The core elements of the FIS include the Space Inventory database, Campus Viewer app, document management, photosphere collection, eBuilder project management information system, and general technology support for the Facilities Management Department.
Space Inventory
The Space Inventory is the university’s official database of buildings and interior spaces. Through regular field checks and coordination with project managers, the FIS group maintains floor plans of all UMass Lowell buildings, with room numbers, square footage, space use, and current assigned department. The floor plans feed the database and the two are displayed in the Campus Viewer. From the database, the FIS team also creates reports and analysis for accreditation, National Science Foundation reports, campus planning, indirect costs for research space, utilization, as well as many others.
FIS is the authoritative source for building IDs and room numbers, which are key fields for the space database and are used by other systems and groups across campus, including R25 for the Registrar and Event Services, Information Technology, Security, and Environmental and Emergency Management.
Campus Viewer
The Campus Viewer is a web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) that contains UMass Lowell’s buildings and grounds, including interior space for each floor of each building. The Campus Viewer is available to faculty and staff on the campus network.
The core layers for the Campus Viewer are interior spaces, color coded by space use (classroom, office, lab, etc.) or school and department. Other layers include current capital projects and life safety equipment. Existing layers are updated, and new layers are added, regularly.
Photospheres
With the help of Web Services, FIS uses a custom app to collect, manage, and serve 360-degree photospheres of spaces on campus. Access to the photospheres is managed by FIS and can be requested via: fis-help@uml.edu.
Document Management
The FIS team manages documents for the Facilities Management Department through a Microsoft Sharepoint site. The FIS Records Manager develops, maintains, and assists in the implementation of document management standards; project team coordination; document tagging and organization; and the refinement of contract language and procedures to improve the quality and utility of Facilities records.
A core component of the Facilities document library is the project archives, a searchable database of all project drawings, specifications, manuals, and other closeout material. The Records Manager is actively involved in ongoing projects, meeting with teams to explain the expectations and guidelines for closeout material.
eBuilder
eBuilder is UMass Lowell’s Project Management Information System used by the Facilities Management Department for communication, coordination, and tracking of project finances, schedules, decision making, and documents. The FIS team includes the eBuilder Admin, who manages eBuilder accounts, develops and maintains processes and forms, leads training, and troubleshoots issues for Facilities eBuilder users. The FIS team assists in eBuilder project set up to ensure project location, square footage, and other key reporting metrics are identified correctly and consistently.