I recently attended the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) annual GIS-Pro Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
The 2023 URISA ESIG Awards
One of the highlights of the Conference is the annual awards breakfast, where inductees into the GIS Hall of Fame are announced, as well as various service awards to URISA members, committees, and chapters. One category is for the URISA Exemplary Systems in GIS (ESIG) Awards.
The King County GIS Center received the ESIG Award in the Enterprise Systems Category for the King County Smart Building Management System. Accepting the ESIG Award on behalf of King County GIS were Michael Jenkins, GIS System Architect, and Fred Lott, Senior GIS Specialist.
Fred Lott (L) and Michael Jenkins (C) accept the 2023 ESIG Award from URISA President Ashley Hitt
The purpose of the ESIG Award is to:
‘…recognize extraordinary achievement by government agencies in the use of automated information systems. This achievement is defined as the effective application of computer technology that can be measured in terms of improved government services and increased benefits to citizens. The award competition is open to all public agencies at the federal, state/provincial, regional and local levels.’
The ESIG competition includes awards in two categories: Single Process Systems that automate a system that benefits one department or sub-unit of an agency and Enterprise Systems that apply information technology to improve processes across multiple departments in an enterprise. King County’s award was in the Enterprise Systems category.
The King County Smart Building Management System
The King County Smart Building Management System addresses several county government facility management and utilization issues. Most of these issues existed before, but the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in even greater challenges and the need to rethink how buildings and space within buildings are optimized.
King County, with 2.3 million residents, 15,000 county employees, and 105 county facilities distributed across 2307 square miles from Puget Sound to the crest of the Cascade Mountains, faced facility management challenges during normal times. Many County facilities provide direct services to residents.
Video about the King County Smart Building Management System (Click Image)
In downtown Seattle the County Campus includes seven staffed buildings, a parking garage, and vacant land. Before the pandemic virtually all county employees worked in a traditional dedicated workspace. Once the pandemic impact on the health of employees working in a traditional office environment was clear, in 2020 about 7000 county employees transitioned overnight to remote work. In 2023 many employees transitioned to a hybrid environment, working various proportions of time at home or on-site.
After addressing initial needs, the System was developed by combining geospatial technology (ArcGIS Indoors), office productivity software (MS Outlook, 365, Microsoft Intune – unified endpoint management service, etc.), GIS and CAD data, and a building information management system.
The System was implemented for two buildings in phase one. Key features of the System include:
- Hoteling approach with a workspace/desk reservation system
- Responsive to employee needs for onsite productivity, including way finding
- Consolidated customer facing services in a single downtown Seattle location
- Reservation manager system allowing designated individuals to book workspaces for other members of the department
- Training and user material
- Include all building features an employee would want to know (not just desks/office space)
- Space management dashboards at the facilities and department level
- Supporting accurate real-estate cost allocations by Facility Management to end-user agencies
- Facilitating the repurposing of unneeded space/buildings
The system design was not just reactive, but forward thinking. The System was designed to respond to citizen needs and expectations and enable the county’s workforce to thrive in a new hybrid work environment.
One of the goals of the URISA ESIG Award Program is to document and share the development of each system that receives an award. This way the innovations developed to create an ‘exemplary system’ can be shared with other agencies. Read more about the King County Smart Building Management System.
Other 2023 ESIG Award winners:
2023 Enterprise System Category – Distinguished Systems
Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio) – Cuyahoga County Fiscal GIS Hub.
2023 Single Process System Category – Exemplary System
City of South Lake Tahoe, California – Defensible Space Inspection System
2023 Single Process System Category – Distinguished System
Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (Dayton, Ohio) – 2019 Tornado Recovery Monitoring System
For more information about the King County Smart Building Management System
For more information about the King County Smart Building Management System, contact King County GIS Center Manager, Tamara Davis.
Tamara Davis, King County GIS Center Manager (Tamara.Davis@Kingcounty.gov)
GIS & You 