Among them is the AssetWhere™ Community Map. The school has used the Community Map base to create an emergency evacuation map that directs students and staff through the campus to allocated assembly points. Another map was created specifically for fire and emergency services. It contains the position of entry gates and emergency routes throughout the campus, and highlights potential hazards such as gas and power sources and chemical storage. Burnside High School Facilities Manager Wally Lauder says the Community Map is a fantastic tool for students, staff, emergency and trades services alike. “For students it gives a really good, comprehensive breakdown of where everything is in the school,” Wally says.

“We have incorporated the Community Map as a fold-out page in each new student’s diary, so they won’t get lost navigating their way around buildings and the large campus. The map has also been reproduced as a large wall map which is displayed on the exterior of the school’s main building.” Included in the digital maps’ multiple layers is the Emergency Services plan which has been sent as a pdf to local Fire and Police services and the school’s security supplier. “It has made all students and staff at the school much safer,” Wally says. Previous to AssetWhere™ the school had no digital record or map of the school’s property, buildings and assets and Wally and his staff are reaping the benefits of now having all this information at their fingertips.

With over 2,500 year 9 to 13 students, Burnside High School , located in Christchurch City is the largest school in New Zealand’s South Island. The school recently worked with OMNILINK to consolidate all of their property and facilities information in AssetWhere™ and related services.

CASE STUDY Burnside High School Building Plans and Community Maps

“It means if we need to deploy tradespeople for school maintenance or installations, I don’t have to go delving through sheets and sheets of drawings, I simply pull it up on the map. If I want drainage I pull up the drainage icon or something else I pull up that icon, print it off and away I go. “It’s really convenient and efficient. Over time the school will increasingly utilise more of AssetWhere’s™ multi-faceted capability, he says. “There’s so many layers to it, it’s a bit like peeling an onion.” “For example, there will be enormous benefits to achieve once we start entering more data about the school’s assets into the program, assets such as desks and chairs that can be logged against each of our 150 classrooms.” In May 2018 an arsonist struck at the school and fire badly damaged one classroom. “It was lucky the damage was contained to just one classroom but if there is a larger fire or some such disaster in the future, having a live and accurate record of all the school’s assets will have major insurance benefits,” Wally says. The capability of AssetWhere™ to record ongoing maintenance and works at the school also leads to many positive outcomes. “Knowing what was done where and when allows us to plan much better for the ongoing upkeep at the school and results in many other efficiencies.

“For example we might have painted, carpeted and outfitted with new curtains two classrooms at the same time and down the track we notice more wear and tear in one room compared to the other. “This will lead us to question why that is. How was one room used differently to the other and how can we plan better to get more optimal use out of those facilities in the future? With AssetWhere™ data at the click of a button we are able to plan in order to make those efficiencies and savings.” Wally is also happy with the after-sales service he has received from OMNILINK staff. “I have found the OMNILINK guys to be very approachable and helpful. If we need an application customised or a feature added they will make it happen. Nothing is a problem for them.”

“For students it gives a really good, comprehensive breakdown of where everything is in the school” . Facilities Manager Wally Lauder