Projects & Plans: Create Projects and Plans

On This Page: 

Getting Started with Projects and Plans

A. Login to ALICE

ALICE is a cloud-based application that requires an ALICE User account to enter the platform. ALICE account details should be provided in advance by the ALICE Customer Success team. 

To enter the ALICE platform, use the following login credentials: 

  • Link to ALICE platform: https://app.a16s.com
  • E-mail: Work email
  • Password: Provided by the ALICE teamProject_and_Plans.svg

 

  • Click “Forgot password?” to change the existing password
  • Please change the password after successfully logging in the first time

 

B. Project List Module

B.1 Overview

In Project List,” users can: Project_and_Plans__1_.svg

  1. Access to Existing Projects
    1. List of all projects that you created or have been invited to
    2. Can invite colleagues to a specific project(s)
    3. Copy and edit project-level data
  2. Access to “Trial Projects”: The main purpose of trial projects is for training purposes. After a project is set as a trial project, any changes made can be deleted once the project is reset
  3. + New Project”: Create a New Project
  4. Access to Product Updates
  5. Access to “Help”: Search functionality in the ALICE library/knowledge base, raise a feature request, and share your feedback with the ALICE team

 

B.2 Create New Project

You can deploy ALICE in your project with or without having a 3D model.
To create a new project:

  • Click on “+ New project”   in the “Project List
  • In the opened window, fill in the necessary informationProject_and_Plans__2_.svg

 

  1. Project Name: Main title of the project
  2. Project Units:choose either Imperial or Metric units     
  3. Currency: Currency ALICE uses for cost calculation
    • Project Units, and Currency cannot be modified once the project is created. To edit, users have to re-upload model 
  4. Default Supports: ALICE will automatically assign supports in the vertical direction
  5. Project Description: Brief description of the project
  6. Upload 3D Model: file formats include RVT, NWC, NWDs - optional 
    • The 3D model is optional. Users can create a project without a 3D model and start within the  ALICE Non-3D (2D) environment. To start with ALICE Non-3D (2D), do not upload and skip the “3D Model” step 
  7. Project Start Date: ALICE uses this date as the scheduled start date 
  8. Invite Emails or Names: invite team members as Collaborators 
  9. Access Level: choose either Read (view only) or Full (full editing rights) permission level
  10. Upload & Create Project

Note: ALICE uploads and creates projects within a few minutes, depending on the size of the 3D model.

Congratulations, you have successfully created your project in ALICE.Project_and_Plans__3_.svg

Within each project, the following information is available:

  1. The number of Plans
  2. The number of Solutions
  3. The number of Collaborators
  4. Project Start Date
  5. Latest Update Date
  6. Filter project list
  7. Send Invites: review or amend the list of collaborators
  8. Project Settings:
    • Copy: make a copy of the entire project; please note that schedule solutions (represented as dots on the explore page) do not transfer to copies of projects
    • Properties: can go back and edit project name, description, and project start date
    • Set as training: can set any project as a training project that appears under the “Trial Projects” list
        • Consult with the ALICE team before setting any project as training 
    • Delete: deletes project; this action cannot be undone
          •  

B.3 Transform the BIM model to CIM 

To develop or prepare a model that best fits ALICE, we need to understand the difference between the BIM and the CIM model.

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a digital representation of an element's physical and functional characteristics. 

For instance, a good BIM will represent the envelope physical information by successfully designing the exterior walls spanning from bottom to top level, along with all desired design detailing (e.g. sweeps, cuts, etc.).

CIM (Construction Information Model) can be viewed as a “cleaner” version of the BIM, which usually encompasses only relevant information for any specific exercise.

However, for a good CIM, the envelope construction information will be successfully represented by simply designing a simple exterior wall that’s split by levels without necessarily including the design details of the BIM. The CIM can still maintain the metadata of the model, such as area, volume, perimeter, number of studs, and other data. Project_and_Plans__4_.svg

LOD 100 to 300 (Level of Development 100 to 300) models are ideal for integrated planning in ALICE.

 

B.4 BIM file formats and workflows 

ALICE is based on the Autodesk Forge platform, hence it is compatible with most BIM software.  

Currently, Autodesk Revit (RVT) and Autodesk Navisworks (NWC, NWD) are the recommended file formats.

Note: If you are using other BIM software for model development, it’s highly recommended first to federate all models in Navisworks and upload them to ALICE. For BIM software that cannot export directly to NWC, you can export these models to IFC format. Then the IFC files can be imported to Navisworks and uploaded to ALICE.

 

B.5 Project Plans

  • Click on the Project name to open the “Plans” windowProject_and_Plans__5_.svg

In ALICE, plans can be considered different versions of the project that allows for:

  • Updating the BIM Non-3D (2D) / 3D model 
  • Creating alternative grouping and support strategies
  • Capturing change management for project revisions 
  • See C. Project vs Plan Specific Data for more information on what information is kept consistent and what information can be unique between the different plans within the same projectProject_and_Plans__6_.svg
  1. Open: Open the plan page                                               
  2. Explore Solutions: Open the Explore page
  3. Plan Settings:
    • Copy: Copy the plan
    • Properties: Change the Plan Name and Description
    • Delete: Delete the plan
  4. + New Plan: Create a new plan 

 

B.6 Create New Plan - Update 3D Model

  • Click on “+ New Plan”  to create a new planProject_and_Plans__7_.svg
  1. Plan Name 
  2. Upload Model: (if no 3D model is available, can skip this section)
  3. Import from plan: This feature transfers the grouping and support strategies from the selected plan to the new one
  4. Project Units
  5. Currency
  6. Default Supports
    • This feature allows ALICE to assign vertical supports automatically. 
    • Turn off this feature to upload the 3D model without any support assignment 
  7. Upload & Create a Plan

 

C. Project vs Plan Specific Data

When browsing through the list of plans for a specific project, you may notice the message shown below: “Recipes and resources are shared across all plans for this project.”Project_and_Plans__8_.svg

This section will showcase additional details regarding what information is shared and what information is unique across the plans within a project.

C.1 Data Sharing Across Projects

As of now, different projects in ALICE are completely independent and there is no sharing of data that happens automatically between projects.

However, you can still use the recipe import / export feature to transfer resource and recipe information from one project to the other.

 

C.2 Data Sharing Across Plans from the same Project

The table below summarizes what is shared between plans of the same project and what is not.

Note: “No” means that while the data isn’t shared (i.e. changing values in one plan doesn’t automatically change the values in another), you may still use “copy plan” or “import from plan” to transfer data from one plan to another.

 

Category

Data Type

Shared between Plans of Same Project

Resources

Crew/Subcontractor Name

Yes

Default/Base Crew Availability

Yes

Default/Base Crew Cost

Yes

Equipment Name

Yes

Default/Base Equipment Availability

Yes

Default/Base Equipment Cost

Yes

Material Name

Yes

Default/Base Material Availability

Yes

Default/Base Material Cost

Yes

Default/Base Rate Name

Yes

Default/Base Rate Value

Yes

Movable Crane Types

Yes

Movable Crane Positions

No

Milestones

No

Calendars

Yes

Workweeks

Yes

Rest of Plan

Recipes

Yes

Grouping

No

Supports

No

Assignment of Recipes to Elements

No

User Defined Fields (UDFs)

No

Removed Elements

No

Adjacency Paths

No

Explore page data

Scenarios (parameter sets)

No

Parameter values

No

Solution sets

No

 

D. Help Desk, Knowledge Base, and Feature Requests

In the ALICE Knowledge Base, users can find articles and short tutorials about different functionalities and submit feature requests. 

To access the ALICE knowledge base library: 

  • Click on the “Helpicon on the upper right corner of the platform Project_and_Plans__9_.svg
  • Type the name of the feature or topic you want to find and click “Enter
  • The search engine will suggest the most relevant articles 
  • Click on the name of the article to open it
  • Click on the button on the upper right corner to access the main ALICE support web-pageProject_and_Plans__10_.svg

 

  • On the main support page, you can review the entire article, search for other topics, and “Submit a requestProject_and_Plans__11_.svg
  • Click on the “Submit a request” and fill out the simple form with:
    • Your feature request and idea
    • Your platform related issueProject_and_Plans__12_.svg

Login and Upload Project Video

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