New website offers 'fun facts' about facilities department

Facilities Management website also includes department information, campus maps and a recycling site. The University recycles 3,000 tons of paper, glass and plastic annually, and it uses 646,666,666 gallons of domestic water each year. Though these statistics may sound obscure, others like them are all part of the "Fun Facts" segment of the new Facilities Management homepage. The website premiered on December 3 in an effort to share "useful information with the University and others outside," according to Vice President for Facilities Management Art Gravina. "Penn is a big place," Gravina said. "It's difficult to communicate to lots of people accurate and timely information." Gravina hopes the homepage -- which took close to a year to develop -- will work to alleviate this problem. The page includes general information about the Facilities Management department -- such as "who we are" and "what we do" -- and specific sites for the three sections associated with the department -- Facilities Planning, Project Management and Physical Plant. Students who need assistance from the department can also use the site by completing the on-line service request form. "I didn't realize how extensive this department really was," Wharton freshman Lori Genna professed after she first looked at the page. According to the homepage, its goal is "to learn more about what Facilities Management does, who does it and what's being planned for and built on campus." A large aerial map of campus, maps of specific buildings and a recycling site are among the other features on the homepage. A page of "Fun Facts" with unique statistics about the use of facilities on campus was also included to spark viewer interest. The site is complete with its own unique design graphics. "The simple format makes [the homepage] user-accessible," Engineering freshman Al Ornsby said. A team of designers and facilities employees created the site, Gravina said. The group studied several other webpages before starting the project and designed the department's site as if those accessing it knew little about the University. "It should be a resource for people both within the Penn community and beyond," Gravina said. He added that the department wanted the homepage to benefit its customers -- the residents of campus buildings. As a result, the site focuses on building information, department services and their roles in campus life. The future of the site will see the addition of detailed information of major capital projects -- including new buildings such as IAST -- and the history of older ones. A features section -- which will present daily happenings like street closings and fire alarms -- will also appear in the upcoming months. "I am really pleased and excited about the website," Gravina said. "It is outstanding, professional, creative and thorough." Gravina added that he had already received calls from other University officials that felt the site was one of the best on campus in overall quality. The site can be accessed directly from a map icon in the upper left corner of Penn's homepage or directly, through entering the address "http://www.upenn.edu/fm/index.html".