As I describe in chapter 3 of my book, a component-based modeling workflow makes a lot of sense. It allows you to use a hierarchical model organization, work with attributes, dynamic components and – most recently – Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). I covered this approach at Trimble’s SketchUp 3D Basecamp in Vail earlier this year. You can view the entire presentation as a video below:
Tutorial Video
If you are interested in Dynamic Components, also watch Eric Schimelpfenig’s presentation on “Dynamic Components, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1”.
P.S. This a similar presentation to what I gave at Trimble’s Dimensions 2014 conference last week.