When a design team is slow in Revit, the first request is usually for training. Sometimes that's exactly right. Often it isn't, and the training budget gets spent teaching people to work around problems that aren't theirs to fix.
Before booking another course, it's worth knowing which kind of problem you have.
A skills gap. People don't know the tools or features that would make them faster. They model the long way, avoid families, or rebuild things that already exist. Training fixes this.
An environment problem. The template is outdated, the content library is a mess, and the standards don't match how projects are delivered. Skilled people still struggle because the starting point is wrong. Training doesn't fix this — cleaning up the environment does.
A model health problem. Models are slow, oversized, full of warnings and unused content. Opening, syncing and printing take too long. Training doesn't fix this either. A model health review and cleanup does.
Most firms have some of all three, in different proportions.
Ask the team where they lose time. Not "do you need training?" but "what did you redo or wait for last week?" Answers about features point to skills. Answers about templates, families and standards point to the environment. Answers about sync times and crashes point to model health.
Compare offices and teams. If one team is fast and another slow with the same tools, the difference is usually skills or habits. If everyone is slow, look at the environment.
Check a live model. Warnings, file size, imported CAD and unused families tell you a lot in an hour.
Benchmark your BIM maturity. SolidCAD's BIM Maturity Assessment is a quick seven-question quiz that rates your current capabilities across people, processes and technology, then gives you a maturity level and suggested next steps — so you can invest in the right place.
The order matters. Training people on a broken template teaches them the broken template.
SolidCAD supports AEC firms across all three: Autodesk training through open-enrolment classes on our training calendar or private sessions for your team, all led live by an instructor; BIM maturity assessments and model health checks; and ongoing BIM support through our Foundation Packs. For teams working toward a recognized credential, we also offer buildingSMART Professional Certification training. Because we see the whole picture, we can tell you when training is the answer — and when it isn't.
If people are missing features and workflows that would save them time, training helps. If everyone is slowed by the same template, library or model issues, fix those first.
A review of a live model's performance and quality — warnings, size, imported data and unused content — with recommendations to improve it.
How established your BIM capabilities are across people, processes and technology, compared with where you want to be.
Yes. Many firms fix the environment with ongoing BIM support, then train teams on the new standards.
Pick one project that felt slower than it should have. SolidCAD can help you work out whether the fix is training, cleanup or support — before you spend the budget.
Prefer email? Reach SolidCAD at info@solidcad.ca.
Talk to SolidCAD about training and BIM services.