Resource utilisation is the efficient and effective use of an organisation's resources to realise its objectives. As a metric, it shows the proportion of total resources in use in a set timeframe. By measuring it, you can provide a service that is well run, better resourced and with equipment and spaces deployed to better effect...
Over 120 university representatives at this year's EDUCAUSE conference shared their opinions on the effectiveness of equipment booking systems for saving staff time. Such software can save staff many hours every week – our poll result lists the ways in which this is made possible.
But firstly, why are these time savings so important? Well quite simply, equipment lending generates a lot of work! Technicians tasked with coordinating equipment loans are often burdened with a raft of administration tasks. These risk eating into the scarce hours available for maintaining the equipment and environment that they’re also responsible for.
Lending out media equipment and hardware for student use requires some rigorous processes. On the one hand, technicians need to ensure their department’s investment is protected, with careful tracking and circulation of these valuable resources. Plus they need to manage adequate access to items that are often critical to students’ academic success. Only with the right equipment booking software in place is the whole system manageable in a practical and efficient way.
The ‘booking’ aspect of the software is what really counts here. According to our findings, this is the most effective way to save a lot of staff time...