Autodesk Construction Cloud Data Exchange and Power BI in Action: Achieve Real-Time Synchronized Updates

SYED MUTHAHHARUDDIN AZHER: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our presentation for the AU 2024 session, "ACC Data Exchange and Power BI in Action." In this session, we will deep dive into the process of achieving real-time synchronized updates. Before we start, a quick safe harbor statement.

The presentation may include some forward-looking statements about our future outlooks and results. These statements reflect our best judgment, but any purchasing decisions should not be made based on these statements. Also, all the Autodesk content is proprietary, so please do not copy, post, or distribute without any authorization.

Now let's move on to a quick introduction about ourselves. So first, my name is Syed Muthahharuddin Azher. And I'm an associate engineer working with AtkinsRéalis for the past 2.5 years. And I specialize in 4D and 5D BIM applications. Also, I look after the information management and data analytics projects.

I'm a civil engineer by education, along with post-graduation in construction technology and management. I'm a first-time speaker at AU. And I'm really excited to share our insight with you all. Now, I'll be passing on to Ratnadeep to proceed with the introduction. Over to you, Ratnadeep.

RATNADEEP SARKAR: Thank you, Azher. Thank you, Azher. Hi, everyone. I'm an associate group software engineer at Atkins. I work in the digital department, and I am primarily a software developer. I lead the developments around engineering automation. I have a bachelor of science degree in physics.

I have more than 12 plus years of experience in engineering automation. I work with Revit APIs, Forge APIs, CDE integrations, process automations. And I love to work with geometrical analysis and geometric computation and hope this presentation is exciting. I will pass over to Dharshan.

DHARSHAN PR: Yeah. Hi, everyone. I'm Dharshan, an associate engineer at AtkinsRéalis. After completing my graduation in civil engineering, I joined AtkinsRéalis as a graduate engineer. Initially, I worked with the information management team, but soon I discovered my interest in automation. Since then, I transitioned into dual role, both as process automation developer and also information management.

I'm first-time speaker at Autodesk, and I'm incredibly excited to be here. So moving on to the next-- before we dive into the session, let's first look at some of the challenges we are currently facing when using dashboard for quantity takeoffs and data visualization. I'll start by showing-- this is an example of a snip of a quantity takeoff.

So this dashboard visualizes quantity extracted from a BIM authoring tool, such as Revit. And so extracting the quantities from the Revit sometimes can be time consuming. So we typically use Dynamo scripts or Revit schedules to pull the data into it. So this will reduce the time. It will slow down the overall process.

So once the data is extracted from the Revit, we are visualizing in the form of dashboard, as you can see here, where you have the quantity classification code. We have the quantities itself and what units it is measured. So we have the actual quantity dashboard here.

But the main challenge of this dashboard is limited data interpretation. So we are unable to link the data in the dashboard with the actual 3D model, which is making, which will make the process of decision-making slower. So now that we have seen the challenges, we'll see how to address them and what to expect from today's session.

So our main goal is to show how to integrate Autodesk Construction Cloud, Data Exchange, Power BI, Revit, and Power Automate to create a fully automated process and interactive dashboard with the 3D viewer in it. And this approach overcomes all the issues which we discussed earlier.

So we'll start by showing you step-by-step process on how to build a simple Quantity TakeOff dashboard. From there, you will learn how to connect to various data sources, such as clashes, issues, 4D scheduling, 5D cost estimates, 6D carbon analytics, and track the quantity variation across the design. So this all can be covered within a single dashboard. This dashboard is highly interactive and allowing you to explore project from every angle. So here is a quick snippet of the video of what we spoke here, where we are covering 5D BIM, 6D, and the quantity variation.

So by the end of this session, you will have the knowledge to integrate the live Revit models into the dashboard. And then we'll show you how to build the Quantity TakeOff dashboard and refresh the dashboard automatically. And you'll also learn to build dashboards with 4D, 5D, 6D, and clashes and also quantity variation insights, all within a single dashboard.

So I'll move on to the next. This are our learning objectives. Next is a quick overview of the benefits of using 3D model viewer into the Power BI. So we can bring the 3D model into the Power BI and interact with it. And we can slice and dice the data, both in 3D and also in the actual data. Dashboards can be customizable, as we saw in the "What to Expect" slide, where we were showing 4D, 5D, 6D. So dashboards can be customizable. Then it's a unified platform, where it is for all the users, and it's user friendly, where they can filter the data and see the model in the Power BI itself.

So in our session, we'll mainly focus on the Data Exchange. We'll cover on what is Data Exchange. Data Exchange is a neutral data format that can be used across multiple platforms. So it can be exported from one platform and imported into other platforms. So it has the interoperability between connecting to all the platforms.

So one key benefit is we can control the data which we are sharing. Data Exchange can be created with a limited number of data, so we have the control over the data, which has been shared to the other platforms. So Data Exchange has the capability to connect to multiple platforms. In this presentation, we'll cover only four of them. One is Autodesk Construction Cloud, which is a common data environment, Revit as a BIM authoring tool, and Power Automate as a process automation. And finally, we have the data visualization tool, which is Power BI.

So I'll give a quick overview on each tech stacks we are using for today. So Autodesk Construction Cloud is a common data environment. And also, it has the capability to create the Data Exchange and also have API capabilities to connect with it.

So Power BI brings all the data together, including the Data Exchange, Autodesk docs data, and also has the capability to connect to various data sources, which we saw earlier, 4D, 5D, 6D, and build a visualization out of that data. So we are using Power Automate to extract the previous version of the data and refresh the dashboard automatically.

So next, we'll cover on overall workflow of the quantity visualization process. So in this workflow, we'll start with the Revit model hosted in Autodesk Construction Cloud. But first, the Data Exchange is created from the Revit views. And later on, whenever a Revit is updated, the version of the Revit is increased in the ACC, the Data Exchange automatically updates accordingly. So then we pull the latest data, which is extracted in the Data Exchange, and pull it into the Power BI. And we visualize the data-- visualize the data to produce Quantity TakeOff dashboard.

So once the dashboard is built, we will publish it in the Power BI online so that that can be accessed to different stakeholders and can be shared. So once the Power BI is uploaded to cloud, basically published to cloud, we can use Power Automate to refresh the dashboard. So whenever a Data Exchange is updated, Power Automate flow is triggered. And in turn, Power Automate has the capability to refresh the dashboard. So it will refresh the dashboard in online, making the complete workflow automated.

So we'll just give a quick overview. First, we are pulling the data from Revit to Power BI and visualizing as a Quantity TakeOff dashboard and then refreshing the dashboard using Power Automate. So this is the complete workflow.

So next, we'll see how to create Revit views and publish them onto Autodesk Construction Cloud, as it is essential for creation of the Data Exchange.

So setting up of the view for the Revit is crucial, as we define how much data that can be shared across multiple platform using Data Exchange. So we'll start by showing you how to create a dedicated view for the Data Exchange. So first, we can duplicate a specific view and then rename the view accordingly. So for this example, I'm using Data Exchange for the view name. And once the view is created, we can control the visibility graphics of the view.

So before we dive into visibility graphics, we can also control how much data we are exposing. For example, we have a complete site. We can use section box or scope box to only allow limited area of the data. We can keep only a limited number of data so that it can be visible in the view.

So then we have the visibility graphics, where we can hide the model annotation categories, as we don't want to be in the 3D dashboard. And also, we can hide the-- keep only the necessary elements. In this case, we are hiding the topography and the plants. So now we learned how to create a view in the Data Exchange. Next, we will see how to publish them into ACC.

So I'll quickly play the video. So first we need to navigate to the Collaborate tab at the top and go to the Publish Settings and create a set if required, and select the 3D models, which needs to be published in the cloud, and save and close. So once this is done, you can synchronize the model so that it is being synchronized to the cloud. And then we can navigate to the home page and select the file which we want to publish, and click on the Publish latest. So once published, it will take some time, and we can see in the actual ACC that the version has been increased.

So now that we have seen how to create the view and publish it into ACC, now we'll see how to create Data Exchange from the Revit views, which we created earlier. So for creating a Data Exchange in the ACC, first navigate to the folder and select the Revit model from which you want to extract the Data Exchange, and go to the Sheets tab and navigate to the 3D tab. And we have a couple of views here. You can select any one of the view and click on the three dots and create the Data Exchange.

So here we have the flexibility to save the Data Exchange in a specific folder and rename them accordingly. So here we are creating the Data Exchange. So once it is created, we can see it in the ACC. So now that we have created the Data Exchange, we will see how to get the link of the Data Exchange because this is crucial for the Power BI setup.

So I'll quickly play the video. We need to navigate to a folder and select the Data Exchange which we want to extract the link from. And click on the three dots at the top, and go to the Share tab. And we have Links tab here. And click on Copy. So now that we have copied this link, we will be using it in our upcoming Power BI setup.

So now we will see how to import Data Exchange data into Power BI directly. So a couple of prerequisites-- first, Power BI to be installed. And then we have the data connector for the Power BI. Navigate to Autodesk App Store. We will also provide the links in the presentation and also in the handouts.

So navigate to the App Store first, and then you can search for Data Connector for Power BI. And you will find it at the first instance. And once you click on that, make sure you are downloading the latest version of the Data Exchange by seeing the latest updated date and also the version. We are also providing the installation guide link so that that can be accessed in the Autodesk portal.

So now we are into Power BI. This is a Power BI interface, where we have the Home tab, where you can get the data where we will be using it for getting the Data Exchange. And we have a couple of other options here. Then on the side, we have Filters option here, where we can filter the data. And then we have the Visualization pane, where we can bring the visualization into the canvas and build our reports. Then we have the Data tab, where we can see the active table, which is there in the current Power BI file.

So quick overview about Power BI, and now we will see how to get the Data Exchange into Power BI. So first, click on the Get Data option. And you can search for the Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI and select that. And once we select that, we will get a popup for the third-party service. We can click on Continue.

Once that is done, we have the main popup, where we are able to select the data source and also the links. So here in the Source Type, we need to select Data Exchange, and we have URL and filters. So we recommend using URL. As this URL can be dynamic in the Power BI, we can replace it, or it can be scalable if we are using a URLs. But as we saw in the earlier slide, we got the Data Exchange URL that can be used here.

Then we have the Filters option. We are not recommending, as we can filter the data inside the Power BI query and also in the visualization. So we are not recommending to go with the Filters option. So a quick tip-- you can load multiple data exchanges at once by using multiple links separated by semicolon.

So then once we load the data, we get the table of it. In this case, we have architecture table, which we have loaded using the link. And we have two options. Either we can load the data or we can transform the data.

We can further transform this data, like filtering and deleting couple of columns which are not required. But in this case, we'll go with Load option. So directly we are jumping into the table view. So once we click on the Load option, you can see a table view of the data. So we have a couple of columns here and the data.

So now we have learned how to import the Data Exchange data into Power BI. Next, we'll show you how to visualize the data in the form of QTO-- quantity extraction-- Quantity TakeOff. I'll hand over to Azher to show the visualization.

SYED MUTHAHHARUDDIN AZHER: Thanks, Dharshan. Now, let us move on to the setting of visualizations part. And parallelly, we will see the interaction amongst the various visualizations and also have a live demo to create interactive reports. We have already created a video, a pre-recorded video, to show the steps. So let me quickly run the video.

As you can see, what you are seeing on my right-hand screen, right-hand side is the visualization pane, which already has multiple visuals provided by the Microsoft. So the one which we are going to use is the Autodesk Data Connector or the Model Viewer, which is developed by Autodesk.

So to import this visualization, there would be a file, which was downloaded during our setup. And we just need to bring that up by importing the visualization here. To do so, we need to click on the three dots or the More menu and click on the Import a Visual From the File. We just need to accept this and say Import Visualization. And we would get the document Power BI and custom visuals path. From there, we can select the visual file and just say Open.

So once we click on Open, we will be able to see the Autodesk data Connector or the Model Viewer on our Visualization pane. We can click on the visualization and resize it according to our requirement. So here, I have expanded it to fit half of the page.

Now we can see, there are four important columns. That is the Viewer, External Element, ID 1, External Element ID 2, and the External Element ID 3. The Viewer column would generally define what you would see on the Model Viewer visual. And the External Element ID 1, 2, and 3 would define the relationship between the metadata that would define the quantities and the parameters that would come from Revit, and the 3D model viewer that we would be seeing on the left, on the Model Viewer visualization.

So let us quickly bring up the three columns into the required fields. So I'm searching for the viewer here. The Viewer column is brought into the Viewer field. And then we will be bringing the External Element ID into all the other three fields. That is External Element ID, 1, 2, and 3.

So once we have brought in these three External Element IDs, our Model Viewer is ready to view and interact with the other visualizations. So as you can see, we are able to see the 3D visualization of the structures discipline that was imported into this Data Exchange.

Now to have another set of interactions, we need to bring in more visualizations. We are starting with the Slicer or the Filter visualization. Slicer is a technical term in Power BI. In general, it acts as a filter to filter the data. So now we have clicked on the Slicer icon, and we have brought in the visualization onto the canvas. We can again resize it according to our requirement.

Now here, I would be bringing the Category column as the field for this particular visualization. So once we have dragged the Category field into the visualization, you can see all the categories that are available within our model. So we can slice and dice the data based on our selections here. We can also go for multiple selections, which we would be seeing in the coming steps.

So next, once we have got the first visual, we can go for a table visualization so that we can see more data, which is important to us and have some segregation. So I have selected the table visualization here from the visualization pane. Again, we can resize it according to our requirement. And we can bring whatever columns we would like to see.

So here, I'm trying to bring QTO parameters. So basically a quick understanding of QTO-- so QTO stands for Quantity TakeOff. We have assigned some custom parameters in our Revit model so as to define the parameters that we would like to see in the model. So these are entered with some naming convention so we can map the data to the upcoming slides.

So now I would be bringing the QTO classification code, then QTO item group, and QTO item name into this visualization. So these three define what is the item that we are going to look ahead and what are its properties. And then we would be bringing some quantifying parameters, like length. First we have brought the length, and then we would be bringing in the area column. And then we would also bring the volume.

So basically, the Power BI has realized that the length, area, and volume are numbers, and it has tried to create a summation of these so that the quantities are aggregated across the similar classification code group and item name. But you can also modify what you would like to do by going to the dropdown here and selecting the parameter which you would like to go ahead with. Like we can go for sum, average, minimum, and et cetera.

So for this current example, we would be going ahead with summation. We can resize the table so that we are able to see the data properly. Then we can add one more visualization, which can give us some high-level insights, like a column chart. So I'm selecting a column chart and again bringing it into its right position and trying to resize it according to my requirement.

And here, now I'm going to use the QTO item group as a column on the x-axis. And I would be using the field Area on my y-axis. So basically, what it would do is create a distribution in the form of column chart that has the total number of float area, total structural wall area, and the total structural foundation area. These are the three item groups assigned within our structural model.

So as you can see, we are able to see three bar charts. But there is no information related to what is the total area. So to do so, we can further modify the visual by going to the Format Visual and turn on the data labels. So once we have turned on the data labels, you can see some numbers appear on top of these bar charts. And now we will look into how these visualizations interact with each other.

So now, first I'm going to the Slicer or the Filter visualization, and I have selected the floor. Once I have selected the floor category, you can see the data has sliced to show only the floor category in the table as well as in the column chart. If you look closely at the Model Viewer, you would see that the items are hidden here, which are not selected. So basically, the Model Viewer is trying to hide whatever is unselected and only show the items which are selected.

Now, we can get rid of these hidden elements and just make it completely hidden by turning off the Ghost Hidden Object setting that I have just shown. So once we have done that, we can see that the item that has been selected is completely isolated in the Model Viewer. Next, we can also go for a multiple selection, like I'm selecting the structural foundation along with the floor category. Now you can see that both the categories are seen in the visualization, as well as the table, as well as the column chart.

Now, let us select something from the table visualization. Next step would be to select from the table visualization. So once we have selected an item from the table visualization, unlike the filter, it would just highlight the elements on the 3D viewer as well as onto the column chart. So this is how-- this is the difference between the slicer or default filter and the other visualization default filter.

Now, if I select the same data on the bar chart, it would also highlight the data on the 3D viewer and across other visualization. Basically, it doesn't isolate. So these are the standard settings that the Power BI environment comes with. We can modify these settings of isolating or just highlighting the data by going to the Format Visualization and just changing it to-- changing the edit interactions.

Now next step that I would like to show is there is a fifth parameter here called Color. So what does this fifth parameter of Color do for the Model Viewer? Basically, this tries to assign different colors for different unique entities that are part of that particular column. Now, in this video, I'm trying to bring the QTO item group as a field for the color. Once I have brought the QTO item group, you would be able to see that the default color background-- default color, which was applied to the Model Viewer, has changed to some different colors.

Now, let me clear the filters and see all the categories. Now you can see, different categories are assigned different colors here. We can also play around with the way this data will-- these colors look like by going to the Format Visual that I would be showing. Now, once we go to the Format Visual, there is an option called Data Colors. And we can change the way we would like to see the data.

Now, I'm changing the color for floors. And now you would be able to see how the floors color would change in the 3D visualization. So this property of the Model Viewer is particularly useful when we want to differentiate between different item groups or any category, such kind of scenarios.

Now, let us move on to our next step, where I would be showing you a sample dashboard, which was already prepared for you after applying all the required slicers and tables. So it is a Quantity TakeOff dashboard. Let me head over to that particular video.

So here is a recorded video of the Quantity TakeOff dashboard. So as you can see, on my left-hand side, you can see a Model Viewer, as we have created in the demo. We also have three different slicers. This time it is QTO item group, classification code, and included in scope here. So these are the slicers which we would require to filter the data onto the visualization. And then we also have a--

So basically, first I'm trying to show you the interactions between the QTO item group. Once we have selected the item group and we have tried to hide the ghost hidden objects, we can see how the data is interacting, just like it interacted in the demo video. So now there is a table here at the bottom, which would show the QTO item group, discipline, and QTO item name, along with some quantifying fields, like count, length, area, volume, and weight, which are standard across multiple categories.

So I have just selected to show the maximum possible data without any relation to a particular category. So this is all the data that you would like to see in general. But in general scenario, different categories would require to be viewed with different dimensions. For example, like we would like to see unconnected height in case of walls, and we would not be interested about the weight of the wall. But when we go for structural framing, we would be interested to see the total weight of the structural framing and the length of each member and not the remaining parameters. So in that case, the weight would be important.

And when we go for conduits, we would be more interested in seeing the length and numbers because conduit fittings will be generally counted in terms of count, and the conduit is generally measured in terms of length. So we have three different buttons here, which will take us to different tables, which will show us only the relevant columns for that particular category.

Now, I'm heading over to the wall visual-- wall page, where you can see the table has filtered to show only QTO item group, item name. And here we can see there is an extra column of unconnected height, which was not available previously. And the weight column is completely removed because it is not required in this particular case.

So again, we can filter the data, just like we did in the previous video, by selecting in the item group, if we have multiple walls and structural walls, et cetera. And it would filter the data onto the viewer as well as the other visualizations.

Next, let us head over to the Structural Framing tab. Here, if you see, we have a Weight column and the other column of Unconnected Height and Area are removed because those are not much relevant into this category. So once we have gone to the structural framing, we can next head over to the Conduits page, where you will see only count and length are there. So basically, this is the super power of Power BI, where you can have some customizable tables which are required for a particular category.

So with this, I'll just move on to the next slide and hand over to Dharshan so he can take over for the features of Model Viewer and continue with the workflows. Over to you, Dharshan.

DHARSHAN PR: Just to summarize, we saw how to build the Quantity TakeOff dashboard earlier. Now, we'll start with the additional features that are in Model Viewer. So these are the couple of features that are in Model Viewer. We'll highlight two of them. The first one is Measure, where we can calculate the distance between two points in the actual 3D model in the Power BI itself, and also Section feature, where we can cut through building section and see through the building, and we can visualize it.

So moving on to the next, we have the Power Automate workflow. So Power Automate has the capability to automate repetitive tasks. So initially, the first I'll cover about Power Automate workflow. So in this case, when a Data Exchange is updated, the previous version of the Data Exchange information is stored in a SharePoint, and that is used for the Power BI visualization. And once the data is extracted for the previous version, then the dashboard is getting automatically refreshed.

So moving on to the next, this is the actual Power Automate flow itself. Initially, we have a trigger. We are using trigger as a Autodesk platform service, Webhooks. Once the flow is triggered, we are using Power BI information to extract the previous version of data. We are using a query against data that know to extract the previous version.

So all these data is processing and created in form of a CSV file in SharePoint. And then that SharePoint CSV is again used in the Power BI. So once this extraction is completed, we refresh the dashboard and making the workflow completely automated.

So moving on to the next, we have the implementation examples. So as of now, we covered how to build a Quantity TakeOff dashboard. Now we'll see how we are connecting to multiple data sources to create a couple of examples. So we'll go to the next slide. And this has a couple of examples, where we are connecting to Clash and Issues data source and creating Clash and Issue Data dashboard. Then we have Quantity Variation dashboard and 4D BIM Schedule and 5D Cost Visualization and 6D BIM Carbon Analytics.

So we'll quickly go through a implementation example workflow for clashes or issues and also design variation. Initially, we saw how to import the data into Power BI. Now we'll see how clashes data can be imported into Power BI, and relationship can be created.

So at first, we are using Model Coordination to identify the clashes and create the clashes in form of issues. And issues, thus, can be extracted using Insights module under ACC, using the Data Connector option. So then the Data Connector data is pulled into Power BI, and it is visualized to show the Clash or Issues dashboard.

Next, we have the Quantity Variation workflow, where when a Data Exchange is updated, the Power Automate flow is triggered, as we saw earlier. So Power Automate extracts the previous version of data from Power BI and stores it into a SharePoint. And once it is stored as a CSV file, the Power Automate tries to refresh the dashboard. Thus, the previous extracted data is then pulled into Power BI and also the current Data Exchange version. So this can help us to compare the previous version with the current version and show it from a visualization.

So next, we'll see how to identify the clashes and how to create them subviews and export the issues in form of-- in the Power BI. Next, we'll see a quick video on how to navigate to-- first, we'll use the Model Coordination to identify the clashes and then navigate to the Clashes tab, where we can go. And then we can select which clashes we want to see. For example, structures versus what we have previously seen. And we can filter the categories also.

So in this case, I have filtered only ducts versus beams, as they are critical for the clashes. So we can create clashes using issues. And you can select the exact location where the issue needs to be placed. So once the issue is created, we have the flexibility to assign the issues to a individual person or a company or a role. And then we can assign the due date so that this can be tracked.

So once the issue is created in this interface, we can move on to the next interface, where we will see in the Model Coordination Issues tab, where we can see all the issues which are created for the particular model coordination. So issues also can be viewed in the Docs module as well. But as you can see, here is the table view of the issues.

So next we'll move on to the Insights module, where we can extract the data and import it into Power BI. So we run a data extract here. We can either schedule or run it right now. For scheduling, we have daily, weekly, and monthly options. And we can set up the time and also date, from start date to end date. And here we can select upon various data, but currently we are interested only in the issues data. We are selecting Issues and running it. So this is a recurring process. So it will export the extracts based on the time we selected earlier.

So now we know how to create the clashes into issues. And we are pulling the clashes data, issues data into Power BI using Autodesk Connector in the Power BI. So now we'll see a sample dashboard, which we have created for the clashes and issues. We have the Clashes and Issues page. And in that we have the left side, we have the viewer. And on the right side, we have couple of filters or slices, discipline 1 and 2, and the Status filter.

Then we have the total number of issues or clashes, and then how many are open in it, and then how many are in review and pending and closed. So for simplicity, we will just filter the data only for Structures-- Structures discipline, so that we see only the clashes of structures alone.

So as we move on, we can see these are the elements from the structures which are clashing with the building services. So if I try to select the clashes from the table, it will highlight the specific clash. So the clash also has the element ID and their name and the additional data to that element.

So then, in the right side, we also have the bar chart, where we can use the bar chart to showcase how much clashes are there in each discipline. And also if the bar chart is selected, the clashes are highlighted in the same. So then we can use the Status Slicer at the top to just see how many clashes are closed and what are the clashes which are closed.

So this is the Clash dashboard. Now, I'll hand over to Azher to explain about the Quantity Variation dashboard and also other BIM dimension dashboards.

SYED MUTHAHHARUDDIN AZHER: Yeah. Thanks, Dharshan. So far, we have covered how to get the clashes for a particular model across disciplines. Now, we will try to cover the Quantity Variation dashboard. So the first, as we discussed in the-- as discussed by Dharshan in the previous slide, we always create a backup of the current data before refreshing for the current version of the Data Exchange.

So when we are creating the backup, it will mean that it's the previous data for that particular Data Exchange, and we are able to compare the previous data with the current data now. So basically, we are going to compare the CSV file that was stored by Power Automate for the previous revision with the current Data Exchange file that was loaded by Power BI and show the quantity variation across the quantities, like length, area, and volume, for example here.

Now let me quickly play the video. First, we have the Model Viewer on my left-hand side. And then we can navigate to the table that we have here, which shows the QTO classification code rolled down to the QTO item group, which is further rolled down to the QTO item name. So we will be able to see how the data has changed from the previous iteration to the current iteration of the modeling. And we can see what are the details of it.

For example, the cast-in-place concrete has changed by minus 6.25. That is, it has decreased by 6.25 with the Walls category, if we drill down into the next level. But if we further drill down, we will notice that it has decreased across two different kinds of walls. The interior wall of 138 mm partition has decreased by 8.9. But the exterior insulation wall on masonry has increased by 2.64, contributing to a total difference of 6.25. So this can be generally useful when we want to track the changes in terms of concrete or wall steel that we would like to see, like volume changes or the weight changes. Or if we want to see the length change for conduit and all, this can be really helpful.

So we have also created some discipline-specific main buttons here at the bottom. If we click on the architecture, for example, you will be able to see the data pertaining only to the architectural discipline. So this would show only the changes that have happened in the architectural modeling. And we can, again, roll down the data from the classification code to the classification item group and then to the item name here as well from this table. And the model would also show only the model which is relevant to the architectural category.

Next, let us move on to the next slide. So far, we have covered the Clash dashboard and the Quantity Variation dashboard, which basically means that we are trying to address the clashes first and trying to accommodate those changes in the quantity variation, accommodate these changes and because of which the quantity variations have occurred. Now, we will move into extending the dimensions of BIM.

So far, we are aware of the 3D BIM. So those who have studied about the BIM will know that there are 4D, 5D, and 6D BIM, which means, in 4D we would be incorporating the schedule, in 5D we will be trying to incorporate the cost, and in 6D we can incorporate many different dimensions, many different parameters. For our example, we are incorporating the carbon here.

Now let us quickly move on to the workflow of the different dashboards. For 4D BIM, as I have already told, we will be using the schedule as the fourth dimension. That is nothing but the time factor is added to the 3D model. So for this, what we do, generally the planners use the Primavera P6 or MSP as a standard tool for scheduling.

We get the data from P6 or MSP into a simplified format in the form of Excel, which will have the details like activity ID, activity name, the start and end date, and the total duration of that activity. We also ingested our Revit model with the appropriate activity IDs so that these two can be related together once the data is pulled into Power BI.

So once we have pulled the data into Power BI from the Revit Data Exchange as well as the Excel, these two datas are integrated by using the activity ID, which is common across the two database. And with this, we will be able to visualize the sequence of the construction that would happen in real. So next is the 5D BIM.

So 5D BIM, as I have told, once we have integrated the time factor, we can further go on and increase the-- integrate the cost. That would mean that you can visualize the variation of cost over the time and across the categories. So if we superimpose the cost onto the 4D BIM, it would mean 5D BIM are the cost visualization analytics.

So for doing the 5D cost analyzation-- visualization, we generally have-- all the organizations generally have a cost database. We have used Destini here. And based on this cost database, we would again simplify the data into a simplified Excel, where it will have just the QTO item name and the unit cost, along with the unit of measure. So once we have this database, we would make sure the model is having the appropriate QTO item name, written with the naming convention, so that these two can be mapped together in Power BI.

So we will get the data from this Excel into Power BI, as well as we will get the data from Revit Data Exchange into Power BI. And then these two are integrated using the QTO item name. So once these two are integrated, we can multiply the quantities that we have arrived with the appropriate unit cost and get the total cost in the furthermore for the project.

And then next is the 6D BIM for six D BIM. Generally the carbon factors are used from standard databases. In our case, we are going to use the ICE. That is nothing but Inventory of Carbon and Energy. So from this database, we have pulled some standard data for our requirement and populated in the Excel, along with the material. So we are, again, populating the appropriate material in the Revit model. So when the data is combined in Power BI, the data from Excel, which contains the carbon factor and the data from Revit model, which contains the material, are related together, and the calculations will happen. And we can see the total embodied carbon of the project.

So this was the workflow, which covers 4D, 5D, and 6D BIM. Now let us move on to the simple dashboards that are available for 4D, 5D, and 6D that we have developed. So first comes the 4D BIM dashboard. So let me quickly play the video. As you can see, there is the 3D Viewer model. So this is our third dimension. Then we have the Date Slider, which will let us slide the time here so that this is the fourth dimension added to our model.

And then we have a Gantt chart. We will show the sequence of activities happening. And then we have a Current Activity card that will show the activities that are happening at the moment. And then we also have a Month Slicer here, which will let us see the activities that would happen in a particular month.

So now, let us go ahead and select the structures because we have, for an example, incorporated the activity ID only into the Structures model. So once I select the structures, you can see the data has filtered in the 3D viewer. And we can just go and change it to remove the ghost hidden objects.

So now you can see the data has changed to the structural model. It is showing only formation because right now my date slider is coinciding in terms of start date and the end date. Now let us move the end date of the slider. So as we move the end date, we can see the model is building up. And from only structural foundation now, it would develop into a slab and structural framing or structural column. And it will eventually complete up to the roof. And at the same time, we can see how the Gantt chart is interacting. And we can see the activities that are happening at that moment of time and the current activities as well.