Facilities Inventory: Station Quantity

Last updated: December 4, 2024
Content created: September 25, 2009

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The room station quantity is a number representing the number of spaces for occupants in the room.  A private office for one person has a station quantity of one, whereas a large assembly room could have a station quantity of 279.  Not all room types require updates to the station quantity.  For example, the station quantity of an elevator can be zero and the station quantity of an office service space such as a printer room or small staff kitchen can be zero since no station quantities are required for non-assignable space such as elevators or for service rooms.

Some Room Types Require Station Quantities

The facility inventory room types in the list in Table 1 below require a non-zero room station quantity.  The station quantity is used for reports such as to the State University of New York.

Table 1.  Room Types which Require a Non-Zero Station Quantity in the Facilities Inventory

The station quantity entered into the facilities inventory system may differ from the numbers used in the university scheduling system as room capacities.  Contact Scheduling@Cornell support for information about room capacities for scheduling classes or events.

Determining the Station Quantity

Room Has Posted Occupancy Sign

If there is a posted occupancy sign in the room and the maximum occupancy sign has a single number on it, use that number.

If the sign has multiple numbers for different room configurations such as standing, chairs only, tables and chairs, then use the number which matches the way the room is used most often.

In all cases, the station quantity should NOT include any chairs or teaching stations used by the instructor.

Room Has No Posted Occupancy Sign

If the room has loose seating such as loose tables and chairs, loose chairs, no furniture, or lounge furniture, enter a station quantity based on the design intent for the room, not the number of chairs which happen to be in the room at the time the inventory is taken. For instance, a room may be designed to hold fifteen student stations but has only twelve chairs now.  The number of stations would be fifteen. Conversely, if current safety codes limit occupancy to fifteen and there are twenty chairs in the room, the station count should be fifteen.

Spaces which could be used for standing, dining set-up, or lecture set-up should have a station quantity based on the design intent for the room.  Common examples include multipurpose rooms, exhibition space, galleries, atria, and lobbies.

If the room has fixed seating where seats are permanently attached to the floor or has fixed lab benches, then the station quantity equals a count of the number of fixed seats plus the number of wheelchair spaces, including any loose seating that does not block the egress path such as chairs around a table at the front of the lecture hall or chairs along the back.

Common examples of station quantities

Station Quantity for a Private Office, Room Type 310

An office assigned to one person has a desk and a chair and three additional chairs around a table.  The station quantity for this room is one because the room is intended as a private office for one person even though the room contains four chairs and could be used to hold a meeting for more than one person.

Station Quantity for a Partially Occupied Office

An office used by multiple people contains five desks and five chairs.  Currently one person works in the office every day, two people work in the office three days a week, one person associated with the office works from home every day, and one desk is waiting for a new employee to be hired.  The station quantity of the room is five because that is how many people could work in the room all day long, even though most days not all of the desks and chairs are occupied.