Workplace & IWMS glossary
A plain-language glossary of the workplace, IWMS, facilities, IoT and AI terms that come up when evaluating workplace software. 52 definitions, grouped by theme, kept short enough to quote.
Workplace management & IWMS
IWMS
An Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) is software that unifies space, assets, maintenance, real estate and workplace services on one platform. See our guide to IWMS.
AI-native IWMS
An IWMS built around AI from the ground up rather than adding it later, so the workplace senses, predicts and acts — using computer vision, IoT and AI agents — instead of only recording data. UrSpayce is an AI-native IWMS.
CAFM
Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) is software for managing space, occupancy and facility operations, historically focused on facilities teams.
CMMS
A Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) manages maintenance work orders, assets and preventive schedules. See what is a CMMS.
Smart building
A building whose systems — HVAC, lighting, access, sensors — are connected and data-driven, so operations can be automated and optimised for comfort, energy and safety.
Workplace experience (WX)
The quality of an employee's day-to-day interactions with the physical workplace — booking a desk, finding a room, getting help — and the software that improves it.
Hybrid workplace
A model where employees split time between office and remote work, making desks, rooms and attendance variable and driving demand for booking and occupancy tools.
Visitors & front desk
Visitor management system (VMS)
Software that replaces the paper logbook with digital pre-registration, check-in, badging and real-time tracking of visitors. See UrSpayce visitor management.
Pre-registration
Inviting and capturing visitor details before arrival, so check-in is faster and hosts and security know who is expected.
Touchless check-in
Visitor sign-in without shared surfaces — via QR code, a personal device or facial recognition — introduced widely for hygiene and speed.
Watchlist screening
Automatically checking each visitor against deny lists or internal watchlists at check-in to flag or block unwanted entrants.
Host notification
An automatic alert (email, SMS or chat) telling an employee their visitor has arrived, so reception does not have to chase them.
Tailgating
When an unauthorised person follows an authorised one through a secure door. It can be detected by computer-vision security.
Evacuation mustering
Using live check-in and visitor data to account for everyone on site during an emergency and confirm they have reached a safe muster point.
Space & occupancy
Hot-desking
A flexible model where employees use any available desk rather than owning a fixed one, booking space as needed. Compare with hoteling.
Desk hoteling
Reserving a specific desk in advance for a set time, giving hybrid employees a guaranteed spot without permanent assignment.
Desk booking
Software to find and reserve desks on an interactive floor map, with check-in and live availability. See desk booking.
Occupancy analytics
Measurement of how spaces are actually used — from sensors or computer vision — to right-size real estate and cut cost per seat. See space management.
People counting
Anonymously counting how many people enter, occupy or pass through a space, typically with sensors or computer vision.
Stack plan
A view of how teams and headcount are distributed across a building's floors, used to plan moves and allocate space.
Space utilisation
The share of available workspace that is actually in use over time — the core metric for reducing real-estate waste.
Facilities & maintenance
Work order
A tracked request to carry out maintenance or a repair, from creation through assignment to completion, within a facility management system.
Preventive maintenance
Servicing equipment on a planned schedule to prevent breakdowns, rather than fixing it after it fails.
Predictive maintenance
Using sensor data and analytics to predict when equipment will fail and service it just in time, reducing both downtime and unnecessary work.
SLA
A Service Level Agreement defines the target response and resolution times for requests, against which helpdesk and facilities performance is measured.
MTTR
Mean Time To Repair — the average time taken to resolve a fault, a key facilities and helpdesk efficiency metric.
Asset lifecycle
The full life of a physical asset — acquisition, allocation, maintenance, depreciation and disposal — tracked in an asset management system.
IoT & sensors
LoRaWAN
A low-power, long-range wireless network used to connect IoT sensors and asset tags across large sites, as in the PULSE IoT layer.
Geofencing
Virtual boundaries that trigger actions or safety alerts when people or assets cross them. See GeoFencer.
Occupancy sensor
A device that detects presence or counts people in a space to feed real-time occupancy and utilisation data.
Environmental sensor
A sensor that measures conditions such as temperature, humidity, air quality (IAQ) or energy use to monitor comfort and efficiency.
RFID
Radio-Frequency Identification uses tags and readers to identify and track assets or people without line of sight, used in asset tracking.
Indoor air quality (IAQ)
A measure of air conditions inside a building — CO2, particulates, humidity — increasingly monitored for health, comfort and compliance.
Computer vision & AI
Computer vision
AI that interprets images and video. UrSpayce VISTA applies it to existing CCTV to detect quality, safety, security and occupancy signals.
Video analytics
Automated analysis of camera feeds to extract events and metrics — counts, queues, intrusions — instead of a human watching screens.
Face recognition attendance
Contactless attendance captured from existing cameras using facial recognition, with no separate biometric hardware. See FRAS.
PPE detection
Computer vision that checks whether people are wearing required protective equipment (helmets, vests, masks) in real time to enforce safety.
AI agent
Software that can understand a request and take action autonomously. UrSpayce AWNI runs agents for reception, helpdesk, security and analytics.
Agentic AI
AI systems that pursue goals through multiple steps and tool use, rather than answering a single prompt — the basis of workplace AI agents.
ANPR
Automatic Number Plate Recognition reads vehicle plates from camera images to automate parking and gate access.
Mailroom & assets
Mailroom management
Software that logs, tracks and hands over inbound packages and mail with notifications and a full audit trail. See mailroom management.
Chain of custody
An unbroken, timestamped record of everyone who handled an item from arrival to handover — essential for high-value or sensitive deliveries.
Package tracking
Recording and following each parcel from arrival to collection — scanning it in, matching a recipient, notifying them and logging pickup.
OCR capture
Optical Character Recognition reads text from an image — such as a shipping label — to auto-fill recipient and tracking details instead of typing.
Asset tracking
Knowing the location, owner and status of physical assets across sites using QR or RFID tags. See asset management.
Security & compliance
Access control
Systems that decide who may enter which doors and areas, often integrated with visitor and security software for one entry record.
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Granting software permissions by a person's role rather than individually, so users see and do only what their job requires.
Audit trail
A complete, tamper-evident log of actions and events, used to prove compliance and investigate incidents.
SOC 2 Type II
An independent audit report verifying that a provider's security controls operate effectively over time. UrSpayce is SOC 2 Type II.
ISO 27001
An international standard for information security management systems; certification signals rigorous, audited security practices.
GDPR
The EU General Data Protection Regulation governing personal-data handling, with strict consent, access and breach rules.
DPDP Act
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, the national law governing how organisations collect, process and protect personal data.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between IWMS, CAFM and CMMS?
CMMS manages maintenance work orders and assets; CAFM adds space and facility operations; IWMS is the broadest, unifying space, assets, maintenance, real estate and workplace services on one platform. UrSpayce is an AI-native IWMS that also adds computer vision, IoT and AI agents.
What does “AI-native” mean for workplace software?
AI-native means AI is a core layer built in from the start, not a feature bolted on later. In practice the workplace senses and acts — computer vision reads existing CCTV, IoT sensors feed live data, and AI agents handle reception, helpdesk and security — rather than only recording what already happened.
What is a visitor management system?
A visitor management system (VMS) replaces the paper logbook with digital pre-registration, QR or kiosk check-in, host notifications, watchlist screening, badges and real-time visitor tracking, giving reception and security one auditable record of everyone in the building.
See UrSpayce in action
One AI-native platform for visitors, spaces, IoT, computer vision, AI agents and procurement — across India, the US and the GCC.
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