University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota's Office of Classroom Management is responsible for ensuring that academic spaces are kept in a clean and ready state for faculty and students. They manage 350 spaces in over 50 buildings, which are used by up to 22,000 students per hour.

When it was announced that their in-house inspection software would soon be discontinued, Dave Crane, the director of Office of Classroom Management, needed to find a new way for his team to perform inspections across campus.

Dave knew that going back to a pen and paper process wouldn’t cut it. With a team of 20 students across campus who perform inspections and fix issues, something simple and real-time was needed. “Our goal is to keep our spaces 100% ready, 100% of the time,” Dave said.

That’s when Dave and his team found OrangeQC.

They were delighted that the app worked across all mobile devices. And whether they wanted to inspect flooring, furniture, or equipment, ad-hoc inspection templates could be set up in a matter of minutes. “We really enjoy the idea of putting a simple and intuitive tool in the hands of our students,” Dave said.

In addition to performing daily inspections, Dave’s team manages service agreements with their custodial and maintenance departments. One of Dave’s project managers compiles OrangeQC inspections into reports that are sent to them in order to help improve and optimize their services.

Dave said, “Our friends in the facilities management department will routinely tell us that our space is some of the best managed space on campus because of the awareness that we’re able to provide them, and the knowledge that they’ll be receiving feedback on a daily basis. It really helps them prioritize work, identify trends, improve training, and adjust staffing.”

Across functions, the constant awareness OrangeQC provides has become indispensable to ensuring a positive experience for their students and faculty.

“We know when we go to sit down at the table with anyone — whether it be a customer, a vendor, a faculty member — that we will be the most informed people at that table because of OrangeQC.”

We really enjoy the idea of putting a simple and intuitive tool in the hands of our students.