University IWMS Project

Along with Space, “Assets” are a foundational element within IWMS and the module we’ll discuss here. The two are interrelated as “Space is the place where assets occur.” What do we mean by Assets? If you think of space as “places” then assets are the physical “things” within or attached to those places.

Assets include mechanical, electrical, and plumbing equipment within a building such as parts of the HVAC system, air handlers, transformers, domestic hot water heaters (and even the kitchen sink!)  Assets also include things such as architectural elements (e.g., roofs, windows, walls, doors); built elements beyond the footprint of a building (e.g., lamp posts, sidewalks, roadways, utility infrastructure above- or below-ground such as pipes or vaults, etc.); and other exterior or unique elements such as sculptures, flower gardens, and campus trees. Vehicles are also a type of asset. 

The caretaking and management of all these assets is at the heart of what our Facilities Management organization does in support of the University’s mission. Having a complete and accurate catalog of assets– along with the details and documentation associated with each asset– in one integrated system will enable us to do this work in a more comprehensive and strategic way.

Our new system (Planon) will contain asset information such as name, make, model, serial number, specifications, location, area served, acquisition and warranty dates and information, maintenance schedules and records, renewal cycles, equipment condition and much more. Capturing all this information (which exists in disparate UVM systems now) into one integrated platform allows us to optimize the management of assets and leverage new functionality that will greatly improve our capabilities. For example, front-line technicians will have critical information like drawings and manuals at their fingertips, and campus stakeholders will have access to comprehensive investment information, analytics and reporting related to facilities to make smarter decisions more quickly.  Other new and enhanced functionalities we’re developing with Planon include: Document management, workflows, automated notifications, graphic scheduling and workload balancing, mobile applications, end-to-end digital materials management, location awareness and much more.

Bottom line: the new IWMS is a “tool” that paves the way to a future where we can provide the best possible stewardship of the University’s built environment.

~The IWMS Core Team

The University of Vermont uses approximately 6.2 million gross square feet (GSF) of space in carrying out its mission. Space is comprised of a variety of building types and sizes both owned and leased. Keeping track of accurate and comprehensive data related to space is essential for the calculation of Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs, Income/Expense rates, program costing and for assessing facilities and space costs for Incentive-Based Budgeting (IBB). Space data is also critical for effectively planning and managing the University’s space needs centrally; for determining what or when facilities upgrades might be needed to address inefficient or ineffective spaces; and for making space allocation decisions in support of University priorities.

The new system (Planon) will replace our existing space management software as the system of record for all data related to space and attributes (i.e., characteristics) such as department, college and division allocation; personnel location; room usage; and function occurring within the space. 

The Space Management module will be the first part of Planon we implement because location data is the basis for many of the other modules. Space is where assets (a.k.a. equipment), people and departments are located, and space is where activity takes place. Space allocation and use will be recorded in Planon by those currently assigned to conduct the space inventory for their departments, and Facilities Management will utilize the data collected for regular reporting and analysis and ongoing management of space. New reporting tools in Planon will include graphics that will be more broadly available to the campus community.

The Core Team’s work involves migrating all existing data along with hundreds of building diagrams that visually represent our campus spaces into the new Planon system to provide a comprehensive picture of space use across campus. After existing data is initially established in Planon, there will be opportunities for us to add new attributes or enhanced data fields so that facilities management personnel can also keep pertinent information about a particular space in one unified system. (For example, Custodial Services might want to keep track of the flooring type of each space so they can plan or coordinate cleaning schedules).  

Users of the current system are already familiar with the Space and Moveable Equipment inventory conducted once each year and managed by Planning, Design & Construction and Cost Accounting Services. We envision the new system will be a more intuitive, graphical, user-friendly, and streamlined portal where users can potentially update their space allocation and use data in real time and not solely once per year.

Our goal is to provide the campus with a system that offers tools to easily track and update space data, for both the centralized management of space campus wide, and for the localized management by a college or division of the space assigned to their unit.  Another new feature of Planon is it allows for granular security, meaning that departments will be able to use it to create new data fields for specific attributes of space that might be important for their work.

We think campus stakeholders will like this new system and we look forward to rolling it out in the future.

-The IWMS Core Team

The vendor and the Core Implementation Team have mapped out an ambitious timeline of specific steps and tasks to accomplish our desired implementation date for the first phase of the system. We’re confident we’ll reach our target date because of several factors in our favor: The new IWMS solution is “cloud-based” and hence the University will not have to set up or maintain its own servers and hardware (which was the case with our existing system). This past year, several UVM facilities and IT professional staff have already been doing the enabling (“pre-work”) for this project such as ensuring that existing data in our current system is accurate and up to date. Lastly, the vendor we’ve chosen has worked with many other higher education facilities organizations who’ve been successful.

—-> NOTE: PROJECT TIMELINE UPDATED AS OF MARCH 2023 <—-

Continue reading “Project Timeline and Implementation Plan”

The work that led to the decision to replace the University’s existing facilities software system (FAMIS) began several years ago. The primary users and sponsors of the system recognized that continuing to utilize a 15-year old enterprise technology platform would pose many challenges in the near- and long-term future for the University to manage its physical “assets” in a strategic and dynamic way. As related technologies and applications were evolving, it was clear that our current system (technically known as a CMMS or Computerized Maintenance Management System) either needed an upgrade or a full-out replacement with a more robust solution (technically known as IWMS or Integrated Workplace Management Solution). The latter option was chosen.

Continue reading “Why an Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS)?”