IWMS Implementation: STABLE

About this Project

SMU has launched the implementation of an IWMS solution to transform the way we plan, utilize, and support our campus facilities.  IWMS, which stands for Integrated Workforce Management System, is a suite of tightly integrated applications offering a wide range of functionality. At the core of this solution, is the space management module. This module includes the physical buildings and assets of the University including interactive floor plans. Understanding space - assignment, maintenance and management, as well as strategic planning for space utilization or renovations are critical business functions. Building upon that primary module are solutions to support work order management, real estate management, space scheduling, event management and robust reporting tools. The system will integrate with PeopleSoft, eBuilder, and other applications at SMU.

By itself, the tool will offer a level of analytics and information for the Office of Facilities Planning and Management that is not currently available today. However, the true value of this application is in an enterprise wide implementation capturing critical data by incorporating multiple departments and business processes. Just imagine, a single application that allows our faculty, staff, and students to submit a request for help.  That request can be fulfilled by the appropriate area whether that is facilities, OIT, or another department in a seamless manner.  Configured in a way to provide a consistent support experience and eliminate the confusion for requests involving multiple areas across campus, this shift could greatly enhance and simplify the customer experience. 

Because of the wide range of services this will offer, we have branded the application as “STABLE”- Supporting Technology, Assets, Buildings, Logistics and Events.  Arriving in Summer 2021, STABLE will be your one stop shop for requesting services from Facilities as well as OIT and several other departments.  We are excited to bring this new service to campus and simplify and enhance service delivery for SMU.

Information about each of these modules is listed below.  Throughout the project, departments across campus will be engaged to help identify requirements and help shape the configuration decisions.  Specific questions about the project should be directed to Allison Day (allison@smu.edu), Director of Space Management, and Rachel Mulry (rmulry@smu.edu), Executive Director of IT Planning and Customer Service.

Space Management: (Spring 2020)

Deliverables during this phase will include the configuration of the list of buildings and various attributes associated with buildings and rooms. Current floor plans will be imported and various reporting layers will be implemented such as assignments of employees and departments to space and identification of space types. Also included in this module is a new workflow for the coordination of office moves. Facilities and OIT will collaborate to produce a more streamlined process for coordinating both the furniture and technology components of a move.

Update:

The basic functionality of this module is now live.  Facilities is working on verifying and updating much of the data in the system over the next few weeks.  In spring 2021, Building Managers helped review and update the data.  In Fall 2021, the categorization will be expanded to provide more granular reporting and another site survey will be completed.

Work Order Module:

This module supports both the proactive and reactive work orders, key management, inventory management,asset management,cross charging processes, and event management processes. Facilities processes will be built first followed by the OIT and other departmental processes.

As the individual processes are identified and built, the project team will also be focused on building a consistent customer experience from easing the request process, ensuring tickets are handled in a consistent manner with appropriate communications, transparency throughout the process for updates and delays, and opportunity for service feedback at the conclusion of the request. We will also provide dashboard reporting for various individuals who require visibility to the issues or activities within a specific space or department.

We expect campus implementation for facilities work orders to take place in June 2021. 

Update:

Facilities work orders were implemented in June 2021.  The OIT work order system implementation is targeted for go live in summer 2022.

Event Management

The event management process requires the coordination of many different departments across campus. It is one of the most complex processes as well as an opportunity for major improvements for campus. Our goal is to help streamline event services on campus and ensure our events are well planned, well coordinated, and well supported. Both outdoor events and indoor events are in scope for transitioning to STABLE. The objective is to reduce the number of forms individuals must fill out for an event and better coordinate the various event tasks.

The implementation was originally intended to go live in August 2021.  However, this is now scheduled for implementation in January 2022. 

Room Reservations

Building upon the space management module, the various rooms that are available for booking will be identified along with the specific requirements for scheduling spaces. The current course scheduling activities that occur in PeopleSoft will continue to be conducted in PeopleSoft. Conference rooms will continue to be booked via Outlook.  However,  data for both classrooms and conference rooms will be pushed into STABLE and further scheduling will then be done through the new solution. One objective in this module is to provide a consistent process for identifying and reserving spaces across campus. An important outcome will be a better understanding of space utilization for classrooms, events and conference rooms.

Room reservations will be implemented in conjunction with the Event Module in January 2022.

Real Estate Management

This module supports the management of our SMU real estate including lease management, property management, etc.