International

Revit Standards
Version 1.0.1
Release date 1 January 2019
 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

v.1.0.1

Contributors to this publication Preface

Original NLRS authors
Martijn de Riet
Wim Tas
Mark Wieringa

Revit Standards Foundation

Technical Committee
Dear Reader,
Emiel Ham
Martijn de Riet In front of you, is the very first release of the International Revit Standards
Mark Wiefferink guidelines published on behalf of the Revit Standards Foundation (RSF).
Sietze Pars
Ever since the 14th of January 2016 all the activities and responsibilities
Ron van Grinsven
have been taken over from the “Revit Gebruikers Groep” (Revit Users
Group) concerning this Standard. The RSF will continue the road that the
RGG has taken since the founding of the RGG.

In this vision the Technical Committee will take care of the Standard,
making sure it will be enriched, adapted, controlled and maintained.

This version of the documentation is a framework with important pillars

for a template to be built on. This will be the framework which can be
used to create a national uniform Revit Standards for the different
countries that want to start using a national Revit standard.

The Technical Committee of the Revit Standards Foundation will also

use this document as a framework to consider whether national
versions still comply with general principles of the Revit Standards.

If you (as a critical reader) have questions or comments regarding the

document, support file or template we will be attainable via mail:
tc@revitstandards.org.

Best Regards,
Version 1.0.1

Release date 01 January 2019

The Technical Committee
(On behalf of the Revit Standards Foundation)
Commissioned by Revit Standards Foundation

Authors Emiel Ham, Martijn de Riet

Editor Mark Wieringa

 
 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

Introduction The organisation responsible for maintaining a localised version of the RS should provide
the Revit Standards Foundation with written procedural documents that ensure the minimal
criteria as set above. Failure to do so will automatically mean the RS logo and name cannot
During the development of the Dutch Revit Standards (NLRS) over the past years, a lot of be used for the localised version of the RS.
requests have been made to provide an international version of the Revit Standards so that
other countries could work on their own localized version.
Backbone: 6 Steps to Standardization
Even though the Revit Standards Foundation (RSF) has had an English version of the NLRS The Revit Standards Foundation aims to create a platform for countries to develop a loca-
available for interested parties, a lot of discussion has remained on what part of the NLRS lized version of Revit Standards. This platform should allow Revit users, whether they are
really is mandatory, and what parts can be localized to meet the local standards and creating project models, or creating Revit content, a standardized way to structure their data
requirements. in Revit. This way, the International Revit Standards can perform as a linking pin between
content and projects optimized to meet local needs.
The Revit Standards can be boiled down to a bare minimum of six rules that need to be
adhered to. These rules are: The ability to translate Revit projects between different countries and languages based on a
1. Naming Conventions for Objects basic set of ground rules would dramatically decrease the maintenance costs related to in-
2. Naming conventions for Materials ternational content and projects. Revit users would be able to automate translation of Revit
3. Classification systems Families and even entire projects based on rules derived from the various localized versions
4. Origin, Insertion Point & Host of the Revit Standards.
5. Use of Subcategories
6. Shared Parameters The ground rules are:

Every localized version of the Revit Standards, even the Dutch Revit Standards, needs to
put in place a basic set of agreements on these six rules. These agreements should be
documented properly and published through an Open Source license. This license cannot Revit Standards Ground Rules
restrict any type of re-use of the Standard, even if the re-use is commercially driven.

When two localized versions both comply with these six ground rules, a mapping can be NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR FAMILIES
made between both versions. This means that, in theory, Families and Projects defined in
one version (e.g. the NLRS) can be translated to another version (e.g. the Belgium Revit
Standards).
NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR MATERIALS
This document is intended to provide interested parties with some hands-on explanation
of how these rules need to be implemented.

General organizational rules CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Besides the ground rules on the actual content of a localised RS version as set forth in this
document , there are also some general rules for the organisation that develops and main-
tains the localised version of the RS. These rules are meant to ensure open access to the RS
and all it’s localized versions. These rules are: SUBCATEGORIES
• The RS, and all its derivative localized versions, are Open Source and should be
published under the same Creative Commons license as the original RS.
• The management organization should be open and accessible for all users and
stakeholders. It is not prohibited to charge a fee to stakeholders in order to cover for ORIGIN, INSERTION POINT & HOST
maintenance and development costs. However, this fee should not prevent users from
actively engaging in the development of the localised version.
• Publication of the localised version, or subsequent updates thereof, should be done
through a process of public review. This process should also incorporate processes for SHARED PARAMETERS
filing and handling complaints, and should provide users with opportunities to give
feedback on the RS.

 
 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

NAMING CONVENTIONS (F+M) RS Identification + Country Code + language code

The RS identification identifies a Family as structured according to the Revit Standards.
The Country Code is assigned according to ISO 3511-1 alpha 2 structure and identifies the
country a Family can be used for. This specifically relates to the correctness of parameter
FAMILIES values, which often depend on local standards and calculation methods.
1. RS Indentification + Country Code (according to ISO3611-1 alpha 2) The Language code is optional, and only relevant if a single country has multiple languages
+ language code (according to ISO 639-1). that can be applicable (like Belgium or Canada).
2. Classification Code
3. Family Category abbreviation (F+M) Classification Code
4. Host type of the Family Each Family and Material needs to be provided with an applicable primary Classification
5. Description of the Family Code. The Classification Code should match the primary locally used coding system.
6. Manufacturer or Generic
7. Name of supplier / creator of the content (F) Family Category abbreviation
This abbreviation tells the Revit user which type of Family Category is used. This is important
because Families from different Categories cannot be exchanged.
MATERIALS
1. Country Code + RS Indentification (F) Host Type of the Family
2. Classification Code This abbreviation tells the Revit user which type of Host is used for the Family. This is
3. Description material important because Families with different Hosts cannot be exchanged.
4. Characteristic feature
5. Manufacturer or Generic (F+M) Description of the Family / Material
6. Name of supplier / creator of the content This position gives a general, textual overview of the Family or Material. The description
should be clear and provide enough information on what the Family or Material
encompasses.
General naming rules:
1. All positions must be used in the localized RS Naming convention. (M) Characteristic feature
2. The order of positions can be determined by the localized RS management organization This position provides information about specific characteristics for the Material, such as
and should be documented in the localised RS specification documents. material strength, insulation value, and so on.
3. Localized RS Management Organisation is entitled to create their own set of
abbreviations for different naming positions. These should be published through the (F+M) Manufacturer or Generic
localized RS specification documents. This position tells the Revit user whether the content is generic (gen) or manufacturer
4. Between positions the underscore (“_”) should be used as a delimiter. The underscore specific. Each manufacturer can choose their own abbreviation (preferably 3 letters or less).
can therefore not be used within positions. At this point in time there is no centralised overview of manufacturer abbreviations.

Unfortunately it is not possible to search, filter and select Revit content based on Family (F+M) Name of Supplier / Creator
properties and parameters. Not within Revit, and not within Windows Explorer. This means This position tells the Revit user who is responsible for the Family or Material. Each content
that Revit modellers spend a lot of time searching for the right content. creator can choose their own abbreviation (preferably 3 letters or less). At this point in time
there is no centralised overview of content creator abbreviations
Besides this fact we know that a lot of Revit users (and most manufacturers) have the need
to have multiple versions of the same content. For instance a Door Family that can be used
in a Wall vs the same Door that can be used free-standing.

In order to effectively differentiate between Families and have all required data available
in the name, naming conventions have been established for Family and Material Naming.
These conventions partially rely on fixed lists of abbreviations. These abbreviation lists
can be found through the documentation on www.revitstandards.org/documentation.

 
 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

The Localized RS needs to adopt a primary classification system for objects in the Revit When providing a preferred Classification System for use within Revit Models the resulting
Model that shall be adopted into the “Assembly Code” parameter. This classification system files can be used more easily by third parties. This because the receiving party can use
can be chosen by the authors of the Localised RS. standardised search and selection tools in their software based on the availability of a
standardised classification method in their own software such as Navisworks or Solibri.
A complete classification system should be created using the Assembly Code methodology.
However, the Localised RS should also contain a separate classification parameter that can Providing predefined Assembly Code and Keynote files will also reduce the need of slightly
be used on an Instance basis. different Classification tables for the same Classification System, due to small differences
in spelling (Camelcase vs PascalCase, “-“ vs “_” as a delimiter, and so on).
The Classification Method should also provide a system to classify Materials using Keynotes.

 
 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

SUBCATEGORIES Subcategories
All Revit components should use Subcategories as a means of regulating the appearance
in terms of line styles, weights and colour. A set of subcategories for generic use has been
defined.

• Operation Zones
Space needed for day-to-day use of an object. A door panel needs room to move,
a table can only be used if there’s a certain amount of free space.

• Placement Zones
Space needed to place an object during construction. For instance the tolerances around
a door panel, or the free height required to place cables in a cable tray.

• Connection Zones
Space needed to connect different components, such as ductwork to an Air Handling
Unit or a power plug into an outlet.

• Maintenance Zones
Space needed to perform maintenance tasks on the object, such as exchanging an air
filter in an Air Handling Unit or exchanging a spotlight.

• Clearance Zones
Space needed for undefined reasons around an object.

• Bounding Box
The “cardboard box” an object can be placed in. This subcategory can be used to create
a conceptual model with extremely low geometric detail, or function as a “clash object”
which provides a generic space allocation for an object that has not been modelled yet.

These generic subcategories are applicable to all Revit Categories. The use of these
subcategories is not required.

• Geometry
The actual object geometry is modelled on (at least one) separate subcategory.
The organisation responsible for maintaining the localised version of the RS is also
responsible for maintaining a specification containing all applicable subcategories for
each Revit Category.

A full list of standardised RS Subcategories can be found at

www.revitstandards.org/documentation

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 International Revit Standards International Revit Standards

ORIGIN, INSERTION POINT & HOST Host

Closely related to the Insertion Point is the Host. A Host defines on which Face or Plane an
object is placed, and linked to. If an object is Hosted on a Wall, Revit will know this. If the
Wall moves, so will the Object.
Origin
The origin of a project in Revit can be defined in several different ways: The general rule for determining the Host is simple: the Host in Revit is exactly the same as
• Project Base Point the Host in real life. If an power outlet is mounted on a Wall, the Host of that power outlet
• Survey Point in Revit should also be the Wall.
• Internal origin (0,0,0) Even though we acknowledge that it might sometimes be easier to host that power outlet
on the Level and give it an offset, in terms of information management this is incorrect.
The Localized RS should provide guidelines on ways to set the Revit origin point within a The relationship between an Object and its Host provides critical information and therefor
Revit project team. An option to do so is providing a template file in which this origin is needs to be correct.
defined. Another option is to provide an “origin object” that different parties within the For instance: if the Power Outlet is hosted onto the Wall, an analysis can be made on
project can use to make the project origin visible. whether non-fire rated Power Outlets are being used in fire-rated Walls. If that Power
Outlet has no (hosting) link to the Wall, this analysis cannot be made.
Insertion Point
Similar definitions should be agreed upon for Revit Families. Each object has an insertion It is allowed to use Wall- / Floor- / Ceiling- / Roof-hosted Objects. However, it is advised to
point. These insertion points should be decided upon using a predefined ruleset. This makes use Face-based objects for Hosted components only. Otherwise a Power Outlet that could
Family behaviour more consistent and predictable, and ensures that similar Families can be be used on both the Wall and Floor needs to be modelled twice, once as a Wall-based
exchanged without triggering errors or unintended relocation of the Family object. Object and once as a Floor-based object.

The preferred method of defining the Family Insertion Point is based upon the real-world
placement of objects in relation to their surroundings. This method defines three different
placement options:

• No Plane
The object is placed according to the insertion point defined by other objects. This
place­ment method is mostly used for Pipe / Duct / Cable Tray fittings and accessories.
The insertion point is typically placed in the gravitational centre of the object, or placed
according to the standards set by Autodesk.

• Single Plane
The object is placed on a single Plane, such as a Wall, Floor or Level. The Origin Point in
this case is placed in the geometrical centre of the object on the hosting Plane.
Examples: a free-standing table, power outlet, air terminal.

• Two Planes
The object is placed on the intersecting line of two Planes. The Origin Point in this case is
placed at the middle of the intersecting line of both planes.
Examples: a Door inside a Wall, a toilet with a specified seating height, Line Based
components

• Three Planes
The object is placed on the intersecting point of three Planes. The Origin Point in this
case is placed at the intersecting point of three planes.
Examples: a corner bathtub, the origin locator in the project

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SHARED PARAMETERS Shared Parameters

The organisation responsible for managing the localised version of the Revit Standards is
responsible for maintaining and publishing a Shared Parameter file. The organisation is also
responsible for defining a Shared Parameter naming strategy / guideline and providing a
transparent application process for required Shared Parameters.

It is allowed to maintain multiple Shared Parameter files.

A standardised Shared Parameter file can be found at

www.revitstandards.org/documentation.

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