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Coordination

Nine thousand clashes is not a report

Raw clash counts are a way of avoiding a decision. How to tune a clash matrix until the output is worth someone's afternoon.

CoordinationPublished 6 min read

Volume is the failure mode

Anyone can press run and export nine thousand results. The number feels like diligence and functions as the opposite: nobody reads it, nobody owns it, and the team quietly learns to treat the clash report as noise. A report that is ignored is worse than no report, because it creates the appearance of coordination.

Tolerances are project decisions

A 25mm tolerance between structure and ductwork is not a software setting, it is an engineering judgement about installation reality. Set it too tight and you generate thousands of items that will resolve themselves on site. Set it too loose and you miss the ones that will not.

Triage by construction impact

Sort by severity, not by discipline pair or object id. A duct through a primary beam and a hanger clipping a conduit are not the same problem and should not sit in the same list. Three tiers is usually enough: blocks construction, needs a design decision, resolve on site.

An issue without an owner is not an issue

Every item needs a named person and a date. Not a company, a person. The moment a clash is assigned to 'MEP contractor' it belongs to nobody, and it will still be open at the next meeting.

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