If you are suffering “Autodesk University Excitement Fade”, maybe my tweets about the AU Extension in Australia might help get you back in the mood for learnin’…

Your portal:
https://infraworks360.autodesk.com/portal

What’s the difference between Infraworks and Infraworks 360? Infraworks 360 is the ‘big brother’…
Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Questions and Answers | InfraWorks 360 | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Hotfix:
Autodesk InfraWorks 2015 Model Builder Security Hotfix | InfraWorks 360 | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Activation:
To activate Autodesk InfraWorks 360 | InfraWorks 360 | Autodesk Knowledge Network

How to activate InfraWorks 360 modules | InfraWorks 360 | Autodesk Knowledge Network 

If you are interested in issue tracking, BCF, and multidisciplinary coordination, then the new “BIMcollab” offering from Kubus may be worth a look:
http://www.bimcollab.com/en/BIMcollab/BIMcollab

It looks essentially like a cloud manager for BCF issues. From the marketing spiel:

  • issues directly linked to objects in your BIM together with the correct viewpoint for quick visualisation
  • all the information needed at hand to lookup, create and solve issues within your BIM tool,
  • to save all your issues in the cloud and be able to access them from anywhere at anytime.


BIMcollab centralizes issue management in the cloud, simplifies this process and offers a structured way of storing, sharing and managing issues. But more important: you have the information right where it’s needed most: directly within your BIM model checker and BIM authoring tools. 

If you are already using it, feel free to comment and let us know what you think.
UPDATE some links from the press release:

Kubus BIMcollab® release 
KUBUS announces the release of a new ground breaking product: BIMcollab®. This BCF based issue management system for BIM in the cloud operates across applications. It helps bridging the differences between BIM tools, and targets the multidisciplinary cooperation between companies working on construction projects.
 
 
Join BIMcollab® Join BIMcollab®

We are happy to invite you to try BIMcollab for free. Upload BCF files or connect to BIM applications and invite team members to view your issues. Improving communication in BIM projects starts today. Join us >

 
 
BCF Managers for free BCF Managers for free

With the introduction of BIMcollab® we now offer our BCF Managers for free. These add-ons for Revit, simplebim and ArchiCAD have a direct link to BIMcollab® from the before mentioned BIM authoring tools. Download >

 
 

BIMcollab®
Why BIMcollab?
Features
Developer

Detailed and informative article re-published on AHDC (Australian Health Design Council) website. Quote (underlining is mine):
Managing the technology 
The post-occupancy incorporation of building data into an existing system long has been a tedious and error-prone process that now can be automated via the model’s geometry and data, if structured and formatted correctly. Health facility managers are seeing the value of BIM by integrating it into their existing computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and computer-aided facility management (CAFM) systems as well as energy or building management systems and electronic document management systems. By not limiting the application of BIM to simply a technology-to-technology interaction, the realistic outcomes that can be achieved by this type of workflow become evident. Often considered low-hanging fruit is BIM’s ability to integrate into a space management system. BIM applications such as San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk Inc.’s Revit Architecture are capable of tracking building spaces and easily categorizing that information into departmental areas as well as floor-to-floor or building-by-building breakdowns across a larger medical campus in both graphical and schedule-based interfaces. 

Also:
In its simplest terms, a model’s power to visualize space can contribute to staff and patient recruitment… BIM also can work to improve visitor wayfinding.

And the experience of Ohio State University and its 2D to 3D conversion for FM:
OSU began creating 3-D models of all the medical center buildings, helping the facilities team to understand its buildings and collaborate more effectively with the people who use them. OSU also has started using BIM in energy-use analysis and it is poised to play a key role in helping OSU to achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

Now that the medical center has been modeled, BIM is allowing the university’s facility management group to support general space reporting and to mock up spaces in greater detail for more informed decision-making processes and for future project funding. Due to the success of the initiative, OSU decided to extend the BIM program to its main campus.
“The core benefit of BIM for us comes down to being able to make better, more cost-effective decisions faster,” says Joe Porostosky, senior manager of facilities information and technology services for OSU. “Ultimately, our facilities better meet the needs of users without as much time-consuming back-and-forth and expensive rework.”

Source:
BIM’s Role Expands as Health Facility Managers Take Ownership | Australian Health Design Council

 

Heads-up:

Have you seen the BIM One Batch NWC Exporter? Its a free little addin for Revit that allows you to select multiple views and export them to NWCs all in one go. It works well, but it doesn’t have all the power of a full featured export addin (like RTV Xporter Pro – full review coming soon).

Important: during the signup process, you will have to choose a BIM One key – like a password. This is what will allow you to activate the addin manager, and use the installer. So, make sure you choose a BIM One Key before pressing ‘Save’ on the registration page.

Here’s what the addin manager looks like:

Quick demo of using the addin in Revit 2015:

From the BIM One site: 
Here are the steps to install the application:

  • Sign up on our website: Sign Up
  • Download the Add-Ins Manager: bimone.com/addinsmanager/setup.exe
  • Open the Add-ins Manager and log in
  • Select the apps you want to install and click Install
  • Here is more information about the Add-Ins Manager: User Guide – 
    See more at: https://bimone.ca/Apps/Product?productId=8#sthash.vcuO5zSl.dpuf 

    via
    Virtual Construction and Technology BIM One Inc. – NWC Batch Export

    I have posted about the Autodesk BIM Curriculum before, but it is worth mentioning again. It is a great collection of resources, videos, whitepapers, downloadables, and targeted lessons that can help improve your understanding and ability when it comes to specific BIM tasks.

    For example, there is a focused set of lessons relating to quantity takeoff in Revit and Navisworks.

    Some of these videos have also been uploaded to Youtube. Here is a playlist:

    Main lesson page:
    Lesson 3: Model-Based Estimating and Quantity Takeoff | BIM Curriculum

    Who owns and can potentially access your project data in the cloud? What are the legal implications? Many potential users of BIM360 and other products are concerned about this. Here is Scott Reese (Vice President, Cloud Platforms & Operations at Autodesk) speaking about this during a Q and A session at the Autodesk University 2014 Extension in Sydney, Australia on 10 November 2014.

    Check out the survey results from Design Master Software – interesting that 2/3 using Revit over AutoCAD:

    And how does MEP industry take-up of BIM compare with what was expected in 2011?

    As with any such survey, its value must be regulated by the question:  
    “Do the survey respondents represent an accurate cross-section of the industry itself?”

    Read more:
    MEP 3D-BIM 2014 Survey Results – Design Master Blog

    Able2Extract can export a pdf to various formats:

    In my testing, I opened a 97mb pdf file in Bluebeam and extracted one page to a separate pdf file for conversion. I opened this pdf in Able2Extract and tested exporting to DWG and DXF with various export options. My results are shown below.

    Polyline width detection: Good

    Connected segments into polyline: Good

    Hatch creation: Good, with colours when RGB ticked on export

    Scale:
    Good, probably best to export 1:1 then scale in AutoCAD using commands SC and ALL for selection (can also use scale export option)

    Text detection: Not good
    EDIT: Explanation “The PDF you used contains 4 embedded fonts with custom encoding (File>Properties>Fonts in Acrobat Reader). “Embedded” means that the PDF contains all necessary info to draw them correctly. But, according to PDF Standard 1.5 (http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/pdf/index_reference.html), page 427: 5.8 Embedded Font Programs…

    Font programs are subject to copyright, and the copyright owner may impose conditions under which a font program can be used. These permissions are recorded either in the font program itself or as part of a separate license. A font program may allow embedding for the sole purpose of viewing and printing the document, but not for creating new or modified text using the font (in either the same document or other documents); the latter operation would require the user performing the operation to have a licensed copy of the font program, not a copy extracted from the PDF file.

    It means that we can extract from the PDF its content, but not fonts.”

    Now, the real question: is it worth it? I think the ease of use is good, and the overall functionality also seems compelling for the US99.95 price tag. This is obviously a lot cheaper than buying a full standalone license of Adobe Illustrator. However, the lack of text support when converting to DWG / DXF is unfortunate. If you plan on extracting the vector information out of PDFs for tracing or use in Revit, and you don’t really need the text, Able2Extract could be worth a look…

    How you can get it:
    Direct link to 7 day trial for Windows

    Main download page here and help page for DWG conversion here

    I have previously posted how to convert pdfs to vector information using free tools and using Adobe Illustrator (with video).

    I have also provided a guide on converting a raster image to vector information for use in CAD and BIM in this post:
    Raster to Vector to DXF for use in AutoCAD, Revit or Navisworks (with video)

    Limitations:
    I loaded a 97 mb, 208 page architectural set into Able2Extract. It opened up quickly, but then it crashed before I could initiate a conversion.