible assembly of the construction model. Every piece is then joined as part of a subassembly or Group of Groups.



2. Stage these subassemblies according to Hide and Layer commands in the SketchUp program. These subassemblies include the operational parts of equipment and materials, the components of subcontracts, and the visual representation of scope within the construction phases or processes.


3. Scenes are created to construct and deconstruct the subassemblies, in order to animate the sequence of a task and navigate through the construction site. The Outliner is central to the control and display of the pieces in these Scenes.



With the Outliner dialog box open, try these basic steps:

1. Fabricate the individual pieces on Layer 0, then Group and name the piece. Note the named Group is now visible in the Outliner. To a constructor, it’s these individual pieces that are important to the construction. Fabricating and naming the pieces separately means they can be identified and controlled within an assembly.




2. Group the piece-groups and name them as subassemblies. Note that the named subassemblies are now visible in the Outliner as nested Groups. The subassemblies organize the model in phases or sections in the same way they are organized in the real world.

TIP: You can cut, copy and paste the names of the pieces in the Outliner. You can also drag and drop the pieces from named Group to named Group.

3. Use Scenes with the Hide and Layers commands to control the pieces and the subassemblies. To Hide a subassembly, Right-click its name in the Outliner. You can also place individual pieces or entire subassemblies to a named Layer and then turn layer visibility on and off in the Layers dialog box.


4. When ready, create a Scene to capture the current view. Each Scene can be exported as a 2D image and inserted into a text document, spreadsheet, or slideshow. A series of scenes can also be played as an animation.

TIP: You'll see these techniques first explored in our book 3D Construction Modeling. They then evolve through all our books into the 13 tutorials in our most recent publication, How a House is built: With 3D Construction Models.

Real World, Real Time Construction Information

We’ve just published a follow-up to the book 3D Construction Modeling. The new book, How a House is Built: with 3D Construction Models is a how-to book on construction modeling using the latest version of SketchUp. The modeling lessons in the book are wrapped in the virtual construction of a small, simple, and sustainable house that covers the step-by-step and day-to-day details of residential construction from surveyed layout to MEP finish.

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The book uses the same detailed 3D models, captioned text, short videos, and 3D illustrations we use in all our books, but its final chapter differs from our earlier publications because it begins to explore how a contractor (or designer) might use the web as a visual interface to communicate construction information.

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Though all our books come with CDs that act as a window to the Internet, offering links to the models, video downloads, and the web resources used in the book, this is the first time we’ve mounted a chapter on the web in an attempt to explore a fully interactive construction information environment.

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A paper-based model for a paperless jobsite

Not to say that the resulting web pages are so great, or that the over all research potential has really even begun to be explored. But what occurred to me as this section of the book was being developed is that the original notion of paperless project documentation on a rapidly moving construction jobsite is, in practice, constrained by a fundamental assumption that paperless information should follow a paper-based model.

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In other words, in order to find a paperless environment, early attempts by constructors have been to use paper as a template for electronic translation. Documents are simply posted online as PDFs, text or spreadsheet files, or a collection of JPEGs. Worse yet are the orphaned CAD.dwgs -- complete with bundled X-refs and a conglomeration of programmatic references which, of course, only actually work on the computers that originated the graphic files.

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Even more challenging is that these electronic files are often emailed or quickly posted and indexed as a list of cryptic titles with no visual references or clue as to what they are or how they might fit together. Over the life of even the smallest project, electronic information becomes as worthless to day-to-day management as the growing pile of printed boilerplate specs crowding the back of a construction trailer.

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The resulting indices are handy archives to store and retrieve evidentiary information, but a long way from the visual and dynamic potential of what the web might bring to support real world, real time, construction management.

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A construction information environment

What is interesting to me in this new book is the combination of the three-dimensional storyboards used in all our books, mixed with manufacturing links, interactive details, animations, and streaming videos – both from the models that illustrate the book and publicly posted videos on U-Tube and similar websites.

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It’s as if the chapter’s six web pages flesh out the construction information I’m trying to convey and expand on the three-dimensional models, not as 4D or nD, but as an information environment that points in a direction that casts a dark shadow over the existing paper-based paradigm. In fact, the resulting chapter could not be printed. A single page of multidimensional information cannot be tied to paper or printer and must remain in its interactive, electronic state.

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Readers, or perhaps users, must then be induced (or enticed) into a participatory world. Moving from topic to topic and link to link, taking in the information in response to actions that only they can initiate. The information is therefore layered in relational stacks of visual data, stepping beyond the role of a static construction document and back into the fold of real time, relevant construction communication.

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Understanding motion and movement in this graphical information environment is something we’ll continue to test and explore in our next books. But the notion of moving through the data, inferring references from graphical clues, and presenting information in deepening layers of relevance, has the potential to parallel and somehow represent the same controlled chaos we find on almost every jobsite.

3D Construction Model Controls Engineering Information

The construction model for this steel stair tower was built piece by piece right down to the bolts and connectors. It is 41 ft tall and will provide access a large cooling tower here in Monterrey, Mexico. Except for the critical dimensions, elevations from grade, and the general layout, the stair was built directly as a three dimensional model. This means we did not need to invest a lot of time with two-dimensional engineering drawings.

This is important because the model is to be used to illustrate a preliminary proposal for design and construction and is the basis for a cost proposal for the project. Because it is a 3D construction model, we are able to control our initial engineering assumptions and the structural details for the project and at the same time provide our clients with enough visual information to understand our concept. In other words we were able to be competitive without “giving away” the steel profiles, connection details, and 2D drafted documents and structural details that may have been lost from our control.

Once the project has been accepted, we can export the model into our CAD progeam to generate the 2D drawings directly from the model. This means final approval will be very quick and we can move immediately into fabrication and final installation. Important is that the construction model is available to support the entire process and can be continually viewed for clarification and visualization. This will of course simplify fabrication and be helpful to our office for fine tuning our calculations, the 2D drafting, and do the structural detailing for the connections.

The value of a construction model is that it gives us the ability to manage our commitment to the project, control the information we provide to our clients, and use the resulting model to facilitate the design and construction process.

Joel Kennington

jdkennington@gmail.com

Monterrey, Mexico

4D Modeling and Scheduling Software for Google Sketchup.

Project managers face a unique challenge in construction planning because they have to calculate the most efficient and cost effective way to build a design, while clearly communicating the construction process to clients and other stakeholders.

Recently, project managers have adopted 3D modeling and 4D scheduling programs to help in this critical phase of the construction project. 4D modeling combines 3D drawings with a construction schedule and displays the sequence of construction over time.

Syncro has developed a plugin for Google SketchUp along with their full line of 4D systems for various sizes and types of construction management teams. Synchro has been developing innovative scheduling systems since their start in construction software 2001. Syncro’s software integrates models from popular CAD programs like Google SketchUp, as well as Revit and Auto CAD, and then synchronizes them with a project timeline on a spreadsheet. The result is both a visual and spatial representation of construction as it occurs through time.

This innovative new 4D plug-in for SketchUp was introduced at the 2008 CMAA conference in San Francisco and Software Advice, an online resource that helps construction companies find construction management software, was there to capture the importance of Syncro’s new 4D tools.

Their video of the plug-in can be seen below or on the Software Advice website.

The viability of 4D modeling software as an effective planning tool has prompted much discussion among leading construction professionals. So much so, that Stanford University’s Department of Civil Engineering held their own research study. Their study reveals that project managers and stakeholders can indeed understand a construction schedule more quickly and completely with a 4D visualization.

In a real world scenario, 3D and 4D construction modeling software has definite advantages. Construction projects are complex, and modeling software helps project managers anticipate and plan for delays and miscalculations. Now 3D construction modelers can use SketchUp to track their projects in 4D !!

(Submitted by Houston Neal, Software Advice)

Piece-Based Construction Models

Graphic communication in design and construction is nothing new. It has long included the traditional 2D and 3D drawings found on every jobsite. In an increasingly competitive economy, constructors have even begun to regularly use new tools such as animated slide shows, illustrated word documents, and simple sequence animations to differentiate themselves from the crowd.

In fact, the videos and tutorials included with our books are now used by architecture and construction schools all over the world to illustrate classroom handouts, lectures, websites, and student projects. At the same time, many professional developers and contractors use these learning aids to support their ideas and illustrate their own construction methods and practices.

It’s no secret then that in order to survive we all look for every available tool to quickly communicate complex ideas with our clients, manage risks, plan and document our projects, and clearly explain project methods to a broad community of interests. This might explain some of the interest in the building information models (BIM) that are just beginning to reach the mainstream of the construction industry.

There’s little doubt that this new environment of graphically competitive practices makes 3D construction models even more important for the future. Construction models are piece-based because they are organized so that every part of the model can be easily identified, modified, and reused in another model as a distinct three-dimensional object. These objects are then counted, measured, and categorized so that their data can be used to graphically manage estimates, schedules, and other related projects.

Each of our books includes all of the piece-based construction models used to illustrate that book. This means that each book is a three-dimensional library of not only the parts and pieces of the constructions, but also a collection of the furnishings, tools, equipment, and workers used in the virtual model. Readers are therefore free to deconstruct, reconstruct, and visually explore their own ideas whether in a classroom or the real-world. The notion of shared three-dimensional resources in a virtual model is one of the underlying goals of our books.

Construction Modeling Method

3D construction models begin with a set of 2D contract documents. These are the construction documents that represent the scope of the contract requirements provided by the design team. The model is constructed to confirm a bid, during contract negotiations, and in the field just ahead of the actual work.

The idea is to use the 3D modeler as a tool to systematically check the 2D documents, test details and dimensions, and understand the assumptions made by the design team -- before the documents are used in the field.

Start with a site model: this is a scaled scan of the plat map or survey laid over a geographically accurate model base. Use the site model for site utilization planning (SUP), to simulate the impact of weather and sun on construction activities, and to map the regional context of the jobsite.

Excavate the building from a workpoint. Base cuts, grading, and shoring on the referenced elevations and dimensions shown on the survey and plot plans. Use scaled equipment models to test available access routes, stockpiles, and staging.

Use the 2D documents to begin the foundations (formwork). Set up the scaffolding, falsework, and equipment that will be needed to complete the foundation. Include reinforcing, connectors, and other specialty items shown on the contract documents. The modeling program automatically surveys quantities and identifies phases, tasks, and errors and omissions.

Build the structural frame according to the engineered documents. Include staging and lay down area as well as scaled models of the workers, tools, and equipment necessary to complete the framing. The model is built using the sequence and processes anticipated for the construction. Survey quantities are again automatically generated, means and methods are coordinated with field teams, and the resulting model illustrates areas of concern, RFIs, and conflicts.


Building systems are installed per plans and specs. Important is to build these systems in the order of their actual construction using scaled models of the tools and equipment needed by each subcontractor. Sequence modeling highlights conflicts, anticipates coordination problems, and tests design assumptions.

Finish work follows the contract details. 3D component models are fitted to roofing, curtain and window walls, siding, finishes, cabinetry and furnishings. The completed model focuses on coordinating processes and sequences necessary to complete the contract obligations.

The result is a construction model that details the means, methods, and processes represented in the contract documents. Errors and omissions are identified (often output from a poorly constructed BIM model) and schedule concerns, subcontractor challenges, value engineer alternatives, and real-world conflicts are illustrated for all to see in three-dimensions.

SketchUp as a Construction Modeler

One thing to keep in mind is that a construction model is not the same as a building information model (BIM). A construction model graphically communicates the means, methods, and processes found in the production of complex objects. It dynamically represents the sequence of events necessary to build that object.

Our books demonstrate the potential of construction models and their ability to graphically communicate construction processes. First using an early versions of AutoCAD (Graphic Communications in Construction, Prentice Hall), then exploring the potential of web-based visual systems (The Web @ Work, Homebuilder Press) and most recently as a series a graphic narratives using SketchUp as a construction modeler.

The potential of SketchUp for construction management was first explored at the University of Florida in 2001. SketchUp was used to quickly orient construction management students struggling to learn how to build piece-based models with AutoCAD 2000.

That early effort evolved into an advanced construction modeling class and the first book, 3D Construction Modeling: Project Based Learning. This early book broke new ground simply because it was based on the work of several comic and graphic novelists. It used SketchUp V4 to explore the format and delivery of construction information on the two dimensional pages of a book. The models are dated, but the book remains popular as a project-based learning tool.

Our next book, Living SMALL:The Life of Small Houses, expanded on the lessons learned from both SketchUp and publishing a graphic narrative. Living SMALL uses SketchUp to build 16 small houses. The idea was to mix modeling tutorials with video tours of three-dimensional models to convey some of the traditions of home construction and the values of small house construction. The 16 models also tested different organizational structures for the models and hinted at the potential of SketchUp as a construction modeler.

The results can be seen in our next book, Building SIMPLE: Building and Information Model. This book used many of the new features found in SketchUp V5 to explore the organization of a large construction model and communicates the production of a mid-rise office building. The models with this book were the first to be “outlined” with V5’s Outliner feature and the first to communicate real-world construction as a sequence of collaborative events. The models and illustrations from this book are now used internationally to illustrate and explain construction methods.

These values were continued in our next book, Being SUSTAINABLE: Building Systems Performance. Construction models in this book were built using Google SketchUp. The book, models, and video tutorials illustrate the mechanics of sustainability in the same mid-rise office building found in Building SIMPLE. The models push the limits of construction modeling in SketchUp and the real potential of three-dimensional modeling to illustrate complex systems. The value of the book is that it illustrates the collaborative promise of SketchUp and construction modeling to bridge the information gaps often found in the real-world when dealing with complex building systems.

We’ve also used SketchUp to publish assembly manuals, forensic models, and fabrication models for management consultants, contractors, and manufacturers and are working on a new book using SketchUp to illustrate every detail in the construction of a wood frame house, How a House is Built: With 3D Construction Models. This book is also an updated project-based learning tool on how-to-build construction models with SketchUp.

The goal is to improve construction communications. The objective is to make complex construction information quick to read and easy to understand. With these books, we’ve found that very complex construction models can be built using a simple three-dimensional construction modeler called SketchUp. And the best thing about SketchUp is that it is free.