Cranfield University has gone live with a new ERP system to improve estate management.
Cranfield provides industrial scale facilities on campus for research and practical study, including the largest icing wind tunnel in the UK and a crash testing centre.
The university has switched on the Agresso Field Force software from UNIT4 in a bid to improve worker productivity and improve visibility and control of maintenance activities.
The system is intended to offer a single interface to view and manage estates operations, including customer information, resource planning, job progress and relevant financial information.
Cranfield will use the software to make sure the right people are on the correct job with the right materials within required timescales. The software gives Cranfield a view on costs for each project.
John Street, head of estate and site services at Cranfield University, said: "Although it has only just gone live, the new system has improved reporting significantly and we are now starting to get to grips with some key measures of productivity and customer service."
Cranfield is now looking to extend its use of Agresso Field Force by using it to plan proactive maintenance, roster engineers, and record relevant information in the field via mobile devices that will be integrated into the Agresso platform.
Last year, Cranfield University donated more than 1,200 PCs and monitors to schools in South America and Africa.
The equipment was refurbished by Computer Aid International to extend its life by a further three to four years.