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IPF introduces new navigational app for employees

February 22, 2022
A snow-covered Michigan State Infrastructure Planning and Facilities van. Shot on Feb. 2, 2022.
A snow-covered Michigan State Infrastructure Planning and Facilities van. Shot on Feb. 2, 2022. —
Photo by Lauren DeMay | The State News

On Feb. 14, Michigan State University’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, or IPF, announced a new application for their mobile devices.

This app would serve the purpose of providing their staff with turn-by-turn navigation across the 24.7 million square feet of MSU campus grounds. 

“Called ArcGIS Indoors, the app guides staff to the university vehicle parking space closest to the right entryway, and then directly to the room or building asset that needs service,” according to IPF's statement. “The app also is tied to IPF’s job list so staff can seamlessly find the asset or location need for their assigned job.”

Already more than a dozen IPF staff have been trained to use the application as part of our initial pilot, Communications Manager at IPF Strategic Initiatives Fred Woodhams said.

“The project team is taking users’ feedback and making improvements," Woodhams said in an email. "We will then have more staff trained on how to use it, although staff now have it on their mobile devices. IPF staff have been issued mobile devices to assist them in conducting their work, such as to access their work orders and update them.”

The app will overall save employees' time on a day-to-day basis.

“If we end up saving 15 minutes a day per employee, those time savings not only result in substantial cost savings to the university — thousands of dollars a day — but also improve our response times and service to our campus customers,” Woodhams said in the email.

 IPF Campus Services director Adam Lawver thanks MSU IT for developing the app.

“Even if the app saves just a minute or two during a job helping staff navigate a new workspace, over time that savings will add up to thousands of work hours,” Lawver said in the statement. “I thank MSU IT staff for helping us launch this app so IPF can more effectively use its resources to fulfill MSU's mission of advancing knowledge and transforming lives.”

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