Utilization and Occupancy Matrix
- Julie Isebaert
- Sergio Karijodinomo
Difficulty: expert
Learning Objectives
After reading this article, you’ll be able to:
Understand the difference between Occupancy and Utilization concepts used in Workplace
Select which sensor solution is most adapted to your use case
What is the difference between the concepts Occupancy and Utilization?
Both concepts are based on occupancy sensor data.
occupancy (eg 50% occupied in 8h time) vs utilization (2 out of 4 chairs)
Example 1. If a meeting went on for 8 hours, and 2 people were in a meeting room with capacity 10, Occupancy will be seen as 100% for the whole 8 hours, but Utilization was only 20%.
Example 2. A room can be occupied 50% of a day (4 out of 8h) but when only 2 chairs are used out of 4, it is utilized 50% against 50% occupation. The real performance is then only 25% (half a day used for half the capacity).
Check Setting the capacity and thresholds of spaces for more information on how to configure Room Capacity.
Direct Utilization & Occupancy
Direct Utilization means the sensor will send information on “the number of people counted in a certain area” (headcount number) to the Workplace platform.
Headcount number is visualized in the Utilization Live Floorplan and is reported on in Space monitor Dashboard. Occupancy Live Floorplan will indicate if the location is occupied or not.
Sensor method | Installation method | other hardware needed | max installation height | Functioning method | max Detection area | Icon decay | Config | info available | advised for utilization? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pointgrab | wired | none | 2.15m (7ft) to 4.5m (14.8ft) | Pointgrab | 9.18m x 5.32m (30.11ft. x 17.45ft.), max 10 desks | 2 min | Pointgrab Platform + Studio | Utilization, Occupancy & Reservation Live Floorplans (see below) + Space monitor | yes for utilization in meeting rooms or in open spaces |
Vergesense wireless | wireless | gateway | 3,66m (12 ft) | When presence is detected, the data is uploaded into the Workplace Cloud and updated every 2 minutes for wireless sensors: this interval is so low that a person in the room will be captured. | 3.7m x 7.4m (24ft. x 20.1ft.), max 8 desks | 2 min | Vergesense Platform + Studio | Utilization, Occupancy & Reservation Live Floorplans (see below) + Space monitor | yes for utilization in meeting rooms or in open spaces |
Indirect Utilization & Occupancy
Indirect utilization means the sensor will send for example presence or footfall data, and after time slot data aggregation (see https://spacewell.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/WM/pages/492237) Workplace platform will calculate “the number of people counted in a certain area”.
Sensor method | Installation method | other hardware needed | max installation height | Functioning method | max Detection area | Icon decay | Config | info available | advised for utilization? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browan motion sensors | wireless (tape or screw) | gateway + 1 sensor for the room + 1 sensor per seat/chair | 2.15m (7ft) to 4m (13.12ft) | 4m x 10m (13,12 x 32,81 ft) | 15 min | Studio | Utilization, Occupancy & Reservation Live Floorplans (see below) + | - possible for utilization in open spaces | |
Footfall (XOVIS) | wired | none | 2m (7ft) to 3.5m (11.5ft) | in/out-traffic => delta / difference between Traffic IN and Traffic OUT is calculated and this delta is used as Utilization value. Utilization (as delta between Traffic IN and Traffic OUT) is calculated by Workplace. | 7m x 5.88m (22.97ft. x 19.28ft.) | 5 min | Device + Studio | In/Out Traffic, Total Traffic & Utilization Live Floorplans (see below) + | other options are more reliable (footfall method very sensitive) |
Footfall (Pointgrab) | wired | none | 2.15m (7ft) to 4.5m (14.8ft) | in/out-traffic => delta / difference between Traffic IN and Traffic OUT is calculated and this delta is used as Utilization value. Utilization (as delta between Traffic IN and Traffic OUT) is calculated by Workplace. | 9.18m x 5.32m (30.11ft. x 17.45ft.) | 5 min | Pointgrab Platform + Studio | In/Out Traffic, Total Traffic & Utilization Live Floorplans (see below) + | other options are more reliable (footfall method very sensitive) |
Airthings | wireless | gateway | NA | estimate based on size of the room + CO2 => combination of parameters. Utilization estimate is a value provided by the sensor platform. | 50m2 (538,2 sq ft) | 15 min | Airthings + Studio | Utilization, Occupancy & Reservation Live Floorplans (see below) + | other options are more reliable |
Utilization & Occupancy on Live Floorplan
see also https://spacewell.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/159973452
Occupancy Live Floorplan View shows: location occupied or not (independent of how many people are in that location)
(Direct) Utilization Live Floorplan View shows: how many people are detected in that location
also Indirect Utilization (through traffic) Live Floorplan View shows: how many people are detected in that location
Indirect Utilization (Browan) on Live Floorplan View shows: location occupied or not.
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