In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oklahoma State University Library developed an open-source application to record real-time building capacity. Library student security tracks building entrances and exits via the program, with current visitor numbers appearing on the library's website via an API. This effort helps administrators have a…

It is difficult, if not impossible, for a school proud of its reputation for excellence not to feel the need to claim to have a firm grip on "innovation." Leading in innovation suggests many things that the school is--such as being technologically advanced, current in pedagogy and practice, and generally ahead of the curve. Yet, in…

This is the first article in a six-part series on the elements of a collaborative classroom: furniture, social media, video/web conferencing tools, collaborative software, interactive devices, and mobile devices. With most universities facing tight budgets, convincing administrators to invest in expensive new classrooms is a challenge. Many higher…

Faced with deteriorating buildings, overcrowding, an inadequate budget, and government regulations, Columbia University needed data to support facility management decisions. After contacting organizations with similar facilities, the unviersity chose a space inventory database program developed by MIT for a consortium of academic, medical, and…

Discusses the development of the University of Missouri-Columbia's Space Planning and Management office (SPAM) and the computerization of the school's space-planning archives. Discusses SPAM's software selection for standardization as well as its manual development, placing the school's buildings and floor plans on the Web, and its space-modeling…

By applying a computer-aided drafting system to a range of facilities layouts and plans, a division of Tektronix, Inc., Oregon, is maintaining staffing levels with an added workload. The tool is also being used in other areas of the company for illustration, design, and administration. (MLF)

Categories of facilities utilization and scheduling requirements to be considered when using a heuristic approach to timetabling are described together with a nine-step algorithm and the computerized timetabling system, Timetable Schedules System (TTS); TTS utilizes heuristic approach. An example demonstrating use of TTS and a program flowchart…

As a solution to the problem of serving large numbers of students with a small staff, the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) has adopted three new technologies to advise and register students and respond to telephone inquiries. The first of the technological innovations is TELUS, a telephone voice response registration system offered as an…

Reports research on trends in computer-aided facilities management using the Internet and geographic information system (GIS) technology for space utilization research. Proposes that facility assessment software holds promise for supporting facility management decision making, and outlines four areas for its use: inventory; evaluation; reporting;…