Best Practices for Implementing a Newforma Konekt Project
Newforma Konekt is considered as a simple and easy to use tool. However, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure a successful project endeavor.
This article is aimed at BIM managers and coordinators who want to learn how to plan the launch of the Newforma Konekt platform correctly and efficiently. It contains the following sections:
- Define the project’s framework
- Learn how Newforma Konekt works
- Set up the coordination workflow and configure the project
- Engaging project team
Define the project’s framework
Whether this is your first Newforma Konekt project or not, it’s critical to define the framework. Here are some important questions to think about:
- What are the characteristics of the project (nature and size of the project, spatial organization and fragmentation envisioned)
- What are the project phases for which Newforma Konekt will be used? How will the platform be used? (meetings, project reviews, daily exchanges, etc.)
- How many people will be working on the project?
- What software will be used? How will Newforma Konekt fit in with these? What will be the responsibilities of each of the teams working in these softwares? (exports, publications, etc.)
For example, the figure below shows a typical coordination workflow using Revit for modeling, Navisworks for clash detection and Newforma Konekt for issue tracking and communication.
For more information or other examples of coordination workflows, see our blog post entitled From confusion to collaboration: My journey through the evolution of BIM coordination.
Learn how Newforma Konekt works
As a Newforma Konekt customer, you can register for the Project Launch & Setup training session to learn how to get your first Newforma Konekt project up and running, manage the issues, metrics, and reports from the cloud.
We also recommend that you register for the Issue Overview for Professionals / Sub-Contractors / Project Editors session to become familiar with the workflows of the various stakeholders. This will allow you to meet all communication needs.
To register for both sessions, click here.
Set up the coordination workflow and configure the project
Planning is an important step in the deployment of Newforma Konekt. The larger the project, the more planning is required. Therefore, it is important to establish a BIM implementation plan (provided by our team) that covers, among other things :
- Description of the project and the tools used
- Documentation of processes, such as the validation cycle
- Project settings (default due date, required vs. optional attributes, categories, etc.) and use of the viewer
- File management (formats, shared coordinates, exports)
- User management (number of users, roles, add-in installation procedure)
It is also useful to define your Newforma Konekt communication rules so that the various stakeholders know who creates/assigns/resolves/approves/etc. the issues and when.
When you are ready to set up your project in Newforma Konekt and create teams, follow the steps described in the Project Setup Checklist or watch our Project Launch Essentials webinar. If you’ve already set up a project, you can check out our best practices guide to how to optimize your BIM coordination workflow.
Engage project team
Once your project is set up, present your plan to the people who will be working on the project and allow them to test the tool. Your meeting agenda might look like this:
- Why use multiple platforms? Explain the value of accessing information on the cloud, directly in the model.
- How will Newforma Konekt be used on the project? Discuss your BIM execution plan (statuses, types, required attributes) and communication flow.
- Sub-contractor training (provided by Newforma Konekt or by you) including how to create issues (localize, select, section planes, etc.)
- Newforma Konekt support resources
To help you prepare for this first meeting and all subsequent meetings, check out our 50 tips for better BIM coordination meetings.