No More Shared Parameter Confusion - Omniclass Table 49

There is a format in existence called Omniclass, that has been around for years without a practical purpose. It is a series of tables which organize information the same way MasterFormat™ does. In fact, MasterFormat™ is based on one of the tables in the series. For those using Revit 201 or newer, you may have seen references to Omniclass Table 23 embedded in the families. This is the table that organizes products into logical categories. I'm not going to go into great depth in this post on the value of Omniclass to the success of BIM, but I will say that it is THE most effective way to organize and homogenize all of the data that you are accumulating.

During its redevelopment and update (Which is still ongoing), a few active CSI volunteers and I, were responsible for updating Omniclass Table 49 "Properties". This table is a series of attribute names that are slated to become the standard naming convention or taxonomy for attributed data within Building Information Models. Upon finishing the update to the table, it occurred to me that the best way to implement this into practice was to create a Revit Shared Parameter File. I just finished the effort moments ago with tremendous success, as my custom Shared parameter file works like a charm.

A beautiful aspect of this file is that I customized the GUIDs (Globally Unique Identifiers) so that they align perfectly with the exact location of a parameter. Just as you drill in from Division to section to Part to Article using the CSI formats, This allows me to actually create similar Shared parameter files based on specific needs (one for SPie, one for Windows, one for Doors, one for Wall, one for HVAC, etc), so you can pick and choose which SP file you use without sacrificing data organization. One irritating point about shared parameters is that even if you name the parameters identically, they don't schedule together unless they are form the same shared parameter file. This is based on the GUIDs being different. if I enumerate them and keep the data organized. it should all work out nicely.

If you're interested in, or know someone who is interested in taking this Industry standardized 923 parameter Revit SP file for a test drive, reach out to me and I'll send you a Beta version.