The Problem

One problem that we as space management & timetabling consultants regularly encounter when working with timetable data exports, is the absence of class sizes within the data. The class-size field is a key piece of data that is used to determine the sizes of classrooms required by each department, therefore its absence can be a primary cause of numerous problems for timetabling staff and can even lead to problems within the space-planning process.

To many, this problem can sound like an innocuous omission, however in our extensive experience within the sector, we frequently observe the very real problems and inefficiencies within the timetabling and space-management process that can be traced back to timetable data that lacks a full set of class sizes.

Effects on the Timetabling Process

One of the primary issues with a timetable dataset that has incomplete class-size data, is that human input is then required in order to manually determine and then allocate an appropriately sized teaching space for the activity/activities in question. The need for human intervention inevitably has the consequence of [Read more…]