For bid teams, planners and project managers
4D construction sequencing and animation
Your programme linked to your model and played as the build, week by week, so a bid panel, a client or your site team can see how the job goes together.
For projects in the Gulf, continental Europe and North America.
What a 4D rehearsal is
Your programme, linked to your model and played as the build.
Your programme
Every activity with its start and finish dates, exported from Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Asta Powerproject or a spreadsheet.
Your model
The building as IFC or FBX, split into the parts the programme builds: foundations, frame, slabs, cores and cladding.
The rehearsal
Play the dates and the building goes up on screen, week by week, in the order you plan to build it.
I link each activity in your programme to the parts of the model it builds, then play the job in order: what goes up, when, and how the site works around it. You get animations and stills for the submission, the interview or the briefing, and an interactive viewer when the people watching need to step through it themselves.
Watching the sequence play is also the quickest way to check it. If a slab appears before the columns that carry it, or the cladding starts before the frame is ready, you see it in the first preview, while it is still a change to the programme and not a problem on site.
What it is for
The same linked sequence serves the bid, the client and the site team.
-
Tender and bid animations
A short clip for the written submission and a longer sequence to play at interview. The panel sees your method instead of reading about it, and your bid team has something to walk them through.
-
Logistics, phasing and temporary works sequences
Cranes, hoardings, gates, laydown areas, temporary works and delivery routes play alongside the build, phase by phase, so everyone sees how the site works at each stage.
-
Client and stakeholder briefings
A sequence that a client board, a future tenant, a local authority or the neighbours can follow without reading a Gantt chart: what happens, in what order, and what it means for them.
-
Progress replays
The planned sequence played against the work done so far, so a progress meeting sees where the job stands and what comes next.
What you receive
Deliverables
- MP4 animations in HD or 4K
- Stills for the submission, reports and presentations
- An interactive viewer on request, to step through the sequence by date
Typical timeline
A short tender clip usually takes 1 to 2 weeks from complete files, and a full bid sequence with logistics 3 to 5 weeks. I plan the work back from your submission date, and the proposal sets the dates.
Tools
SYNCHRO 4D, Unreal Engine 5, Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Asta Powerproject and IFC
What I need from you
Send what you have before the call: a programme export and an early model are enough to scope the work. The timeline starts when the complete files arrive.
- The programme: Primavera P6 (XER or XML), Microsoft Project (XML), Asta Powerproject, or a CSV export
- The model: IFC (preferred), FBX, SketchUp, Rhino or Datasmith exports
- Working in Revit® or Navisworks®? Export IFC or FBX and send that
- Site and logistics information: the site plan, access, cranes, hoardings and laydown areas, as far as they are known
- Your submission date, or the date the animation is needed
Sending files
A link to a shared folder works best, so nothing bounces off an email size limit. If an export gives you trouble, send a sample first and I will tell you what works.
The site around the building
Neighbouring buildings, roads and the site itself come from your own drawings and models, or I model them as simple massing from your site plan.
How the work runs
Planned back from your submission date, with previews at the points set in the proposal, so you can steer while changes are still cheap.
-
Check the files
I open your programme and model, check that they line up, and agree the key views, dates and messages with you.
-
Link the programme to the model
Each activity is tied to the parts of the model it builds. A rough play-through lets you check the order of work early.
-
Stage the sequence
Cameras, labels, a date readout and the site around the building: cranes, hoardings, gates and laydown areas.
-
Revise
Your comments and programme changes go in. The proposal sets how many rounds are included and when the programme is frozen.
-
Render and deliver
Final animations and stills, rendered and checked, and the interactive viewer when the proposal includes one.
Working rules
-
A call, then a written proposal
I reply within 2 working days of your message to arrange a 30-minute call. The scope, timeline, price and assumptions follow in writing within 3 working days of the call. Nothing starts until you accept it.
-
Confidential from the first file
Only I see your programme and model. Nothing made from them is shown anywhere, this website included, without your written permission.
-
One person, start to finish
I do the work myself, from the first check of your programme to the final frame, so the person on the call is the person doing the work.
-
Where I take 4D work
4D sequencing is for projects in the Gulf, continental Europe and North America.
Questions
Which programme and model formats can you work from?
Programmes from Primavera P6 as XER or XML, Microsoft Project as XML, Asta Powerproject, or a CSV export with activity IDs, names, start and finish dates.
Models as IFC (preferred), FBX, SketchUp, Rhino or Datasmith exports. If you work in Revit or Navisworks, export IFC or FBX. Not sure? Send a sample before the call and I will check it.
Can you work to a tender deadline?
Yes. Tell me the submission date in your first message. I plan the work back from it, with previews at agreed points, and the proposal shows every date. If the date is too close for the scope, I say so on the call and suggest what fits in the time.
What if the programme changes during the bid?
It usually does. The proposal sets how many rounds of changes are included and when the programme is frozen for the final render. Because the sequence is linked to the programme, most changes go in without starting again.
Can people explore the sequence themselves?
Yes, with an interactive viewer. It steps through the sequence by date on a Windows PC, so a bid team or a client can stop on any week and look around. It is scoped in the proposal alongside the animation.
Which projects do you take on?
4D sequencing is for projects in the Gulf, continental Europe and North America. VR walkthroughs, site inductions and design review tools that do not play a programme have no regional limit.
Who sees my programme and model?
Only me. I am happy to sign your NDA before you send anything, your files are used only for your project, and nothing made from them is shown anywhere without your written permission.
Have a submission date?
Tell me the date and what you need to show. I reply within 2 working days to arrange a 30-minute call.
Or email joe@digitalrehearsals.com