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AACPS_IndoorGIS_LandTech News 061726
June 22, 2026
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Indoor GIS for School Facilities and Public Safety

AACPS Indoor GIS Case Study | Presented at MD/DC APPA Summer Conference 2026

School buildings require accurate, accessible spatial information for daily operations and emergency response, yet building data often remains scattered across CAD files, PDFs, and facilities systems.

At the 2026 MD/DC APPA Summer Conference in Hanover, Maryland, LandTech GIS Analyst Regena Ottaviano and Mary Patz, Manager, Design Office, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, shared how indoor GIS can transform building information into a common operational resource supporting facilities management, planning, operations, and public safety.

A theme that came up repeatedly during the audience Q&A was whether the platform could support a specific department’s use case, such as asset tracking, a new workflow, or a challenge unique to another district. The answer was consistently yes: as long as the underlying data exists, it can be incorporated and analyzed within the same system. That flexibility appeared to be what attendees found most compelling.

From Facilities Management to Public Safety

The session highlighted AACPS’s journey from managing floor plans and building information across disconnected systems to developing a shared indoor GIS platform that serves multiple departments throughout the district.

Originally launched to improve facilities and design workflows, the platform later helped AACPS respond efficiently when Maryland required standardized school facility maps for public safety. Today, the district’s indoor GIS supports facilities management, planning, operations, and emergency response through a common source of spatial information.

The platform’s growth was not fully mapped out in advance. Once AACPS created a reliable shared source of building information, teams in other departments began recognizing that the same foundation could address their own needs. Rather than requiring a large internal rollout, new use cases continued to emerge as more teams saw its value.

“The most exciting thing about looking ahead with this project is that we’ve stopped being surprised when a new department finds a use for this platform. That’s become the norm now rather than the exception. And that tells us the foundation we’ve built is the right one.”
Mary Patz, Manager, Design Office, Anne Arundel County Public Schools

What Other School Districts Can Learn from AACPS

AACPS staff can view and query room information, classifications, accessibility details, and other building data within a shared indoor GIS environment.

 

Turn Existing Building Information into a Shared Resource

AACPS converted floor plans and building data, previously scattered across CAD files and PDFs, into a single interactive indoor GIS platform. That shared foundation now supports applications for space queries, ADA compliance tracking, field editing, safety asset mapping, and other departmental needs.

Standardize Before You Scale

Starting small was not about moving slowly. It gave AACPS time to establish consistent naming conventions and data structures before expanding districtwide, making later phases faster and cleaner.

Create a Foundation That Can Grow Organically

What began as a Design Office initiative expanded into a resource used by Planning, Operations, Emergency Management, and other teams. Because the platform was built on shared, standardized data, AACPS could support new workflows without creating a separate system for each department.

Plan for Long-Term Maintenance

Indoor GIS is not a one-time conversion project. Floor plans, room information, entrances, and other building details must be kept current as facilities change, which means treating the platform as a living system rather than a finished deliverable.

Prepare Before an Emergency

Accurate indoor mapping improves situational awareness and gives districts a consistent source of building information for emergency preparedness and response. The same data used daily for facilities work can also serve as a resource when it matters most.

 Why Indoor GIS Matters

Many organizations still manage critical building information across multiple systems and formats, making it difficult to access, maintain, and share accurate information when it is needed most.

Indoor GIS provides a framework for connecting floor plans, building data, assets, and operational information within a shared spatial platform. The result is better visibility into facilities, improved coordination between departments, and faster access to information for both daily operations and emergency response.

AACPS demonstrates how existing building information can become a more useful and maintainable operational resource for school districts and other organizations managing complex facilities.

Explore Related Resources

Learn more about LandTech’s work in indoor GIS and facility mapping:

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Is your organization managing building information across disconnected CAD files, PDFs, spreadsheets, and facilities systems? LandTech helps organize that information into practical indoor GIS environments that support operations, planning, maintenance, and public safety.

By LandTech Consultants