Saving Time During Production and Construction with Ideate Sticky
AC Martin Partners is a Los Angeles-based architecture, planning, interior architecture, and research firm that uses an integrated design approach to create enduring environments for the 21st century. Founded in 1906, AC Martin designs colleges and universities, corporate and commercial buildings, science and technology centers, hospitality and retail buildings, civic and religious spaces, and public landmarks.
Elisa de Dios, Building Information Modeling (BIM) Manager/ Production Coordinator and Associate at AC Martin, is a member of the Los Angeles Revit User Group and has been involved in the leadership of the group and its meetings. She has trained and supported AC Martin’s staff of 65 in the use of BIM, Revit, and other design software for nearly nine years. She described how Ideate Sticky has greatly improved the Revit workflow at the firm. “Half of our staff are regular Ideate Sticky users, mostly in the production phase and in construction documents,” says de Dios. “When Ideate Sticky was first introduced on YouTube from Ideate Software, I forwarded the link to my assistant, Henry Diaz, and said, ‘Check this out.’ He messaged me, then walked into my office, because he was so excited about Ideate Sticky. He said, ‘What are you waiting for? We’re going to get this, right?’”
“Henry then walked into our COO’s office and told him, ‘You can’t see it, but I’m crying tears of joy that we’re going to get this tool.’ And his intuition proved to be correct; Ideate Sticky has saved us great chunks of time and headaches.”
Streamlines the Revit Workflow
Ideate Sticky links a Microsoft Excel file to a Revit project, so designers and planners can create and format tabular text in Excel, then display the results in the Revit project. Ideate Sticky preserves Excel formatting, including images, and can be automatically updated.
“Because Ideate Sticky displays non-BIM tabular text in Revit, our team can quickly create and update those notes and code specifications, consultant data, and abbreviation lists in Excel, using the tool we already know,” says de Dios. “No more inefficient workarounds!”
Finding More Ways to Use Ideate Sticky
On the San Diego State University Engineering Building, de Dios and her team found more ways to use Ideate Sticky.
“Initially, we included a Sticky with general notes and abbreviations. Then we saw how easy it was to have a consultant sheet list that’s not in Revit: send an Excel spreadsheet template to our consultants, have them fill it out and send it back, and convert it to Ideate Sticky. Not having to type the information into Revit line by line has saved us significant time as well as eliminated our risk of redundant data entry errors.”
Saves Valuable Time Through Easier Collaboration
“If our project managers or project architects need to access or update the information on the Ideate Sticky schedule, they don’t have to go into the Revit model to check on files. That’s extremely important to our workflow, because not all project architects are Revit-savvy. We can also hand work to our administrative assistant, who doesn’t need to be Revit-savvy either.”
An average project can consist of between 300 to 400 sheets, with perhaps a quarter of those created in Revit. “Someone used to spend hours in Revit typing line by line the sheets not already in Revit. Now an assistant can put it all together in Excel, which saves us significant project time.”
Discovering Additional Value of Ideate Sticky
de Dios and her team continue to benefit from the use of Ideate Sticky and find more ways to use the tool. “I’m eager to see what else we can learn about the tool,” she says, “and my assistant knows how much he helped AC Martin by insisting that we try it out."
About Ideate Software
Ideate Software allows Revit users to have unprecedented control over their data and solve persistent problems in Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner (AECO) workflows. Ideate Software solutions enable Revit users to save time, increase accuracy, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.
