Facilities and Services has introduced a new Web application for requesting services.
The new portal allows users to request services, track those requests and view status updates more easily. The new system also will help campus units monitor their costs.
Most F&S services, except for printing and parking, can now be accessed through the new system, including service requests, car pool reservations, iStores (the Central Stores ordering system) and contractor service requests. The PI Voucher website also will be replaced by the portal and will go online in January.
The new application behind the portal, called AiM, replaces CHAMPS, which had been in place since 1994. AiM went online Nov. 29.
Greg Gulick, associate director of information technology services for F&S, said the new online system will allow F&S to maintain business continuity into the future.
"The main impetus was to replace a system running on older technology, which is harder to support and becomes less sustainable as time goes on," Gulick said
Gulick said the new online service request program allows users to make more specific kinds of requests, and provide more details such as contact information. Improvements to the service request application were made based on input from focus groups.
Previously, workers would sometimes go to do maintenance work on a building and have difficulty finding the right people to ask about the work, or there were often scheduling conflicts that weren't addressed with the old system, Gulick said.
The new program should provide a more streamlined, efficient system.
Gulick said F&S is seeking input from the campus community to continue to improve the system. Users are encouraged to use the e-mail link on the site to submit comments and suggestions.
"We're working with campus users and we intend to evolve the product over time to make it more useful for them," Gulick said.