Today there is a greater focus on FM bringing added value to businesses and helping them to achieve better results. One way to improve performance is by optimizing space use. Effective space utilization is further complicated, because people don’t necessarily work in the office, which confronts space managers to customize space requirements. A workplace can’t simply be defined as a physical environment where the work is performed.
For many organizations space is a costly and scarce resource, which supports the core business. Despite the fact that the resource can be scarce, it is only to a limited extent kept track of. Strategic planning and long-term adjustment of the asset portfolio is therefore an important task for an FM organization, to ensure that the organization's physical environment is in line with business needs. By focusing on performance measures, including both outcome and process measurements, and optimized space use, an FM organization can streamline its internal processes to improve the results that ultimately helps to support the company's overall objectives.
Through literature studies, this thesis has examined space management, and the strategic approach to spaces. Additionally, different definitions of space have been examined in order to give the reader an understanding of different approaches on the topic. To create an understanding of the importance of space utilization, factors with impact on space utilization are examined, and different technological options for measuring space utilization have been examined.
Through empirical studies 3 organizations working with space management was investigated for creating an understanding of the processes, methods and problems existing in the practical approach to the subject.
On this basis a solution for effective visualization of space utilization was prepared. It will help to create an informed and valid basis for strategic decision making of optimization of space. By using motion sensors and optical flow sensors the solution shows a principle visualization of space utilization, indicating performance measures for space use. The optical flow sensors are estimated to be useful in rooms with several people, including auditoriums and will be able to include all individuals in a given space, and distinguish between people and material objects, making the measurement very accurate. Motion detectors are estimated to be useful in separate office and can catch any movement in a given space, and therefore they can achieve a high precision. Daily measurements of space utilization will create very reliable results, as it provides a very accurate picture of reality, where seasonality and changing trends in space use can be made visible.
However, it is crucial to keep in mind that when measuring the space utilization is likely to affect the measured. The existence of even the smallest measurement will, according to David Bohm 's reality, affect the measured to an extent that will affect the result.