How Long Does MEPF Tagging Take in Revit?

An MEPF set takes time for three reasons: the number of views, the tags each view needs, and the cleanup after the first pass. Native Revit repeats the same steps on every view. The total therefore grows with the number of views in the set.

Time one view in your own project

Pick one typical floor plan from your current set, then one section. Time each step with a stopwatch or a timer app. Write the results in a table so you can compare views.

1. Open the view and check that the tag families you need are loaded.
2. Run Tag All Not Tagged with the right categories and leader settings.
3. Clean up overlapping tags and adjust leaders by hand.
4. Check each tag for missing values, such as a tag that shows a question mark.
5. Note whether the view needs another pass after the latest model change.

Time each step separately. The table shows which step takes the most time on your set.

Here is how the steps usually break down on a commercial office HVAC plan of about 2,600 tags, and on a section view of about 15 tags.

Cleanup is most of the time. Tag All places the tags in minutes, then the drafter spends hours moving them clear of each other and routing leaders. For more view types, from residential to hospital plans, see MEPF tagging time across 50 typical views.

Multiply the time across the set

Use this formula to estimate the total:

Total time = time per view × number of views × number of revision rounds

For example, a set with 40 views and three revision rounds repeats the same steps 120 times if every round touches every view. Views that do not change between rounds need less work, so use your own change log to adjust the count.

What tagging by hand adds up to

By hand, tagging runs at about 200 tags an hour on an HVAC plan, and slower on piping, where most tags need a leader. A view of 800 tags takes about 4 hours. A set of 80 such sheets takes about 320 hours, before any revision round.

The capacity calculator starts from those figures. Enter your own sheet count, tag count and rate to see the total for your set.

Where the time goes

On a typical plan, cleanup and checking take more than 90% of the time. On most sets, the check and cleanup steps repeat on every view, so they add up across the project.

How RayCAD changes the time

RayCAD's Auto-Tag runs on the floor plan or section view you select. The sample sheets on this site show the run times below.

• HVAC sample 01: 1,012 tags in 13 seconds
• HVAC sample 02: 819 tags in 42 seconds
• Piping sample 01: 434 tags in 35 seconds
• Piping sample 02: 434 tags in 36 seconds

These figures cover the run only. A quick glance over the result is still required. RayCAD's Review Tags panel lists the tags that need a second look, with the reason for each. Selecting an item takes you to the element in the view.

Anything RayCAD cannot place cleanly goes to that panel. You do not need to search the sheet for exceptions, and most tags stay out of the panel because they are placed correctly on the first run. Only the tags in the panel need a second look. You also do not need to search for tags that show a question mark.

RayCAD also saves tag families and placement rules as a preset. You set the preset once, then reuse it on every project. Every tag follows the same rules, so the check pass starts from consistent tags. RayCAD runs on your machine, and your model data does not leave it. It works with Revit 2021 to 2027.

Try RayCAD on your own set

Run the 15-day free trial on one of your sheets, then time it against your own table. Use the same view and the same steps so the two numbers compare fairly. To see what the hours mean for a full set, enter your sheet count and tag count in the capacity calculator.

See intelligent tag placement and how RayCAD increases team capacity.

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