Maximizing Capital at the State Capitol: State of Tennessee

At the State of Tennessee's Department of Finance and Administration, the democratic spirit is alive and well. Users enter and share information with each other, then a group of facility planners performs evaluations and makes decisions based on this information. Laura Burton, Bob Lewis, Eddie Nikazy, and Gloria Rittenberry are the members of a focus group that helps grease the wheels of state government.

This group, along with approximately 20 other users from diverse professional backgrounds, use the ARCHIBUS system to handle project management and budgeting; track all state inventory; and manage leased and state-owned property. "ARCHIBUS helps us manage a vast array of space," says Burton. "This includes boat docks, storage space, and wildlife management land. It's a whole lot more than just office space." In all, the system contains data from 523 buildings statewide, totaling over seven million square feet.

Accessible, Salient Data
Sharing information about this space benefits everyone in the end, Burton explains. For example, a lease agent who needs to identify all the expiring leases in a county can go directly into the ARCHIBUS system to find this information, and avoid wading through paper files or interrupting the Asset Management staff. Using the system's powerful reports, the agent can pull all the relevant information into one screen in under five minutes.

Of course, opening the doors of communication is easier when everyone cooperates, including those at the higher levels. "It took a while to convince people to embrace this new technology and give up their own personal ways of doing things," Burton says. "But we had strong support from our Executive Director, Charles Garrett, from the beginning. He was convinced that the ARCHIBUS system was the right way to go. Now people realize that it is the best choice for the long run. It's easy to use, it's a lot less time-consuming, and it just helps us do our jobs better."

To increase communication among the department's users, the state is connecting the division's Capital Projects and Real Property Management areas. The Capital Projects area includes architects, engineers, and energy managers who track projects in state-owned property. Real Property Management is comprised of facility planners, land and lease agents, and asset managers who guide a project from planning to programming to design. Once these two areas are networked, users will be able to see the immediate status of every project, including how much money is allotted to a project and its time schedule. Business and finance data can also be entered into this combined database. This cooperative environment will ensure that everyone has access to the same body of knowledge.

Powerful Reports
The system's crowning glory, according to Burton, is its suite of powerful reports. The ARCHIBUS system's open architecture makes it easy for the state, with the help of its dealer OnLine, Inc., to tailor these sophisticated Crystal reports. OnLine did a lot of custom work on the system to let users capture the information they need in meaningful ways. "Government can be volatile, with frequent changes in administration," says Burton. "A new commissioner may want to know different information than his predecessor did. Reports are easily customized to accommodate these different work styles."

OnLine also created a customized Space Needs Analysis report that helps the state find appropriate real estate for its various departments. Users enter the employee title and the system calculates how much square footage that employee should have. If all employees in a division are entered, the system calculates how much space should be allocated to the entire department. This is particularly helpful when an agency is looking for a new space to rent. When a lease is about to expire, the agency that will be moving provides Real Property Management with information such as the number of employees it has, the number of hard-walled offices it needs, and the number of conference rooms, file and storage needs it will use. This information is entered into the system and a report is produced that identifies the total useable square footage the agency will need in order to function properly. Then Real Property Management can advertise for a new lease with a detailed synopsis of its requirements. "This feature gives us the power to acquire better leases, since we know exactly what we need," says Burton. Using the same numbers, ARCHIBUS also helps determine the costs associated with the move.

Doing More With Less
The State of Tennessee is not immune to the downsizing trend sweeping the country. But with its savvy use of the ARCHIBUS system, users like Burton are able to maximize the resources they have. "Reports help us do more with less," says Burton. "In the past, with mainframe computers, reports like these took over a week. We'd have to wait for a programmer to run it for us. Now we can create our own reports on a whim." This reduces the need for systems staff, and the ability for users to enter their own information and share it with others reduces data entry.

The Future
Currently, Real Property Management tracks all the space occupied by state employees across the entire state. Floor plans of the major buildings in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga are also stored using the Overlay for AutoCAD with Design Management to identify which areas are occupied and by whom. The goal is to eventually get all floor plans of state-owned and leased buildings in the system. With the state's team approach to problem-solving and the freedom afforded by flexible reports, anything is possible.