Document types, and why they matter
The type you give a document decides which engine reads it. Getting it wrong is the most common reason a first run returns nothing useful.
Every document in a project carries a type. The type is not a label for your own filing. It decides which engine reads the document and what Bimiq is allowed to do with it.
The types
| Type | What it is | What reads it |
|---|---|---|
drawing | A drawing set, split into sheets | Drawing QA/QC |
specification | A spec section, extracted into checkable rules | Model vs Spec Check, Submittal Review |
submittal | A product data sheet or cut sheet sent for approval | Submittal Review |
code | A building code or firm drawing standard | Drawing QA conformance |
rfi | An RFI and its response | RFI Intelligence, Project Intelligence |
consultant | A consultant report or letter | Project Intelligence |
transcript | A meeting transcript or set of notes | Decision Log |
email | Project correspondence | Project Intelligence |
other | Anything else worth having on the record | Project Intelligence |
The three that matter most
Specification is not the same as code
Both get broken down into rules, and they look similar on screen, so this pair gets mixed up constantly.
- A specification is what this project requires. It is the authority Submittal Review and Model vs Spec Check compare against. Section 09 21 16, the one that says the party walls are twin-stud with two layers each side.
- A code is what your firm or jurisdiction always requires. It is the authority Drawing QA conformance checks the sheets against. Building regulations, or your firm's drafting standard.
Upload a spec section as code and Submittal Review will find no rules to check against. Upload your drafting standard as specification and submittals will be judged against your title block conventions.
Drawing means the whole set
A drawing document is a set, not a sheet. Bimiq splits the PDF into sheets itself. If you upload sheets one at a time as separate documents, every cross-sheet check is disabled, because each document only ever contains one sheet to compare.
Submittal needs a spec to exist first
Submittal Review does not judge a submittal on its own. It compares it against the rules already extracted from the specification. Upload the spec section first and let it finish extracting, then upload the submittal. In the other order there is nothing to check against.
You do not have to type anything by hand
In practice the module decides the type for you. Uploading through Drawing QA/QC creates a drawing. Uploading through Standards creates a code. The spec and submittal slots in Submittals create specification and submittal.
The type only becomes your decision when you upload from the Documents page, or import from a connected source where a folder holds several kinds of file at once.
You do not need your own standards to start
A new project comes with the Bimiq Built-in QA/QC Standard already in place, a generic drafting and coordination standard covering title blocks, scales, grids, north arrows and similar. It exists so conformance runs end to end on a blank project.
It is a starting point, not a substitute. Replace it with your firm's real standard when you have it, through Standards in Drawing QA/QC. The built-in standard is deliberately kept out of Document Coordination, because a generic starter would otherwise argue with your real spec on every subject it touches.
Next
Run your first check: Your first Drawing QA run.