Anne Arundel County Public Schools Gets a Head-Start on School Mapping with ArcGIS Indoors
In early 2024, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) had a few different goals—but they all pointed to the same challenge: how to make building floorplans authoritative for facility operations, and easier to access and share.
On one side, new state legislation--HB472--was pushing Maryland districts toward standardized digital school maps for safety and emergency response. On the other, AACPS’s Planning, Design & Construction group wanted a smarter and cost-effective way to organize their building data to support planning, coordination, and compliance.
ArcGIS was already in use across other departments—but leveraging it for indoor mapping and facility management? That’s where we came in.
Our team at LandTech Consultants worked closely with AACPS to explore how ArcGIS Indoors could serve as a GIS-based system of record for indoor space data. Over the course of just four months, we helped them convert legacy CAD floorplans from four representative schools, stand up custom web and mobile apps, and build a repeatable foundation that could scale across the entire district.
But here’s the thing: their data was live in GIS in just two weeks. The rest of the project? That was about listening, refining, and building something they’d actually want to use.
One School at a Time, One Step at a Time
We didn’t rush into app development or fancy dashboards. The first phase was all about getting the data ready—clean, consistent, and aligned to meet real-world needs. We started with 4 buildings of different sizes and configurations.
Here’s how it broke down:
- Data Cleanup & Import
We wrangled legacy AutoCAD drawings (no Revit here—yet), cleaned up layers, added layers, resolved geometry issues, scaled, georeferenced and brought everything into a standardized Indoors schema. - Data Model Extension
Data comparison
This was a big one. We worked closely with AACPS to extend the schema with attributes that mattered locally—especially space use codes. While a simple concept, it was something that needed attention. This project helped facilitate that review, revision, and standardization of Space Use Codes across all schools within AACPS for consistent reporting and planning. - Custom Experience Builder (ExB) App
To validate and enrich the data, we built a simple-but-powerful ExB app where AACPS staff could review layouts, fill in missing fields, and flag issues. This helped ensure the data was not only technically correct—but also served as a proving ground for the data and tools.
Taking it one school at a time gave us room to learn and refine the process as we went. It also let AACPS staff see their own data in a new light, often sparking new questions and ideas as they engaged with it.
Building the Tools: Phase 1 Comes Together
With clean data in hand and growing confidence, we moved into app configuration.
We stood up ArcGIS Indoors Viewer, and built a handful of targeted dashboards and web apps to demonstrate just how flexible the ArcGIS ecosystem could be. These weren’t theoretical tools—they were practical, real-world solutions tailored to AACPS's needs: ADA Accessibility Views, Space Query Tool, Indoor School Metrics.
We wrapped up the pilot by reviewing the tools with the project team and Facilities leadership—and the feedback was clear:
"This is exactly what we wanted!"
The pilot didn’t just prove technical viability. It created buy-in, momentum, and a shared vision.
Phase 2: Scaling Up and Spinning Out New Ideas
Since that initial pilot, we’ve helped AACPS bring seven more schools into the system—this time incorporating data from both CAD and BIM sources. The process is becoming faster and smoother with each iteration.
Even more exciting? As soon as folks across Facilities and Operations saw what Indoors could do, the ideas started pouring in. The initial app suite sparked new use cases and questions we hadn’t originally scoped—things like:
- Floor Finish Tracking & Planning
A tool to visualize and analyze finishes by type, material, or replacement cycle. - Custodial Zone Assignments
Mapping staff coverage areas to support staffing, scheduling, and cleaning protocols.
These are just the start—each one pointing to how valuable a centralized Indoor GIS can be, not just for compliance, but for daily decision-making.
Lessons We Keep Coming Back To
- Start small, build smart. A phased approach focused on immediate indoor-related needs and use cases gave everyone time to learn, adjust, and expand on other use cases.
- Engagement drives success. Collaboration with the AACPS team shaped every part of the solution.
- Iterate. Iterate. Iterate. Quick iterations lead to real, substantial progress.
Wrapping Up
AACPS’s journey with ArcGIS Indoors is still unfolding—but the pieces are falling into place: a clear vision, strong technical footing, and an engaged team of stakeholders ready to expand and evolve.
For school districts, universities, and any large campus-based organization, this is what it looks like to move from paper floorplans to smart, usable digital facility maps that support real decisions. And you don’t need to do it all at once, but if you get started now, you'll be surprised how quickly you have something good on your hands!
What’s Next: More Schools, More Standards, and a Seat at the Table
AACPS is committed to expanding their ArcGIS Indoors deployment district wide. More schools are already in the pipeline, and internal champions are helping drive adoption across departments.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s HB472 digital mapping legislation is moving toward implementation.
AACPS was tapped by the state’s regulatory working group to contribute during the development of the proposed standards—and shared this Indoors implementation as a real-world example of what working, valuable indoor GIS looks like.
It’s a great moment: not only is AACPS ahead of the curve, but they’re also helping shape the future of digital mapping requirements in Maryland.
About the Author and LandTech Consultants
LandTech Consultants is an Indoor GIS Specialty partner, focused on 3D GIS, digital twin development and solution development. As a survey and engineering firm, LandTech can support all aspects of Smart Campus operations from laser scanning and modeling, to utility mapping, to custom ArcGIS Indoors implementations.
Derek is LandTech's GIS Manager and for better or worse, can't help himself when approached with a challenge or a problem that GIS can solve. His background in utilities, field operations, and technical training augment his GIS expertise, leading to more thoughtful design and higher adoption rates on LandTech's project deliverables.
If you're interested in learning more about how we can help you get started on your Indoor GIS, contact our team at www.landtechinc.com/contact-us/ or by calling (978) 692-6100.
