Creating A Child Model From Parent Model
In collaborative bridge design, the ability to create a child model from a parent model offers engineers the flexibility to work on different parts of the structure independently while maintaining control over when and how changes are synchronized.
The parent model (or master model) serves as the authoritative source where final design decisions are reflected. From this model, engineers can create child models to work on specific components—such as the superstructure, substructure, or foundation—without immediately affecting the overall project.
This workflow is particularly useful when multiple engineers or teams are involved. For example, one engineer can iterate on superstructure options within a child model, while another focuses on foundation details in a separate child model. Once the design iterations are complete and decisions are finalized, changes can be synced back into the parent model in a controlled manner. Similarly, all child models can be updated to reflect the latest version of the parent model at any time.
This parent-child model structure in OpenBrIM allows for:
Clear separation of responsibilities across teams or disciplines.
Flexible iteration without overwriting shared design data prematurely.
Centralized control over final model integration.
This approach supports a scalable, collaborative, and organized workflow, particularly for large-scale or complex bridge projects.
Open the Master Project and Organize Users First you need to add each user who will work on the child models for this project. If a user is not added here, they will not be able to see the master model and, therefore, cannot create a child model from it. Assign permissions based on your needs: - Read-Only – Allows viewing but no changes. - Write – Allows editing shared data. - Admin – Full control, including managing other users and settings. Refer to the screenshots for the exact menu locations and options.
Open the Master Project and Organize Shared Objects Start by opening your master project in OpenBrIM. Navigate to the Shared Objects section. This is where you define which objects in the master project will be shared with external (child) projects.
In a typical master–parent model workflow, you may want to share all project objects with the child models to ensure they have full access to the necessary data for design and coordination. To do this, simply click "Set to All Project Objects"
Now it’s time to create child models—these allow different engineers to focus on specific aspects of the bridge design independently. For example, one engineer can create a child model dedicated to designing the substructure piers, while another can focus on refining plate girder dimensions in a separate child model. To keep things simple in this guide, we’ll proceed using the All-in-One Bridge workflow.
If you are not using the All-Type Bridge workflow, you will need to import the External References workflow by clicking the Import New Workflow button.
After opening the model, click the Settings icon to change the workflow, then select External References.
You can bring data from multiple models into a single working model. For example: - Store all project alignments in one model. - Store all bridge data for a single continuous unit in another model. By adding multiple rows in the External References section, you can link these different sources so that all data is available together in the same model. This allows you to consolidate information from various specialized models into one model.
Click the three dots menu and select Add Projects. A dialog box will appear, displaying all of your available projects.
Type the project name in the search box to quickly filter and locate your project.
Now, click Sync Project to import all shared project objects from the master model.
Click Zoom Extents to view the full model on your screen.
Now return to your active workflow and specify which objects you are working on to prevent them from syncing in the future.
Now, in the Tree View, you will see the referenced objects from the external project with sync set to active. This means that if you sync again in the future, your local project data for these objects will be automatically deleted and replaced with data from the master model—overriding any changes you have made.
For example, if you are working on plate girders and want to protect your changes, click Disable Sync. This ensures that future sync operations will not overwrite your modifications.
For those objects, you will now see a distinct purple color with an unlock icon in each row, as shown in the screenshot.
Now, let’s assume another engineer working on the substructure design has completed their work, updated the master model, and informed you that all changes are now included. You can simply return to the Sync option and pull those updates into your model to see if they affect your results.
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