Shaheen M Jan 25, 2024

Key Skills Needed to Master Revit MEP

Playing the role of an engineer, architect or any other MEP professional, the Revit MEP software is the best option for you. The Revit MEP software is used widely for performing MEP services across various industries, especially in AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction). It possesses the quality of reduced risks, creates high-quality, designs and improves project delivery. 

Revit MEP software is a product of Autodesk that significantly enables MEP professionals to enhance BIM (Building Information Modelling) services. MEP is an acronym that stands for Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing which are the three vital engineering domains. The MEP elements put together forms an integral part of any building construction project. Revit MEP software is used for executing end-to-end Revit modelling and MEP BIM services. It enables engineers and contractors to collaborate with an organised schedule for performing various activities during the construction stage. 

Read Also: Revit MEP Skills For Your Resume

Revit MEP Skills

To leverage the benefits of Revit, you should narrow down the gap between MEP requirements in the industry and Revit MEP users by imparting and developing the essential skills. With the appropriate Revit MEP Training, you can excel in fundamental skills and acquire Revit MEP jobs. The following are the top Revit MEP skills,

  • Modelling
  • Navigate
  • 2D CAD
  • Practical Construction Knowledge
  • Familiarising Families
  • Building Codes and Standards
  • Model Versus Annotation Elements
  • MEP Systems 
  • Teamwork

Modelling 

Learning Revit Modelling is a skill that teaches you how the changes you make to the elements in one view are visible in all other views. In Revit, a view shows the model from a specific viewpoint, such as a floor plan or a duct elevation. The Revit model is a 3D virtual representation of the building design. It describes the geometry of model elements, captures the design intent and logical relationship between the elements in the model. 

Navigate 

The navigating skill in Revit will guide you on how to open a view and navigate to different areas of the model. The 2D views are slices of the model that possibly shows a floor plan, elevation, section or detail view. The navigation bar from the drawing area and the ViewCube in 3D views offer alternate navigation methods.

2D CAD (Computer-Aided Design)

Traditionally, AutoCAD has been the industry standard for primary drafting of the constructional design. Drawings are a primary medium through which you communicate your designs; hence experience in drafting is necessary. AutoCAD and Microstation are the most powerful CAD tools amongst the others. 

Practical Construction Knowledge 

To connect between the designs and the work in the construction site, MEP designers should have practical knowledge of construction. Engineers merely design the plans from the office, and the constructors put them into action. Due to engineers' lack of experience in the construction field, nonsensical design is prone to occur. To cover up for the accident, the role of MEP designers prevail as it comes with occasional construction site visits. 

Familiarising Families 

All of the elements used in Revit are families. Through this skill, you will learn how to use family elements to build your model. You cannot create anything in Revit without using families. There are different kinds of families, namely system families, loadable families, in-place families, modelling families, annotation families, etc. Some families, such as walls, level datums, are included in the model environment. Other families, such as specific doors, or fixtures, need to be loaded into the model from an external library. 

Building Codes and Standards

Familiarising yourself with regional codes and standards makes you an efficient designer. There is no need to memorise the codes; instead, acknowledging that specific rules exist can speed up the work process. Regardless of your experience, it is essential to keep yourself updated with the current trends. 

Model Versus Annotation Elements 

This essential skill in Revit MEP helps you learn how to place model and annotation elements in views of the models. The model elements represent the physical structure of the design like walls, windows and doors, visible in all views. Annotation and detail elements are used to add dimensions, notes, and tags to the views. It adds details to the graphics generated model geometry. They are specific and appear only in the views in which you have placed them. 

MEP Systems 

Mastering these skills, you will learn how to create MEP systems to define the logical relationship between related and elements in a model. The systems are logically connected features like an air supply system including duct, fittings, diffusers and mechanical equipment. As you excel in assigning MEP elements to a plan, you can automatically generate a duck or pipe layout, perform calculations for pressure loss and static pressure, perform analysis on design, and many more.   

Teamwork

Teamwork is an essential skill required in most jobs. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the MEP industry, professionals of Revit MEP require mandatory teamwork skills. A single construction project includes architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, etc., where there will be plenty of back and forth communication between the teams. Hence, to coordinate designs with other disciplines, excellent teamwork skills is advantageous.  

 

Career Opportunities in the MEP Sector 

MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) is where engineers give life to buildings and make them habitable. The industry portrays a vast scope for those with the essential skills of Revit MEP in hand. MEP deals with a subset called HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning). Skilled professionals in Revit MEP are categorised as:

  • The mechanical planning - heating, cooling, ventilation and exhaustion
  • The electrical component of MEP - power distribution to the building
  • The plumbing part of MEP - water supply, sanitation/sewerage, rainwater harvesting system 

All three components are interconnected to each other and serve as the essential elements of a building. Of these functional areas, the following skilled professionals carry out their role in the construction industry:

  • Design Engineer 
  • Draftsmen 
  • Project Engineer 
  • Site Engineer
  • Maintenance Engineer
  • Sale Engineer 

Read Also: Top Advantages of Learning Revit Structure

Conclusion 

Autodesk Revit MEP is primarily one of the best software for an MEP Engineer or a BIM Modeller. With many advantages in hand, this software is widely used across several industries, especially in AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction). It helps you develop precise 3D models with various components and enables you to share them with all project members along with contractors and builders. It assists in eliminating confusion among project members and generates highly accurate 3D MEP models. Due to the typical work environment, each designer should get acquainted with each framework. Such skills, as mentioned earlier, are a few of many skills that a Revit MEP user must possess. Only then will you empower yourself to leverage the full-scale benefits of Revit MEP Software.

Shaheen is an Autodesk Certified Trainer and BIM Consultant, with a successful track record of exposure in teaching and corporate training on AEC software for the past 7 years. He has experience in handling various projects and has trained over 1000 candidates from over 25 different nationalities.

Shaheen is an expert in Autodesk Autocad, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Revit Structure, Autodesk Revit MEP, Autodesk Navis Work, Autodesk Civil 3D, Sketch Up, Enscape 3.4, Lumion 12, Staad Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier Pro and Microsoft Office Suite.

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