Know What Goes Where: Fabritec’s 3D Model Viewer for Site Installation

Imagine the start of a working day on a structural steel installation site.

The site manager is reviewing the planned work with the installation team. There are item marks to check, delivery records to review, and drawings to explain.

But before assigning the work, a few questions need clear answers:

Where does this assembly belong in the structure? Which elements surround it? And are the site, factory, and engineering teams discussing the same item?

The assembly mark exists in the records. Its position exists in the model. The site manager still needs to connect the two.

Fabritec’s 3D Model Viewer brings that connection into the project workflow. It links model elements to existing Parts and Assemblies in Fabritec, allowing teams to identify the element on screen, inspect its associated item information, and discuss the work with a common visual reference. Fabritec

For the manager responsible for installation, the value is practical: a clearer way to explain the work, identify the relevant item, and coordinate follow-up with the people responsible for it.

Start With the Item the Site Team Needs to Understand

Consider a site discussion about an assembly scheduled for upcoming work.

The installation supervisor needs to understand its position in the structure. Engineering needs to confirm which assembly is being discussed. The factory needs the correct item reference before reviewing its production information.

A mark alone may identify the record, but it does not explain the assembly’s position or its relationship to the surrounding structure.

With the 3D Model Viewer, the site manager can select the relevant element, inspect it in context, and verify the linked Fabritec record. Focused views and screenshots can then support the discussion between site, engineering, and project teams. Fabritec

The conversation can move from “Which assembly are we talking about?” to a more useful question: “What needs to happen for this item?”

Open the Model—and Establish the Connection Behind It

The viewer is available under Projects → Select a project → 3D model viewer.

There are two ways to begin. Open local models lets you view an IFC or Fragments file from your device without uploading it. For saved project models, element linking, and version management, use Model manager to upload an IFC or choose a model already stored in Documents. Saved models must be prepared before they are available for viewing. docs.fabritec-eg.com

These are different workflows. Opening a model does not automatically connect its elements to Fabritec records.

For that connection, the team first selects the correct Building and Phase. Matching is then configured separately for Parts and Assemblies, pairing a field in the Fabritec item record with a corresponding IFC property.

The properties must come from the actual model being used. Similar item marks are not enough when the Building or Phase is different.

After running the matching process, the proposed associations need review. Matched means a corresponding record has been identified; it does not mean the link has been saved. The reviewed associations are saved through Link matched items, after which their status becomes Linked. Incorrect saved associations can be removed using Unlink selected before the configuration is corrected.

For the site manager, this preparation establishes something essential: the element being discussed on screen refers to the intended project item.

Inspect the Assembly Without Losing the Project Context

A full project model provides an overview. A site coordination discussion usually needs a more focused view.

Fabritec provides navigation and visibility controls to rotate, move, and zoom the view, isolate selected elements, hide surrounding elements, and restore the complete model. Standard directional views, sectioning, measurement, and screenshot tools support closer inspection. The Model browser also lets users explore the hierarchy contained in the model.

For an installation briefing, a practical approach is to begin with the overall structure, locate the assembly under discussion, and then isolate it for closer review. Restore the surrounding elements when the team needs to understand its position within the wider structure.

Selection can be set to Part or Assembly, depending on the level of detail required. This changes how the model is inspected; it does not change the rules used to match elements with item records.

The Properties dialog keeps two information sources separate. IFC properties shows data stored in the model. The Fabritec tab shows information from the associated item record, including fields such as Mark, Item type, Building, Phase, Item quantity, and Drawing Number.

Check the item identity and project context before relying on the association. A recognizable shape is useful, but it should not replace verification of the record behind it.

Make Factory Follow-Up More Specific

A site manager may need to discuss an item before it reaches the installation stage.

The question might concern its production stage, a quality issue, or a recorded blocker. The model provides a way to keep that discussion attached to the relevant element.

Fabritec’s Color by selector supports different operational review topics:

• Item status, Production stage, and Production completion focus the review on recorded execution information.
• Quality and rework, Holds and blockers, and Material shortages focus attention on issues associated with the work.
• Assembly readiness provides a viewing mode for assembly-readiness information.

For example, during a coordination review, the site manager and production team could locate an assembly needed for upcoming work, verify its linked record, and use the appropriate viewing mode to investigate the question being raised.

The purpose is not to interpret every color at once. It is to choose the view that matches the discussion.

Before interpreting an operational view, confirm the selected Building, Phase, and saved-link coverage. When investigating an element, verify its association through Properties → Fabritec. Original appearance is a separate mode; the model’s original colors should not be read as production or quality statuses. docs.fabritec-eg.com

Keep Model Visibility and Installation Progress Distinct

For site teams, the distinction between understanding an element and confirming its physical progress is important.

The model helps explain which element is being discussed and where it belongs in the modeled structure. Delivery and erection records establish what has actually reached the site and what has been installed.

Fabritec’s Installation Tracking supports the second part. After delivery is confirmed, site teams can record installed quantities, use bulk updates for multiple items, and review delivered, installed, and remaining quantities by project, phase, and item. Progress can also be exported for project reviews and reporting. Fabritec

These capabilities serve different purposes within the same operation.

Use the viewer to identify and explain the item. Use the relevant production, shipping, delivery, and erection records to verify its recorded progress.

An element’s position in the model is not its actual storage location on site. A screenshot is not evidence that installation has been completed. Likewise, Link coverage measures model-to-item associations—not delivered quantities or erection completion.

Keeping these meanings separate makes the visual review more useful, not less. The team gains spatial context without confusing it with field evidence.

A Practical Site Coordination Example

Suppose a site manager is preparing a briefing for a group of assemblies included in the upcoming installation work.

The proposed review starts with identification. The manager opens the relevant project model, locates the assemblies, and checks the linked item marks, Building, and Phase.

Next comes explanation. The manager uses focused views to show where the assemblies belong and how they sit within the surrounding structure. A screenshot can provide a clear visual reference for the discussion.

Then comes verification. The team checks delivery and erection records to establish which quantities have arrived, which have been installed, and what remains. Any question about an item still in fabrication is directed to the responsible team using the verified item reference and, where useful, the relevant operational viewing mode. This example combines the viewer’s documented inspection tools with the separate installation-record workflow. Fabritec

The outcome of the review should be a clear explanation of the work and the questions that still need resolution—not an assumption that viewing the model has confirmed installation readiness.

Review Model Updates Before Relying on Existing Links

A new model version introduces another responsibility: checking whether the model-to-item associations remain suitable for operational use.

In Model manager → Versions, teams can upload an updated IFC, wait for preparation, and review New elements, Missing elements, Retained links, and entries marked Needs link review.

The selected version is compared with the nearest older prepared version. When there is no older prepared version, it is treated as the initial baseline. The Current version and the version selected for inspection must also be checked separately.

For site coordination, this means an updated model should not be treated as ready for use solely because it opens successfully. Associations requiring attention should be reviewed before the team relies on them.

Version comparison checks IFC identities and links, not geometry. A retained link does not prove that dimensions or geometry are unchanged, and this review is not a substitute for geometric-change analysis or clash detection.

Build a Routine the Site Team Can Trust

Start with a representative project and one defined coordination question.

For example:

Can the site manager identify the assembly under discussion, verify its Fabritec record, and explain the relevant work to the installation and factory teams without a separate explanation of every item mark?

That is a practical objective. It is more useful than introducing the viewer simply because a model is available.

A proposed responsibility split is to have engineering verify the model properties and item links, the site manager use the model in coordination reviews, and the relevant operational teams maintain their production, quality, delivery, and erection records. Assign responsibility for reviewing links when a new model version arrives. The supplied feature guidance identifies model ownership, link review, and operational-data maintenance as important parts of adoption.

Test the routine with a limited scope before expanding it. Check whether the people involved can identify the same item, understand the information being reviewed, and explain what action follows.

This follows Fabritec’s wider approach to introducing software: begin with representative work, clear responsibilities, and a routine the team can repeat—not every available feature at once. Fabritec

Make the Model Useful to the People Installing the Work

Return to the site briefing at the start of the day.

The goal is not simply to put a three-dimensional model in front of the installation team. It is to make the discussion clearer.

The assembly is identified. Its place in the structure is understood. The linked item record is verified. Delivery and erection quantities are checked in their proper records. Outstanding questions can be directed to the responsible team with a clear reference.

That is the role of the 3D Model Viewer in a site-led workflow: helping the people coordinating installation understand and explain the work while keeping the discussion connected to the records behind it.

Book a Fabritec demo with a representative IFC model and its item data. Explore how linked model elements, focused views, and item inspection can support your site coordination workflow.