Using the Custom TSV Schedule Conditioning Tool

The Custom TSV schedule conditioning tool can be used to export and re-import schedule tasks, and search set and manual BIM links. This tool allows advanced users to create a large number of tasks, subtasks, or BIM links via the data tools in Excel, and then import them to Tobe Maps in bulk.

To enable this process, the user needs to navigate to the program menu and click the export program button. It is imperative that there be an existing program in place prior to proceeding. If there is not, either the user must import a program or create a simple program in Tobe Builder with at least one existing parent activity.

Once the initial steps have been taken, the user can click the export program button in the program menu. This will create a Tab Separated Values (TSV) file with eight columns –

In the example below we have a 24 piece jigsaw puzzle that we want to manually create a schedule for, and create BIM links. To do this we can export the scheudle to tsv via the "Export" button in the breadcrumb programme icon.

Once the files are successfully exported, you can access the files by clicking the "Open Folder" button.

This file will contain the data in the Tobe Builder Program.

The TSV file can be opened in Excel or NotePad. You can set the default from ‘default apps by file type’ in Windows Settings.

The user can edit tasks directly in Excel or NotePad. The column headings must remain the same, other than adding new PDS codes to the right. When opening or importing into excel, respect the column formats.

It can be better to open in NotePad, then paste into Excel with all cells previously set to text format. Beware of loss of leading zeroes. Date format must be set as custom: “d/mm/yyyy h:mm AM/PM”. Both of these can go wrong if you make Excel the default program to open TSV files.

If there are commas in the data, for example “Form, Reinforce, Pour” then Excel will add quotation marks either side, as it does for CSV files. Remove commas using search and replace to prevent this, then check in NotePad for the existence of quotation marks which will otherwise appear in TobeBuilder.

If the exported program used WBS nodes, on re-import these may become parent tasks. Check that all Parent Task IDs exist in the TaskID column. If not, consider adding -1 to make a root parent task.

Consider the optimal use of the Task Pane. Avoid too many levels of parent task. In particular avoid having just one parent that is always turned down then ignored. Ideally there should be 3-10 parent tasks that break the project down by WBS, reflecting the contract program.

Good practice is to import the minimum number of tasks necessary. Delete design and procurement, for instance.

See also comments “understanding programmes and tasks” about Task_id and Task_code.

Initial tasks.tsv file as exported from Tobe Builder has a single root task that we created manually in Tobe Builder. We can now use excel to build up a scheudle for the 24 tasks we require to assemble the jigsaw puzzle in our example.

The ParentTaskID is used to establish a program hierarchy (WBS), In the example below the original root rask has been updated to represent a parent activity for all 24 pieces. tasks 1, 10 and 19 are represent a set of 8 peices, and have the root task "0" as their parent. There are then 24 individual peice tasks groups into 3 sets of 8 below each level 2 task.

There is no limit to the number of levels you can create within either the tobe builder interface, or via excel.

You can also create any number of additional PDS label fields by adding additional columns to the right of the tasks.tsv, these fields can be used later to search and filter the programme within Tobe Builder.

4 actions can be performed by the TSV process, as directed by an entry in the first column of the TSV file.

Once the user is finished editing the data, the file can be saved as a tab delimited (TSV) file, and then imported back into the Tobe Builder Program Menu. The imported data will update the program with the edited information.

In the programme import window below, you can see that Tobe Builder will create 26 new tasks, while updating one task. This staging window will give the user feedback on what creations, deletions and edits are about to be made before committing them to the project. This step cannot be undone, so review this information carefully before clicking "Import" to accept.

Once the import is complete you can now see the updated programme within the Tobe Builder timeline.

The TSV feature can also be used to create, update, and delete BIM searchsets. The searchset.tsv file below contains a single search set created manually via the Tobe Builder UI. This tells us that we have used a field called VB_PDS_Area to the Piece 1 jigsaw, to the geometry that represents that piece.

Using excel, we can create 23 additional lines to link the remaining 23 puzzle pieces, we just need to update the task ID, name and code to match the tasks we want to link to, as well as change the BIM property values to match each task.

Again like the task.tsv process before, Tobe Builder will present a confirmation screen to explain what updates, creations and deletions are about to be made. After review simply click Import to create the 23 new BIM searchsets.

The same process can be followed export and delete manual BIM links.