Workplace Utilization Buyer’s Guide

This guide is designed to help you compare and contrast different workplace utilization solutions.

Illustration of a buyer selecting among room, entrance and open-office models.

Choose occupancy technology around the space decision you need to make. Density pairs sensors for rooms, areas and entrances with Atlas reporting and Instant questions and charts. Use this guide to compare the measurements behind those products and decide which can help you change your room mix, allocate space or plan your next lease.

The impact of space: Space helps determine enjoyment, productivity, and experiences within the workplace.
Why workplace utilization: Basing decisions on how a space is used empowers real estate and workplace leaders to make smarter decisions that benefit their employees.
How to choose products: Identify what you’re trying to achieve with space utilization technology.

The impact of space

An office needs places for people to meet and places for them to work alone. The right mix depends on who uses the office and what they do there. Occupancy measurements help you see whether large meeting rooms mainly serve groups or individuals, and whether private spaces are being used.

Compare the spaces your teams actually use. Needs can differ by location, department and team, so a company-wide average may hide the particular floor or room type that needs attention.

Why workplace utilization

Workplace teams need to know when people come in and where they spend their time. Measure those patterns before changing the office. A room that is often occupied may still be the wrong size for the groups using it.

Companies that prioritize transformation will create a competitive advantage.
Workplace leaders can make smarter space planning decisions to benefit their employees.
Real estate leaders can impact their bottom line with data-informed decisions.

1 in 3 employees would like flexibility to choose where they work

But how do you know how many employees come to the office and where they prefer to spend their time? By measuring space utilization.

This data can help decisions including:

Whether to renovate or replace a particular area
How to best configure existing space
When to invest in additional real estate
Whether to discontinue current space usage (e.g., not renewing leases)

What to look for in occupancy technology

Identify your goals

Decide what you want to change before comparing products. A lease decision needs different evidence from a room-availability display. Use that distinction to narrow the products worth evaluating and the costs worth measuring.

Is your primary aim to save on real estate costs?
Or is it to create better workplace experiences?
Or like many, is it a combination of both?
How important is it to have your data consolidated in one dashboard?

Privacy belongs in the buying decision. Determine what the sensor records, what it sends and who can access the resulting data. Measuring how a space is used does not require knowing who used it.

Density and YouGov’s 2022 Employee Insights on Hybrid Work report found that 60% of its 1,002 full-time U.S. respondents had privacy concerns about camera-based technology in the workplace.
Read the survey context.

Anonymous space measurement can help workplace teams understand how rooms and buildings are used without identifying occupants. Evaluate privacy across the proposed sensor outputs, stored data, access controls and integrations.

Explain the proposed measurement to employees in those same terms. Show what the sensor records and how the workplace team will use the data.

When selecting a product for occupancy technology, it’s important to clearly understand their stance on privacy

Include installation and ongoing operation in the comparison. The quote should identify who surveys the spaces, commissions the sensors, configures reporting and resolves problems after handover.

One final note

Test the proposed setup in a small, representative part of your office before expanding. Choose the decision the pilot should support and agree what evidence would justify a larger deployment.

Choosing the best technology for your needs

Workplace and real estate teams use occupancy data for related decisions. One team may need a better mix of rooms; another may need to decide whether to renew a floor. Define the question and the reporting period before comparing results.

Occupancy technology can tell you which spaces are most performant relative to a goal. That marks a fundamental shift in how buildings will be designed and used. — Andrew Farah, CEO of Density

Occupancy technology can tell you which spaces are most performant relative to a goal. That marks a fundamental shift in how buildings will be designed and used.

Workplace

Creating a workplace environment that supports people to do their best work, whether individually or collaboratively, is the driving force for workplace success. Workplace teams use space utilization insights to determine the right mix of collaborative and individual spaces, and what those spaces should look like — i.e. the number of conference rooms, the size of each room, and how those spaces should be furnished and equipped.

Use occupancy patterns to identify spaces that are used heavily, lightly or by groups smaller than their capacity. Those observations can guide a room redesign. They do not, by themselves, measure people who wanted a space but could not find one.

Some questions space utilization technology can help workplace leaders answer

Do people prefer chairs or couches?
Do I have enough collaborative spaces and enough private spaces?
How do we better serve our spaces based on actual usage patterns/trends?
Do I have enough food and supplies?
Do I have enough (or too much) space allocated for each team?
What size meeting rooms are most popular and why?
How long do employees spend working at their workstations?

Interested in learning more about how Density can inform your workplace strategy?

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Commercial Real Estate

Teams unintentionally acquire and renew leases for more space than needed. As a result, they pay for buildings or floors that go unused. Or, teams are too conservative about headcount growth and underinvest in real estate. As a result, they run out of space sooner than expected. Teams are forced to scramble to acquire temporary and expensive spaces which creates a disjointed experience for employees.

Corporate real estate teams can leverage occupancy data to identify underutilized spaces, proactively repurpose or in some circumstances they can terminate underperforming spaces, and accurately forecast the future need for space, all while keeping cost in mind. These insights can lead to more data-driven decisions about investments, including shorter-term leases, office neighborhoods, and better-designed spaces.

Some questions space utilization technology can help commercial real estate teams answer

How much space do I need?
How long until we need more space?
What does my global/regional real estate strategy look like?
How do I forecast an accurate amount of space I’ll need by location?
Can I offload space?
Can the existing space support team growth?

Compare workplace measurement approaches

Badge systems

Badge readers record credential events at access points. Review which entrances and departures your system records before using those events to estimate occupancy.

Entry-only records do not establish how many people remain inside, and unbadged crossings can be missed. Compare the actual access records with the space question rather than treating every badge event as a person currently present.

Manual observation and surveys

Manual counts record how many people use a space at the times an observer visits it. Surveys can add people’s views about the space. Keep those two forms of evidence separate.

Choose an observation schedule that includes typical and busy periods. Budget for the people needed to repeat it across locations; a snapshot cannot describe every hour between visits.

Lighting sensors

Some lighting systems expose motion or presence data. Check the specific output before deciding whether an existing installation can answer your workplace question.

A signal used to control lights is not automatically an exact people count. Test quiet occupancy, the required measurement area and the reporting history your team needs.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth device analytics

These systems observe wireless devices. Ask how the proposed system converts those observations into a people estimate.

Review device coverage, identifier handling and the reporting period. Device observations and people counts use different units; compare their definitions before comparing totals.

Cameras and optical sensors

Image-processing systems can use camera images to detect and count people. Their processing, storage and privacy settings vary by product.

Review the actual model and configuration. Establish which images or derived records leave the device, who can access them and how the proposed installation covers the space.

Seat and desk sensors

A sensor at a seat or desk can report whether that particular workstation is in use. Check what the proposed device detects and how it defines use.

Compare installation and maintenance across the number of workstations you need to cover. A desk-level reading does not by itself describe how meeting rooms or the wider floor are used.

Thermal sensors

Thermal sensing uses heat-related measurements to detect people. The useful output depends on the model and its processing.

Check the output and data handling for the proposed device. Include the actual room conditions and other heat sources in a representative pilot rather than assuming all thermal products behave alike.

Ultra-wideband systems

A tagged system can use transmitters and receivers to locate participating people or objects. Identify what users would need to carry or wear.

Review participation, receiver coverage and the purpose of any location records. Compare the complete infrastructure and operating requirements with the workplace decision.

Ultrasonic sensors

Ultrasonic sensors use emitted sound and returning signals to detect changes in a space. Ask which occupancy or presence output the proposed product supplies.

Evaluate that output in the intended room. Do not treat the sensing method alone as an accuracy result or a complete installed cost.

Infrared break-beam sensors

A break-beam system records interruptions of an infrared beam across a passage. Check how the proposed arrangement distinguishes directions and handles people crossing together.

Map the doorway and test representative crossings. Establish how crossing events become an occupancy estimate before using them to make a space decision.

Doorway people counters

Doorway counters measure entrances and exits across a defined threshold. Their sensing methods and output differ by model.

A building or floor estimate needs coverage at every relevant entrance, a starting count and agreed treatment of resets and missing observations. Compare the full doorway plan and reporting method.

Computer-vision systems

Computer vision uses algorithms to interpret images. A workplace proposal may combine the sensor, processing and reporting software from different suppliers.

Review the complete data path and installation plan. Ask for product-specific performance and privacy evidence rather than assuming that every image-based system has the same capabilities.

Battery or wired power

Power is a deployment choice, not a separate measurement method. A battery-powered device and a wired device can still measure different things.

Compare battery maintenance, available power, the observation schedule and how the system reports an interruption. Include installation and ongoing operation in the quote.

Density sensors and workplace analytics

Density offers different measurements for rooms, larger areas and doorways. Choose the output your question needs, then check how it appears in the report. Density's workplace sensor guidance explains the three products below.

Product	Output	Workplace decision
Waffle	Zero, one, two or three-plus people in small spaces	Are meeting rooms serving individuals or groups? Where might phone booths help?
Open Area	People counts within an area	How is demand distributed across desk neighborhoods and collaboration spaces?
Entry	Directional doorway crossings that contribute to running occupancy	When does a building or floor become busy, and how does demand change?

Waffle's three-plus category does not distinguish four people from eight. Use Open Area when your question requires the full headcount within a space. Entry occupancy follows previous occupancy plus entrances minus exits; include complete doorway coverage, drift and reset behavior in the deployment discussion. Review Entry occupancy guidance.

Turn measurement into a planning review

Density Atlas provides occupancy and visits reporting, building and floor views, custom operating hours, and downloadable charts and data. Agree the spaces, reporting hours and comparison period before evaluating a change.

Density Instant's public demonstration shows questions about meeting-room use producing interactive charts, followed by sharing a snapshot of the results. Bring your own planning question to a demo and inspect the scope, period and measure behind the answer. The recording illustrates the workflow; it does not establish a result for your buildings.

Budget for the deployment

The Waffle product page lists hardware at $279 per unit and room or phone-booth software at $8 per unit per month, billed annually, as checked October 29, 2026. Those figures are not a complete installed-program quote. Confirm taxes, shipping, installation, power and network work, and any additional services separately. Request project pricing for Open Area and Entry, with coverage, software and support specified.

Book a demo or email sales@density.io to connect your workplace decision to a measurement plan.

Investing in the future of the built world

A useful measurement program gives the workplace team evidence for a particular decision. Start with the rooms, floor or building you need to understand, then choose the output and reporting period.

Keep the question visible when reviewing the results. A chart is easier to act on when everyone knows which space and decision it describes.

There are hundreds of millions of square feet of space in the workplace that are completely unmeasured.Andrew Farah, CEO of Density

Compare the observed use with your space requirements and lease options. Occupancy can inform the decision, but the financial case also needs costs, timing and the constraints of the buildings involved.

Density can help you connect anonymous space measurement with that review. Bring a floor plan and the decision you need to make to a demo.

Choose the next change on the evidence you can explain.

Use the utilization metrics guide to define the report, and the simultaneous-peak example before using room summaries to size a larger space.

Browse occupancy guides and sensor comparisons · Read the plain-text version

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