Case Study: Space Information Management System
The Challenge
The need for a method to track and report space usage accurately
The University of Iowa (UI) in Iowa City and Coralville, Iowa, was founded in 1847 as the state's first public institution of higher learning, and over the past 160 years, their campus has grown to 1,900 acres and includes over 125 major buildings. However, keeping track of their 11 million square feet of facility space has proven to be quite a challenge.
UI realized how important it is to know exactly how much space they have for classroom instruction, organized research, and other sponsored activities. What UI needed was a comprehensive solution for organizing, accessing, and maintaining their space usage information more effectively.
The Solution
A system that enables intuitive access to space information
UI consulted Advanced Technologies Group, Inc., (ATG) to help them address their space information management concerns. After meeting with UI administrators, ATG information consultants developed the Space Information Management System (SIMS) based on UI’s specific objectives. The SIMS contains UI’s architectural layout and space usage data under one comprehensive solution, which is delivered through the solution’s web portal component.
Considering the size of UI’s campus, implementing the SIMS was broken down into phases, the first of which started with 61 buildings totaling approximately 5 million square feet. In this first phase, ATG’s project management team began by gathering the architectural layouts and space utilization data and conducting surveys to verify the information where necessary.
When all of the information was collected and processed, it was incorporated into the Enterprise Active Visual System™ (AVS), ATG’s facility information system. The integrated information was then made accessible through the web portal component of the AVS, which ATG customized according to UI’s specific needs. This web portal component provides authorized users at UI with unlimited, intuitive access to data-integrated visual layouts and reporting capabilities, and it helps UI save resources because it does not require onsite software installation.
Through the web portal component of the SIMS, authorized users can view space inventory information and generate a wide variety of space management and tracking reports.
The Results
Accurate, accessible space information for planning and decision-making
With the first phase of the project nearly complete, authorized users at UI are able to use the SIMS to manage and track a wide variety of space inventory information, including general building data; maintenance, custodial, and utilities data; room occupancy; and research investigators’ use of rooms. Upon completion of the first phase, the next phase of the project will address the rest of the UI campus buildings.
Another very important component of the SIMS is its ability to identify and track space usage functions by square foot to aid UI with analyzing indirect costs. This component could also assist UI with addressing requirements within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21.
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