Space Management Module - 1997

Standard ARCHIBUS module – The first module implemented by OFP in early 1997 with minor modifications.
The need to pro actively manage functional space as a business resource, prompted OFP to implement the Space Module in ARCHIBUS first up in early 1997.
The Space Module is at the core of the University’s Facilities Management Information System, since it links all information and properties related to the smallest space cell in the spatial hierarchy, the room, to the entity defining that same space in the CAD drawing. This then allows for the effective and intelligent management as well as reporting on any space and its set of attributes in the database.
Therefore the room plays an important role since its hierarchical and spatial attributes make it unique out of 20,000+ current rooms in the database. For example, a room, of a particular type and function with a defined room number, belongs to a particular department, is situated on a floor of a building, which in turn belongs to a campus, has a defined area in sq. meters (calculated from the CAD drawing) has a particular floor finish and has one or more employees who use it, (Gabriel 2002). This room could also have data, voice, mechanical, electrical and fire services, F&E and possibly items on the risk management (RM) list, like dangerous goods, as well as Art objects and could have some heritage significance etc.
Some of the benefits of using the space module:

• Facilitates improved space efficiency to lower occupancy costs
• Links architectural drawings with facilities and infrastructure data, ensuring information is always accurate
• Increase Space Efficiency
• Analyse space inventory information by department
• Generate space inventories with gross area, rooms, service areas, vertical penetrations, and more

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