How To Easily Start A Detail Library
The Dewey Decimal System
Why You Should Have a Detail Library
A Detail Library is a good thing to have, and it is never too late to develop one. The advantages of a Detail Library are:
saves time assembling the usual details that are used on most of your projects
eliminates errors or omissions from creeping into details that are copied from one project to the next
for more complicated details, starting with a standard acts as a kind of checklist of what needs to be shown
establishes consistency in detailing conventions
If the lookup and retrieval processes for your Detail Library are off-putting, or if they rarely result in helpful info, then your system won’t be used and lots of effort setting it up will go to waste.
So the main issue is how to catalog the contents of your library to describe what is on file and to guide you in retrieving what you select. That issue was solved over a century ago by Melvil Dewey. A customized version of the Dewey Decimal System is just the thing you need. The best system out there for this purpose is UNIFORMAT II. UNIFORMAT provides the overall framework for storing and retrieving re-usable detail files. At the same time, like the Dewey Decimal System, new additions are easily incorporated into the system.
Here is an example of how to use UNIFORMAT.
Now that we know how the organization will work, start clipping details in whatever convenient format works best - JPEG (e.g. phone camera), PDF (scans), HTML (web pages), DWG. Use txt or doc to record instructions and experience. Even an audio file can be saved. Give each of them a name in the format: Uniformat ID - detail number* - descriptive name; i.e. "A2020-A-Masonry Basement Wall". Let the file extension convey information about content, or add a word or two to the “descriptive name”. Use the files to store information that will help the next user; and consider a procedure that logs which projects used the detail and anything new that is learned.
Store all of this in the cloud, e.g. a Google Drive, or a Dropbox folder or Coda.io. All support sorting by name, which is crucial. You need a storage place where you can easily add to and retrieve from anywhere. Coda supports commenting and saving all kinds of info in a simple database (my preference). Google, Dropbox, and Coda.io have the advantage of being able to share the Detail Library with everyone on the team.
Concentrate on gathering useful information; then, as you use it, create, clip and store the CAD file in the Detail Library. Having a usable CAD detail is the holy grail of the Detail Library, but having a ready solution to a condition is a major help in its own right no matter what format.
* If you think it is likely that you will have more than 26 details in each group, then use 00, 01, 02, 03 etc as the detail number to accommodate 100 details in each group. There isn’t any point in storing unique details. Go for archetypal. Also bear in mind that UNIFORMAT II has additional levels, whose numbers you could implement.