Location-Based Applications for Employees

The Location Innovation Lab works with campus partners to develop location-based software applications (apps) that support employees in the day-to-day operations of the University of Oregon. Apps are secure and available to UO employees based on their job needs. Apps are layered on the campus map and often have multiple functions.

Types of apps include:

  • Mobile inspection and inventory field tools
  • Monitoring and documenting
  • Situational awareness
  • Space management and allocation
  • Trees and landscape data
  • Underground utility visualization
  • Weather notification

If you are an UO employee, work with your supervisor to request access for any apps needed.

Common Employee Apps

Call Log

The UO’s Call Log application is the map-centric room-level intake and management system for facilities maintenance, safety, security, and infrastructure service calls.

It provides campus users with the ability to request services by virtually dropping a pin on the campus map in any of our 30,000 rooms. Each request is routed to the appropriate back-end processing system and then to our ANVIL mobile app that technicians use in the field when completing their work.

The app is used by multiple units including Housing, Campus Planning and Facilities Management, Environmental Health and Safety, and Safety and Risk Services.By placing incoming facilities, safety, and security service requests on the campus map, the Call Log provides situational awareness of issues across campus.

UO Call Log screenshot on laptop

User Tips:

To see work orders or assets for a specific building or room, select the location and click the asterisk icon in the footer.

From the Maps and Applications section of the sidebar, users can launch the Call Log map app. To make the app faster to access, frequent users can heart the app to add it to their Favorites list.

UO Spaces

UO Spaces is the official space management system of the UO. Created by the Location Innovation Lab in 2014 to leverage our homegrown indoor mapping technologies, UO Spaces tackles the real day-to-day space management challenges of a large organization with over 30,000 rooms.

A clever map interface presents real-time room-level data to users across the organization. Users can easily see data such as:

  • Allocation (who's it assigned or loaned to)
  • Space type and use
  • Individual occupants
  • Associated researchers or facility managers
  • Corresponding area calculations
Screenshot of UO spaces app on a laptop screen

User Tips:

Basic spaces data has been integrated into the map at the building-level and room-level. UO Spaces users can select a building or room and click the bubble with three dots icon in the footer to find information.

UO Spaces map apps, linked from the campus map, provide detailed information based on user access.

Anvil

ANVIL is a native iOS/iPad application developed for UO employees performing mobile work throughout UO buildings and grounds. This app contains custom modules that are specific to the individual’s work group.  Module examples include:  

  • Receiving and completing facilities maintenance work orders
  • Conducting asset inventories
  • Performing routine building and room inspections
  • Performing individual asset inspections
  • Scanning important documents and service charge billing

Anvil in Action:

  • In the summer of 2023, Campus Planning and Facilities Management inventoried more than 1 million light fixtures on campus using ANVIL.
  • The passenger vans of the UO Duck Rides program use ANVIL to pick up and drop off students across town.
  • The UO Fire Marshal Group use ANVIL to perform routine fire inspections.
  • Interns with Finance Administration Shared Services are using ANVIL to survey campus art.

Vacation Watch

This app supports the University of Oregon Police Department's Vacation Watch program, which aims to reduce crime by regularly checking vacant residences in near campus neighborhoods during academic breaks. Students register to participate ahead of winter and spring vacations. The secure Vacation Watch app provides UOPD with a mobile tool to easily determine which locations have registered to be checked.