Higher education institutions and universities are thriving communities of student, academics, administrators and support staff in a complex ecosystem. To deliver high quality education to the student community, a specialised set of services are required across each group. At Advanced Technology Services, we provide specialist services covering venue management using latest generation IoT devices, campus security (cybersecurity), visitor management, asset tracking and verification, compliance and condition assessments.

Venue Management

We provide an in-depth understanding of how teaching spaces are utilised in relation to what it is they have been booked for. This enabling is achievable through IoT, Power BI and snapshots of timetables. This enables better utilisation of spaces and assists in the reporting requirements to DHET.

Owned and Shared Space

Visibility of owned and shared spaces is crucial in enabling better booking and utilisation of spaces.

Planned versus Actual Usage

A key metric to understand the number of people that were allocated to a space and how many actually used the space. Using IoT devices, people are countered from link data of venues and rooms. This is essential for planning optimisation of space requirements across office and teaching spaces.

Student Timetables

Alignment of student timetable with IoT devices (people counter) at venues allows for better allocation of venues to efficiently accommodate student numbers.

Hot Desk/s

Hot desking system linked to Archibus reservations, with a tag to check in and check out. This enables the activation and deactivation of all systems available at a desk saving power and enabling Fire protection to know who is on campus/in a building in the event of an emergency.

Campus Security

This service is linked to our cybersecurity offering including a 24/7 security operations centre (SOC) to monitor all events in real time.

An additional crime prevention service is also available linked to our AI services

Visitor Management

Managing visitor access has historically been time consuming, costly and error-prone, potentially compromising security. Receptionists who are reliant on logbook-based visitor management systems can become overloaded and miss vital steps when receiving a sudden influx of visitors. And while many computer-based visitor management systems have automated most tasks, their inability to integrate with a site's existing security management system leaves potential security gaps.

Visitor management should begin from within the organization through booking and processes should start tracking visitors at entrance gates. We provide a system that seamlessly integrates with existing security infrastructure to provide complete visibility and tracking of visitors.

Asset Tracking and Verification

Asset tracking is difficult and complex activity that is challenging at universities. Assets need to be tracked and verified which is recorded in the university’s central asset register. This enables facilities management (FM) to manage each asset more efficiently.

Aligned to verifying assets, there is a requirement for asset classification. Advanced Technology Services through our comprehensive Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) captures assets in the following categories:

• Properties
• Buildings
• Land
• Structure
• Equipment
• Furniture

Compliance

Since January 2022, the carbon tax rate has been ZAR 144 (~ USD 7.50) per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. In line with South Africa's commitments at COP26, the carbon tax rate is set to progressively increase every year in order to reach USD 20 per tonne by 2025.

To aid universities in achieving and reporting on compliance, Advanced Technology Services provides compliance audits and IoT services to help maintain compliance. Additionally, we assist with EPC Certification, Carbon Emissions Assessment and Smart Metering.

Condition Assessments

Condition assessments are needed for infrastructure and building services. Advanced Technology Services assesses and provides status reports to universities where they don't have capacity internally to perform these assessments.