New Space Moves Website Provides Resources, Tools

Anyone who’s ever had to relocate to a new desk, work station or office knows how time consuming it can be.

However, planning ahead can help make the process more organized and less disruptive for employees.

To help the campus manage its space –- one of UC Merced’s most valuable and scarce resources -- and help workers navigate the moving process, members of a work group at UC Merced developed a process for moving and a tool kit for those organizing a move.

The result of their work is a new online resource, the Space Moves and Logistics website.

The website features everything you need to organize a move, whether it’s for a few individuals or an entire department. The website includes a host of helpful resources including:

• Guidelines for managing a move
• Checklists of moving-related tasks for people who are coordinating moves and the individuals being relocated
• Phone templates, work station and private office diagrams
• Ask-an-Expert contact information

John White, assistant vice chancellor for Capital Finance and Space Management and Campus Ombuds De Acker co-led the work group, which consisted of 12 people from administrative units and departments across the campus who are typically involved in the moving process, including Facilities Management, Information Technology, schools, Business and Administrative Services, Design and Construction and Capital Finance and Space Management. The workgroup met weekly over a six-week period. Members reviewed best practices at other UC campuses and used internal case studies to help guide their work.  

White said establishing a process for managing space moves was a priority as UC Merced continues to grow and evolve. The project also supports the Project 2020 initiative to develop academic, research, housing and support facilities to accommodate 10,000 students at UC Merced by the year 2020.

“This is especially relevant because we are a newer campus, and there is a space crunch,” White said. “We have to make the best use of our existing space and sometimes that means having to make new space assignments. Our campus will continue to grow in the number of students and faculty members we have, future academic programs and student activities, and with those expansions comes a need for space.”

Creating a “one-stop shop” website devoted to providing users with resources to manage a move “helps people understand what is going on and what they need to do,” White said. “As people begin to use the website, it will continue to improve over time and we welcome suggestions.”

Meanwhile, the Space Advisory Committee has already assembled a second workgroup to tackle another space-related project: a revamp of the campus’s space reservation system used to book conference rooms and hotel space.  That group is meeting and is expected to share its recommendations in early 2014.