Digital indoor mapping: How technology is offering an immersive experience

Line management

When integrated with line management data, mapping solutions can display location traffic data, including the number of people in the virtual queue and the estimated wait time. In a mall, for example, shoppers can view this information directly through the digital map, access a booking link, and add themselves to the virtual queue, helping to reduce crowds and lineups at physical locations. The same technology can be applied to reservation links, allowing visitors to make an appointment or reservation online, before they arrive.  

Planning

In addition to logistical use cases, digital maps can also be used to improve processes, workflows, and efficiencies across indoor facilities. Through visualization, businesses can better understand how their spaces are being used and allocate resources accordingly. 

Space planning

A digital indoor map paired with foot traffic data can assist in internal decision making. Once businesses understand how their space is being used and can identify areas of congestion, directional movements, and so on, floor layouts can be adapted for the optimal flow. With a heat map, property owners and managers can visualize these movements—how visitors are travelling through their venue and where they are spending the most time. This can help make informed decisions on cleaning, sanitation, where signage should be placed, and so on. Similarly, indoor facilities that measure and restrict occupancy can work with digital maps as a way to visualize this data. For example, if an office workspace has a capacity limit of 10 individuals, that area may appear red on the digital map to indicate to others that the limit has been reached.

Cleaning and maintenance

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important now than ever for indoor venues to adhere to strict cleaning policies and schedules. By integrating a digital map into a workplace management system, for example, facilities teams can enable efficient workflows for cleaning throughout the building. One approach to
this involves allowing employees to make requests or submit work order forms. Along with helpful details, users can include an image or video when necessary and pin the precise location on the indoor map, making it easy for workplace teams to locate the problem area. Even after an issue has been resolved, teams can review valuable analytics, such as real-time status updates or average time to resolution.

Another approach to planning building-wide cleaning and maintenance is to apply automation. By integrating other location-based technologies, such as sensors with an indoor map, facilities teams can create automatically triggered notifications. For example, once a meeting room has been used a certain number of times, or a washroom has had over 10 occupants, a member of the cleaning staff can be notified and arrive to sanitize the room.

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