As a Trimble BIM Consultant, I support customers in developing BIM projects by sharing knowledge and providing advice. I do this mostly in personal sessions or group sessions and through the help desk. My main goal is to help people use their digital tools in the best possible way.
This time I want to look with you at the capabilities that Trimble Connect already offers for those who are not yet fully moving into the Cloud.
Change takes time. Enough reason not to always want to go with the latest trends, despite the promised benefits.
Trimble Connect is an example of a Cloud platform that offers lots of features including:
Infinite amount of Cloud storage
Support for 45+ file formats
Online Project, Task and Rights Management
BIM Coordination
Clash Detection
Metadata linking to files
API access for external Apps
Mixed Reality
Projects available anytime, anywhere
These are not even all of the nameable benefits of Trimble Connect, yet they sometimes provide more than enough of a challenge to integrate into business processes. This is why I find it important to agree with customers what their first goal is to achieve with Trimble Connect. That is usually not a total implementation of all the capabilities, but rather a realistic deployment of some of the benefits of the platform.
A central place to share and view files (internally)
The initial deployment of Trimble Connect is mostly as a replacement for current data platforms such as Dropbox, Onedrive, Wetransfer, Snagstream, etc.
As mentioned, Trimble Connect offers the ability to store infinite amounts of data in the cloud, making it available to anyone, anywhere. Just by uploading the files you can take advantage of e.g. the benefits of online 2D and 3D viewer. Viewers allow users to view files while not having the original associated applications.
Sharing with the construction site
Combined with the apps for Android and iOS, the latest drawings are on site in no time. So the mechanic always has the latest version of the drawings at hand. All that needs to be done for this is to add email addresses of the mechanics in the Trimble Connect project!
Sharing with third parties/ Fewer emails
Because the files are stored in a Cloud environment, you can also easily share files from here. One or more files can easily be shared with third parties via a link (possibly with limited/temporary access). This way, third parties can always view/download the latest version of the documents without having to request it via email.
Data safely stored and viewable in the Cloud and also easily shared with mechanics, workshop & third parties. And all this is already achievable by uploading files and adding a mail address. Surely that sounds realistic and achievable!
During consulting sessions, we help with the first steps in Trimble Connect. This often consists of setting up a standard project that includes the desired folders and permissions structure, setting up automatic synchronization with the cloud and explaining how to use the platform.
In addition, we like to look ahead to possible next steps that suit you. And before you know it, you will be: Viewing, assigning Todo's, 3D measuring, syncing, clashing, leveraging metadata or viewing models in VR!
Curious about other knowledge articles? Next month Laurens will share a new knowledge article. Be sure to check out the BIMme portal for more articles and keep an eye on our blog articles! Don't miss anything? Watch our Stabicad videos, follow us on LinkedIN or sign up for our newsletter.
