SPACE MANAGEMENT THE NEW SUPER POWER
B Y P A U L M . L E E F, A I A , N C A R B , A U A , L E E D A P
Fortune 500 companies manage their space, and higher education could benefit from some of that same private sector sensibility. Other than its people, it could be argued that space is one of the most valuable assets that a University has. It is often represents a multibillion dollar portfolio, and it is certainly expensive to build, own, operate and maintain. In considered deferred maintenance backlog, it can also be a liability. In both instances of asset and liability, it is a strategic asset that should be actively managed. Yet when one compares the infrastructure developed for human resource management with that for space management, we find the latter to be lacking. To help shine a light on this need, universities can use the Space Management Rating System© or SMRS to help evaluate the maturity of the space management function at their institution. There are five levels, as discussed below. Level 1: Getting Started—Space Inventory The fundamental building block of space management is having an accurate space inventory. To paraphrase an old adage attributed to Peter Drucker, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. A space inventory is a room level listing of each space, its assignable square footage, departmental assignment and its room use code. Room use codes are established by the Facilities Inventory Classification Manual (FICM) published by the US Department of Education. For those institutions who do not have one, it is critical to have one developed by someone trained in the FICM coding system. Oftentimes, onetime funding for accreditation can be used to 40
help kick-start a space planning and campus planning effort. Maintaining the inventory is a constant process, as space assignments and renovations occur. Depending on the size of the institution and amount of renovation workload, a minimum, on-going staffing level of 1-2 FTE would be expected. Building managers or departmental representatives can be used to help update the inventory on a regular cycle, but they also must be trained in the coding system and require oversight. To assist with maintaining a space database, there are a number of commercially available software systems which can link together work orders, graphical data such as floorplans, and various attributes such as room codes; they can also calculate square footage and generate useful reports.