Space Planning Software Shortcuts Facilities Managers Should Know

by Rebecca Symmank on February 27, 2019
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Real estate is the second largest expense most companies have, so good space planning is one of the best ways to control costs.

Space planning software gives you visibility into how your real estate is utilized, helping you identify opportunities for improvement and to better plan for the future.

iOFFICE’s space planning software is easy to use, but robust enough that there’s almost always something more to discover (plus, we’re constantly introducing updates). Whether you’ve never used it before or you’ve been using it for years, there are always new ways you can use it to get valuable data and make your life easier.

 Here are our favorite space planning shortcuts.

Use the Space Desktop for a 30,000-Foot View of Your Portfolio

Need to get a quick overview of your real estate portfolio? Our Space Desktop is the best way to see all your properties at one time. Use the Space Desktop to see how each property fits into the goals and overall picture of your organization. You can also drill down to a more granular level to see space utilization for a specific building or room by selecting it in your floor plan.

Integrate Your Space Planning Software With AutoCAD

When it comes to space planning, miscalculations can be costly. You need to be sure you’re calculating usable space, not just going by total square footage. And the only way to get accurate space management data is to use polylining in your floor plans. Computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software like AutoCAD allows you to draw perimeters around inside walls to make sure every inch of space is labeled correctly. Fortunately, iOFFICE’s space management software integrates easily with AutoCAD through our Softspace plugin.

(And if you don’t have experience using AutoCAD, that’s OK! Our team can take PDFs or JPGs of your floor plans, convert them into AutoCAD layers and then integrate them with our software planning software to give your team full visibility of your space.)

Use Space Planning Software To Plan Moves In Less Time

Planning an office move can seem like an overwhelming project. You need to figure out the most efficient way to organize the new location, make sure all the furniture and assets arrive and orchestrate the transition. There are bound to be pieces of equipment that go missing or service requests that pop up along the way. By using space planning software with another tool that allows you to plan and manage moves, you can do in a few hours or days what used to take weeks or months.

Shift To 3D View

When you’re planning those moves and looking at a two-dimensional floor plan, it’s harder to gauge how a proposed move would impact employees. You have to keep rotating the floor plan around to see how they would navigate the rest of the office from their new location.

By shifting to a 3D floor plan, you can see things more clearly from your employees’ perspective. You can even zoom in to see who’s sitting at each desk and what assets are located in each room.

Then, if you’re using our move management software, you can drag and drop people into their new locations, plan the move and even create move tickets to minimize disruption for employees.

Use IoT Sensors For Better Space Planning

Using space planning software is by far the best way to improve space utilization. But even if you’re using it to its fullest potential, your data may not be 100 percent accurate.

That’s because as more organizations adopt an agile work environment, employees are spending a lot more time away from their desks. They’re working remotely part-time, or they’re moving around throughout the day. Your workplace is constantly in flux. To get real-time space utilization data, you need IoT sensors.

iOFFICE’s space planning software integrates easily with sensors so the data on your space desktop always reflects what’s actually happening in your office.

Why Space Planning Matters To The Future Of Your Company

The modern workplace is becoming less defined by four walls and eight hours, but most organizations still need real estate.

And the majority have much more space than they actually use—often as much as 50 percent more. As real estate prices continue to rise, a good space planning strategy is more important than ever. And it starts with using the right tools. With space management software and these tips and tricks, you’ll be better able to identify trends that help you plan for the future.

Can your space planning software do all this? If not, it might be time to check out iOFFICE. Request a demo today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Symmank

As a member of the Business Development team for iOFFICE, Rebecca is spirited and is quick to take initiative. Previously a customer and daily user of the IWMS provider, she has extensive experience on both the front and back end structure of the product. Rebecca's enthusiasm for facilities management and her tangible experience in the field give her an unprecedented understanding and perception of iOFFICE customers. Rebecca is able to relate to organizations implementing on IWMS, and has a unique perspective on what makes the experience a success.

Capterra Ratings: ★★★★★ 4.5/5