This article is about the use of this module as an application manager, for more information on how to use the concepts in this module as a user (for instance, details on how to create an object), see the related module in the Users part of this knowledge base: Users
1. What is this module about
Buildings and areas are one of the master data modules of Workplace Management.
The Buildings and Areas module allows you to manage location information and use this information in other modules. This offers practical benefits in other modules. Some examples:
Requests: Connecting requests to specific buildings or areas helps the Service desk quickly locate and resolve issues.
Reservations: Reserving areas within buildings, ensuring efficient use of space and better room availability.
Contracts: Linking buildings or areas to contracts ensures the cost can be tracked per building or area. Leading to better and more data-driven strategic decision-making.
Apart from the use in other modules, the Buildings and Areas module can aid in managing your real estate, as it helps to get insights into the organization's buildings, including details like addresses, ownership, occupancy status, and maintenance history.
Most of the core concepts of this module can be managed by key users (building and area editors). Therefore, most concepts are described in the user manual that can be found here: User manual: Buildings and Areas
The next parts will go into more detail on some of the core concepts of this module that are mostly relevant for administrators:
1.1 Categories
Every building and area is created in a category. For more general information about categories, see: Categories
The following default categories are available for this module:
Buildings
The logical hierarchy based on the building categories is Geographical area -> Site(s) -> Building(s). Buildings with the same category can also have a hierarchy. For example Building -> Sub building(s). The categories do not impact the use of parent/sub buildings. Technically it is possible to have a deviating hierarchy like Building -> Geographical area(s), but this is not advised because this can lead to issues when using Workplace Experience.
Next to Workplace Experience, also other integrations can have specific rules for the building hierarchy. So it is advised to used the recommended logical hierarchy of the categories.
Areas
A logical hierarchy based on the area categories is Main area -> Floor(s) -> Meeting room(s) / Workplace(s) / Parking places. It is possible to add another level in the hierarchy between the Floor and the Meeting room / Workplace(s) / Parking places to combine several areas or if it is a specific room with multiple workplaces for example. This extra level can be added with the 'Area (general)' category.
Technically it is possible to have a deviating hierarchy like Main area -> Workplace -> Meeting room or a hierarchy where the same category is used multiple times, but this is not advised because this will lead to issues when also using Workplace Experience.
1.2 Area types
Areas also have an area type:
The area type is automatically set based on the category. The type is from a fixed list and is used for integration and standardized (Workplace Analytics) dashboarding purposes.
The following types are available:
Building (Automatically set as the type of the main area (main area is automatically created when creating a building)
Floor
Building section
Room
Workplace
Parking
Especially when also using the Workplace Analytics dashboards, the area types in combination with the area hierarchy is important and one of the following hierarchy options should always be adhered to:
Building > [Optional] Building section -> Floor > Room
Building > [Optional] Building section -> Floor > Room > Workplace
Building > [Optional] Building section -> Floor > Parking
Building > [Optional] Building section -> Floor > Room > Parking
Area hierarchies that have this set up differently (e.g. a floor being part of a room or a workplace directly part of a building) can result into errors in the Workplace Analytics dashboards.
To view the area hierarchy including the area type, either use the ‘Areas' navigation menu option directly, or the ‘Areas’ tab in a building:
1.2.3 Manage the area categories and area types
Creating custom area categories and managing the correct area types per (custom) categorie can be done via the module settings → Master data → Buildings and Areas. On this page, an include is shown to manage the area categories:
Via this option, new custom categories can be created (these categories are also used as filter options within Workplace Experience and Workplace Analytics). Custom categories can, for instance, be used to specify workplace in sub categories (e.g. ‘Standing desks’, ‘double screen desks’, ‘Electric parking’ etc).
It is also possible to use this overview to quickly update the area type of any area that has a certain category, if for instance a custom categorie had the wrong area type before.
2. General buildings and areas module settings
To navigate to all the general building and areas model settings, go to Modules settings → tab buildings and areas. Hover over the available settings to get more information about a specific setting:
3. Additional information on this module
More information on the Buildings and Area module can be found via the following related articles:
For an (end) user manual, see: User manual: Buildings and Areas
For more detailed implementation information (including how to enable the module, which system groups are involved, data imports, and more information on the startboard and navigation menu options), see: Masterdata: Buildings and areas module activation and information