Graphical moves allow you to select assets and quickly and easily move them to another location in the same DGN, typically without leaving the view window.
Non-graphical moves allow you to move assets across DGNs. You can move assets directly to the center of the destination area, or you can place them in a container which can then be moved to the center of this area. The administrator of the FM model decides which assets move via a container and which do not when configuring the model. In the demonstration model, for instance, all assets are packed into containers for non-graphical moves, except employees, who simply move directly to the center of the destination area.
After moving assets via a container (whether using Bentley Facilities Planner or Bentley Facilities Manager), you can unpack the contents of the container and move them individually to their final locations.
Containers allow you to carry out a number of operations which cannot be achieved in any other way. You can create as many named containers as you wish and each container, along with its contents, can be allocated to an area. So, for instance, a multipurpose community hall might own a number of containers:
One of these might contain all the furniture and equipment required for using the hall as a dining area (such as dining tables, chairs, food trolleys)
Another might contain those assets required when the hall is used as an examination room (such as desks and chairs)
Yet another container might house the assets required when the hall is used as an auditorium (such as seats, lectern, projector screen)
If each of the layouts has been made into a selection set, the physical layout of each is retained while in the container. All the layouts can be stored in a single container, since each remains a selection set. So packing away one layout will immediately allow you to unpack and place another layout from its container. All the assets housed in the containers are linked to the hall, so a report on the contents of the hall contains both the assets which are currently placed in the hall and all the assets packed in containers linked to the hall.
This concept of linking containers to areas in the FM Model can be used to place containers holding assets in the storage area where they would be placed in the physical world. When the assets in a container are required for use in an area, the container is moved to that area, those assets required in the area are unpacked, and the container then moved to the next area where some of its contents may be required. This process can be repeated as many times as necessary and the container finally returned to its original storage area with any remaining contents. When a container is finally empty, Bentley Facilities Planner deletes it automatically.
Containers are themselves objects and so can be moved and deleted. They can be linked to objects and have objects linked to them. You can, for example, link a document such as a manifest, or a photograph of its contents, to a container.
The assets held in a container link, through it, to the area containing it. The only information which is not stored is the actual location of the asset. This is quite logical since it is in a container, not actually in the area. In the same way, moving the container has no effect on the physical location of the assets it contains. All other links are however updated.
When a container is deleted, all the assets contained in it are also deleted.
In both graphical and non-graphical moves, Bentley Facilities Planner alters the links between the assets and the areas which contain them when they move. It removes the links to the source area and creates links to the destination area.
The ease with which assets in your building can be moved may range from simple to virtually impossible. Assets such as desks, chairs and filing cabinets can be moved fairly easily, however other assets such as storage walls and rail mounted mobile storage units can only be moved with considerable difficulty. The difficulty of moving some assets, such as power points that have been embedded in the structure of the building, can be so great that they can be considered to be immovable.
Move control allows the administrator of the facility model to designate assets as movable, immovable or conditionally movable. Movable objects may be moved by anyone. Conditionally movable objects that comply with the designated condition may also be moved by anyone, but those which do not and objects designated as immovable can only be moved by users who belong to a designated user's group.
The condition that controls the movability of conditionally movable objects is the value of a particular attribute for that class of assets. For example, a PC might be designated as a conditionally movable asset and those PC's that were allocated to a member of staff might have an attribute set to allocated. This would render them immovable. Unallocated PCs with the same attribute set to unallocated or with the attribute undefined would still be movable.
As you work through the procedures for moving objects you may receive messages indicating that certain objects are immovable. The messages you receive depend on whether you attempt to move immovable objects and whether you belong to the user group which has right to move immovable objects.
If you are a member of the group with the rights to move immovable objects, and you attempt to move an immovable object, a dialog box opens asking whether you want to override move control. If you are a member of the group with the rights to move immovable objects, and you attempt to move an immovable object, a dialog box opens asking whether you want to override move control.
Note: To change who has move control rights requires ProjectWise administrator status.