Requirements and What to Expect

Floorplans and zones enable occupancy and workplace analytics to provide insights beyond floor-level statistics. By dividing a floor into logical areas, organizations can analyze space utilization, occupancy trends, and heatmaps at a much more detailed level. This article explains what is needed from the client and what the client can expect from the delivered floorplans and zones.

What Are Floorplans and Zones?

A floorplan is a digital representation of a building floor used by the analytics platform.

A zone is a defined area on a floorplan, such as:

• Open workspaces
• Meeting areas
• Auditoriums or classrooms 
• Collaboration spaces
• Reception areas
• Departments or business units
• Lounges or break areas

Zones allow occupancy data to be measured and visualized for specific areas instead of only at floor level.

What Can Floorplans Be Used For?

Two types of floorplan configurations can be created:

1. Zone Detection Floorplans

Used to:

• Measure occupancy per zone
• Validate location data quality
• Support zone-based reporting and analytics

2. Heatmap Floorplans

Used to:

• Display occupancy heatmaps
• Visualize space utilization
• Identify heavily and lightly used areas

Both floorplan types are typically based on the same source drawing but are maintained as separate configuration files.

What Is Required from the Client?

To create accurate floorplans and zones, the following information is required.

1. Building Floorplans

Preferred formats:

• AutoCAD drawings exported to PDF
• High-quality PDF floorplans
• Other digital floorplan formats (when available)

The clearer and more detailed the source files are, the more accurate the resulting zone configuration will be.

Floorplan Scale

A scale reference is required to accurately position occupancy data.

Preferred options:

• Floorplan contains a visible scale bar
• Floorplan dimensions are provided by the client

Accurate scaling improves reporting precision.

2. Identification of Floors

The client should specify:

• Which building floors require zoning
• Which floors should be included in occupancy reporting
• Any floors that should be excluded (e.g., technical floors, parking garages, storage areas)

3. Zone Requirements

The client should provide guidance on:

• Which spaces should become zones
• Desired zone names
• Department allocations
• Special reporting requirements

If no zoning design exists, recommendations can be made based on the building layout and intended reporting goals.

What Happens During the Configuration Process?

The implementation team will:

1. Review floorplans and requirements
2. Create zone boundaries on each selected floor
3. Assign unique zone names
4. Configure scaling and positioning
5. Generate required floorplan files
6. Validate the configuration
7. Perform testing before delivery

What Can the Client Expect After Delivery?

Once configured, the client can expect:

Occupancy Insights per Zone

View how occupied individual areas are throughout the day.

Heatmap Visualization

Visual representation of busy and underutilized areas within a floor. Only if heatmap floorplans are created, visual heatmaps can be seen in the dashboard. For heatmaps to work, zone detection floorplans are a requirement.

Zone-Based Reporting

Analyze:

• Utilization trends
• Department occupancy
• Workspace performance
• Space optimization opportunities

Improved Space Management

Zones provide a more granular view of building usage, supporting workplace planning and future office optimization decisions.

Can the Platform Be Used Without Zones?

Yes.

The platform functions perfectly without floorplans and zones. In this scenario:

• Occupancy data is collected at floor level
• Zone-level insights are unavailable
• Heatmaps and zone reporting are not displayed

Many customers start with floor-level analytics and add zones later when more detailed insights are required.

Best Practices

For the best results:

• Provide the latest available floorplans
• Clearly identify the floors that require zoning
• Define reporting goals before zoning begins
• Keep zone names consistent and meaningful
• Review proposed zone layouts before final approval