About Issue Fields

A good chunk of Newforma Konekt’s power is based on properly filling out issue attributes; most of which can be customized per project in the project settings. We’re going to take a deep dive into issue attribute best practices for optimal Newforma Konekt project and team management.

The most important thing to keep in mind while you are setting and assigning these issue parameters is that this is how you will filter issues for coordination reports, check your project is on track and more. Think of what you will need to sort these by and you will set up the right parameters.

Related: Check out how we set up our project attributes from the Project Settings article. 

Title

The title allows you to describe the issue. This field is mandatory.

Description

The description allows you to give instructions or add additional information.

Type

Type is a field to provide additional information about the nature of an issue. Issues are not just clashes. They could be RFIs, comments, requests, clashes of course, questions, data validation, replacement requests, defects, financial matters, errors, or omissions. We have default values that can be changed, or added to, in the project settings. Why is this helpful? Again you can sort your reports and metrics by type, allowing you to focus on the issues you need to.

Priority

Priority, which can be renamed Severity or Importance, is set according to impact on project. This table clarifies what we consider acceptable resolution timeframe; feel free to appropriate, fill out with your own resolution deadlines and distribute it internally (or in your BEP / BxP) so all teams are in the same page.

Discipline

Discipline, which can be renamed Trade or Work package, is typically used to represent core disciplines such as Architectural, Structural, MEP, or sub-disciplines like fire protection, drainage, HVAC, plumbing, steel structure, concrete structure etc. There is no link to issue access with this attribute, as it is used primarily for issue resolution metrics so keep this in mind when setting it up this attribute.

The discipline attribute now creates a live link between the issue and the models in Newforma Konekt’s web viewer. So when you click “View in Model”, all of the models that are tagged with the disciplines included in the issue will open.

The disciplines attribute is the only attribute that allows for multiple field selection. We are essentially stamping all the disciplines that may be involved on that specific issue. This allows us to cross reference issues when applying filters to our issues page.

Zone

Zone, which can be renamed Level, Building, Area or Location, is usually set according to the nature of the project in the project settings. Zones (or areas) will be used for filtering issues and creating detailed reports, so this is the main driver to figuring out how you want to configure zones.

Here are a few examples of how they can be used:

• In a high-rise multi residential building, the zone would typically be set by level.
• For a large campus project with multiple buildings on the same site, the zones may be set for individual building (zone A, B, C, D etc.).
• For an airport project with connected zones, you can split by area in the building ex: terminal gate A, B, C. Or an annex of all of them.
• Another option for further precision is to create names like BuildingA-Level1.

Phase

Phase, which can be renamed Sequence, is configured differently based on the scope of work or project phase you are involved with.

For example if you’re a designer and you’re working early in the project then your phases may be schematic design, design documentation, construction documentation, construction, and project handover. If you’re a GC or sub, you may only be involved in pre-construction and construction.

So it might make sense to split the phases by construction sequence. You may also align them by work package to follow up with specific work scope with the sub trades. You can set up custom phases in the project’s settings.

Assigned to

Assigned to is the person that needs to resolve the issue. In Newforma Konekt, we allow users to add one individual’s name. This generates an email that gets sent to the user, albeit within their user notification parameters (weekly, daily, monthly). Only one person can be selected to avoid lack of accountability / lack of action / confusion.

Due date

Due dates are by default set 7 days after the creation of the issue. The default length may be changed in project settings or assigned manually per issue to a given date for a specific deadline. It is also possible to not specify a due date when creating an issue.

Group

Group is a bit like a tag. This field is not predefined in Newforma Konekt’s project settings. Usually our clients are adding the clash test name from Navisworks’ clash detective, or a coordination meeting name / date to create reports for meetings or a specific groups of issues.

Team involved

Team involved is used to identify the team(s) involved in an issue, allowing you to assign teams to it.

Notify

Notify is the Newforma Konekt equivalent of cc’ing someone in an email. They will be notified of all changes. Teams or individuals who have access to the issue can be selected under the notify column.

Custom attributes

Many project admins have that one bit of data they wish they could add to each issue. With custom attributes, you can add up to 6 custom issue attributes per project in addition to the out of the box attributes. Commonly added fields are grids and cost.