icheck for Building – Accessibility [CBC]

icheck for Building – Accessibility [CBC]

Win64, English

Bureau Veritas North America
An intelligent solution to check code compliance of t2019 California Building Code (CBC), Chapter 11B : Accessibility to Public Buildings, Public Accommodations, Commercial Buildings & Public Housing.

General Usage Instructions

icheck for Building follows certain procedures to check the rule compliance. The rule compliance checks are performed in four main steps :

 

[1] BIM model 

The basic input needed to use icheck for Building is the Autodesk® Revit® BIM model. It is expected that this BIM model contains the required information about spaces/objects. The details about this requirement are given in the subsequent chapters of this document.

 

[2] Objects / spaces to check

icheck for Building contains various algorithms to detect the required spaces and objects in the BIM model. Identifying the required spaces and objects is the first step in checking the rule compliance. Once you click the “Identify spaces & objects” button in the “Spaces” tab, the plugin goes through all the information available in the BIM model and extracts required spaces and objects for checking the rules. The detected spaces and objects are then populated in the object tree. All the spaces and objects are then organized as per the need of different rule families. Once the spaces and objects are identified, you can either select a few of them or check the rules on all of them. There are a few spaces that contain linked spaces or objects. For example, a patient's bedroom contains a toilet or bathing room. In case if you select any of such spaces, the linked spaces or objects will be automatically selected. 

 

[3] Rules to check

The next step is to select the rules to be checked. If you do not select any of the space or object, all the available rules will be visible. All the rules need certain spaces or objects. If the required space or object is not available, the rule will be deactivated for selection. Such rules will have [O] sign in their title. You can view the details of how you can prepare the BIM model so that the plugin can detect the required spaces and objects for the rule. 

The rules will be filtered based on two criteria :

 

  1. Facility category: There are rules which are generic and do not depend on the facility category. There are few rules, which are applicable only for the specific facility category. The rules will be filtered based on the facility category defined by you during the project settings.
  2. Selected spaces or object type: In case if you select any of the space or object, only applicable rules will be displayed.

 

There are few rules, which depend on the compliance of a few other rules. For example, to check the number of wheelchair compartments in a facility, the individual compartment must be checked for turning space and fixture clear space. In case if you select any of such rules, all the required linked rules will be selected automatically.

 

[4] Inputs and exceptions

The next step is to provide inputs and exceptions for rules. There are a few rules which need your inputs. For example, to check the required accessible van parking count, the plugin needs to know how many total parking spaces are provided in the parking facility. Some of the rules have exceptions. You can select the exception of the required rules in the rule.

 

[5] Result and feedback

After completing the above three steps, the plugin will have information about which spaces and objects to be checked, which rules to be checked, and what are the required inputs and selected exceptions for the rules. Once you click on “Check rules”, the plugin will check the selected rules on respective spaces and objects. 

 

Every rule contains two types of results, one the overall compliance status of the rule and the second the compliance status of each space and object. The non-compliance results are marked in RED color and the compliance results are marked in GREEN color.

 

[6] Export results

The plugin can export the rule status results in BCF and CSV format. BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) is a structured file format suited to issue tracking with a BIM model. The BCF file format allows users of different BIM software, and/or different disciplines to collaborate on issues with the project. icheck for Building exports rule compliance / non-compliance status in standard BCF format which can be viewed in any application supporting BCF file operations. 

 

The CSV is a Comma Separated Values file format. This file format can be opened in spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice, Apache Open Office, etc. 

To know more about how to use the plug-in, refer to the online plug-in help document at https://us.icheckforbuilding.com/

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Commands

Ribbon/Toolbar Icon Command Command Description

icheck – Accessibility

Once you click on the icheck for Building icon in the Add-in section, the plugin will be opened on the right side in a dockable window. You can resize, move, or close the dockable window the same as any other dockable window inside Revit.

Account

Account menu details can be accessed by clicking the account icon located on the main menu. The account menu provides various functionalities to edit your account details, take a free trial, or subscribe to the premium version of the plug-in.

Help

Help menu details can be accessed by clicking the help icon located in the main menu. The help section contains various sub-section with required help information available for icheck for Building.

Settings

Settings menu helps to select the compliance code and defined custom values for shared parameters, room, and area tags.

Spaces tab

Spaces tab contains functionality to identify spaces and objects, select all or a few of them for checking the rule compliance. You can highlight, search, and filter the spaces and objects

Rules tab

The rules tab contains all the accessibility rules you can check. The rules are filtered based on the type of spaces and objects selected, the BIM information available etc. You can also view the model preparation guide for each rule.

Check tab

Once the rules are selected in the rules tab, check tab contains details about selected rules and a method to select the manual inputs required to check the rule. Click on [I] button for inputs and [E] button for providing rule exceptions.

Rule tab

Result tab contains all compliance and non-compliance results. This tab contains various functionalities to work with the rule results.

Rule inputs

The rule checking process needs a few manual inputs. Using input dialog, you can provide the inputs you wish to consider for checking the rule compliance.

Rule exceptions

Some accessibility rules have certain exceptions. You can provide the rules exceptions using the exception dialog.

Highlight element

The highlight element button is available at multiple locations. This toggle button helps to display the space/object in the Revit graphics window.

Start highlight from model

Highlight from the model button helps to identify the space/object by selecting it from the Revit graphics window. This toggle button will highlight the selected element in the Revit model.

End highlight from model

End highlight from the model button will cancel the highlight mode. The highlight background will be removed from all the highlighted elements.

Refresh plug-in

Once you click the refresh plug-in button, the plug-in will restart and go to its default settings. After refresh, any current state of the plug-in will be removed.

Scroll to top

The content of many menus typically extends beyond the available height to render the content. If you have scrolled down on the page, you can use the scroll to top button to move to the top of the page.

Clear selection

At multiple locations in the plug-in, data is presented in the format of a selection tree. A clear selection option is very useful to clear all the selections quickly.

Filter results

The filter results button helps to apply various filters to the displayed results. Click on the button to open a dialog and set various result filters.

Reset results view

The reset result view button helps to remove any applied results filter and display the results using the default result view configuration.

Rules result view

Once this result view is activated, the results are displayed with the rule as a parent containing all the compliant and non-compliant spaces and objects.

Spaces and objects result view

Once this result view is activated, the results show spaces and objects as a parent containing all compliant and non-compliant rules.

Installation/Uninstallation

System requirement

icheck for Building runs inside Revit and therefore has the same system requirements as Autodesk Revit.

Prior to installation

Before installing icheck for Building, make sure that you have closed all Revit instances. An Internet connection is required while installing icheck for Building plug-in.

Installation wizard

Start the installation process by double-clicking on the installer exe file. The self-guided installation wizard asks for step-by-step inputs and installs the plug-in. Once the installation is complete, open Autodesk Revit and begin using the plug-in.

Uninstallation

You can uninstall the add-in like any other Windows software. On windows 10, uninstallation can be done from settings. 

  • Select the Start button, then select Settings > Apps > Apps & features. 
  • Search for icheck for Building
  • Select the add-in then select Uninstall.

To know more about installation, uninstallation, and troubleshooting, refer to https://us.icheckforbuilding.com/installation-guide

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Additional Information

icheck for Building account is needed to access the plug-in functionality and any of the help documents. To create icheck for the Building account, you need to install the plug-in and then create an account. Once the app is installed, you can quickly create an account and activate your FREE trial. Account creation and trial activation process is automatic and should not take more than 5 minutes.

Quick links : 

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Known Issues

Rule checking time

For checking the rule compliance, model geometry and BIM information need to be processed. There are various mathematical calculations done during the process. The amount of time required to complete this process depends on the size of BIM model and the number of rules to be checked. In the case of big BIM models, this might take a long time. In such cases, it is recommended not to check all the rules in a single run.

Export BCF report time

Generating BCF report involves collecting rule compliance information, creating the representative image for the issue, and exporting all required files. The time needed to complete this process depends on the number of compliance results to be exported. In case if there are a large number of such results, the BCF file generation might take time. It is recommended to use the result and object filter feature before exporting the filtered results.

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Contact

Company Name: Bureau Veritas North America

Author/Company Information

Bureau Veritas North America

Support Information

Every section of the plug-in is connected with our online help. Click on the “Get help ?” link. In case if you still need further help, you can provide your feedback or ask for support from the “Help > Feedback and support” section.

Give feedback

If you wish to share any feedback about the product, visit the feedback and support section available under the help menu. Click on the “Give feedback” button and provide details. You will be contacted by the support team if further details will be needed.

Ask support

In case if you are having trouble using the plug-in and wish to get help from our customer support, you can send a support request. Visit the feedback and support section available under help menu to access the ask support option. Click on the “Ask support” button and provide details. You will be contacted by the support team with the resolution of your support request.

In case if you wish to directly contact our support team, send an email to icheckforbuilding.support.us@bureauveritas.com.

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Version History

Version Number Version Description

2.3.0

This release included some major new features, improvements in existing features and major bug fixes. Rule compliance check : - Various bug fixes are included to check the rule compliance according to Chapter 11B : Accessibility to Public Buildings, Public Accommodations, Commercial Buildings and Public Housing given in 2019 California Building Code (CBC) General : - Added checking note for knee and toe clearance rules - Added checking note for turning space rules - Modified algorithm of turning space to get more accurate results Rules : - 11B-404.2.3 : Clear width - Modified algorithm of checking clear width at double door

2.0.0

This is the first commercial version of icheck for Building – Accessibility [CBC] plug-in. This release checks the Revit BIM model for accessibility code compliance according to the 2019 California Building Code (CBC). The solution checks the BIM model according to Chapter 11B : Accessibility to Public Buildings, Public Accommodations, Commercial Buildings and Public Housing. This release contains : Account : - Create icheck for Building account - Forgot password, edit profile, reset password Help : - User guide - Model preparation guide - Sample projects - Online help Settings : - Default highlight element view - Default result view Project : - Create and save the project - Open project Naming server : - Default values for room tags, area tags and family type name - Adding custom values - Import, export and reset naming server data Rule compliance check : - Create and assign building facility category - Detect spaces and objects from Revit BIM model - Linked spaces and objects - Search for spaces and objects - Select and highlight the spaces and objects - Search rules - Rule details - Filtering rules based on facility category and selected spaces and objects - Search and select rules - Provide exceptions and manual inputs for checking the rules - Display compliance and non-compliance results - Filter results - Highlight non-compliance results in Revit graphics window - Display results on selected spaces and object - Export report in BCF and CSV file
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