Public university taps Datastream for facilities management capabilities
Greenville, SC — October 27, 2003 — Clemson University, a public land-grant institution in South Carolina, has upgraded to asset performance management provider Datastream's 7i Asset Performance Management solution from the vendor's MP5 enterprise asset management app.
With the upgrade, Clemson said it would be able to automate its asset-management processes and integrate its financial data with its asset-management data, giving the university real-time visibility into the state of its operations.
Clemson University comprises five distinct colleges with more than 17,000 enrollments each year. The university supports its own facilities department, University Facilities, which is a group of 450 employees responsible for maintaining more than 500 acres of property and 3.8 million square feet of building area. Clemson is using Datastream 7i to modernize this department and automate facilities-management processes. With Datastream 7i, Clemson said it is able to eliminate the need for paper-based processes, as well as equip workers with wireless computing capabilities.
7i also supports electronic signatures, which University Facilities said is an important capability because it reduces the number of paper-based requisitions.
The 7i Data Collection module enabled Clemson to integrate a custom mobile solution that allows workers to access the application through their Nextel handheld devices. Through the cellular network, technicians can then make updates, logging hours or viewing historical data. This capability will be expanded in the coming year, according to Datastream, as the department creates new types of user interfaces.
"Upgrading to Datastream 7i was a great move for our organization," said Michelle Hutchings, system administrator of Clemson University. "Besides being simple from an upgrade standpoint, it gave us new capabilities that helped us transform our business processes in ways we never imagined."
"Facility management organizations on large campuses like Clemson University face a significant challenge — they not only must maintain a broad array of buildings and facilities across an expansive geography, but they are also being asked to reduce costs while maintaining service excellence," said Larry Blackwell, president and CEO of Datastream Systems, Inc. "We are extremely pleased that Clemson has successfully upgraded to Datastream 7i."