case study
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) in Austin, Texas, manages 100 historic buildings, 25 recreation and senior centers, and 800 full-time employees. However, since recently switching to a hybrid work environment, many of the department’s administration buildings lack appropriate amenities such as office supplies, outlets, internet, or parking spaces. Some staff members are in the office two or three days each week, and this effectively cuts costs for PARD, but staff still require these amenities when on-site.
PARD leadership wanted to better understand each building’s interior, exterior, and assets within to enhance wayfinding and plan necessary renovations and to accommodate varying staff schedules. PARD collaborated with Esri and its partner NV5 Geospatial to develop a proof of concept. To start, the goal was to create a digital twin of two buildings: a recreational facility for staff and a space for public use. A digital twin is a dynamic virtual model that mirrors a real-world object. NV5 tailored a geographic information system (GIS) solution using 3D modeling for PARD to create digital twins to deepen their assessments of the buildings.
Allison Hardy, senior geospatial analyst for PARD, has been on staff for nearly 20 years. During that time, much of PARD’s building data was stored in old paper drawings, PDFs, or Revit files. These files are often used in building information modeling (BIM) and computer-aided design (CAD) databases, but information was not centralized and duplicated. Some buildings house staff from multiple departments. “We ran out of office space in our administration buildings,” said Hardy.
Steve Mulberry, geospatial innovation strategist at NV5, helped Hardy and other PARD staff transform outdated, disparate data for two buildings to allow for better decision-making. NV5 used 360-degree camera sensors, laser scanners, and lidar tools to efficiently and accurately create a cloud point for each asset in each building. These tools gather all the detailed information about a building, including doors, floors, stairs, bathrooms, and even desks, books, and chairs. Using this data, Mulberry was then able to build a 3D model of the building.
NV5 Geospatial used 360-degree camera sensors, laser scanners, and lidar tools to efficiently and accurately gather detailed information about every asset in the building, including doors, floors, stairs, bathrooms, and even desks, books, and chairs.
NV5 staff integrated 3D building models into Esri’s ArcGIS Indoors, a GIS solution that combines BIM and CAD data into one complete system of record. The software has interoperable capabilities with Esri’s main GIS products—ArcGIS Pro, a desktop application, and ArcGIS Online, a mapping and analysis software.
PARD human resources staff used ArcGIS Indoors and its digital twins to accurately visualize how best to monitor and track assets and people, identify underutilized spaces, plan for staff increases, and strategize future renovations. They can now more effectively uncover inefficiencies in their workflows, as well as use the software to reserve desks or conference rooms in a specific building.
Additionally, PARD has leveraged the digital twins within Indoors to give the public virtual tours of buildings.
“Our [mission] is creating community, so we often have multiple things going on in our recreation buildings,” said Hardy. “If you’re visiting for a vaccination and your child has a sports game, you’ll know exactly where to go before you arrive.”
NV5 used 360-degree camera sensors, laser scanners, and lidar tools to efficiently and accurately gather detailed information about every asset in the building, including doors, floors, stairs, bathrooms, and even desks, books, and chairs.
The initial feedback on the proof of concept has been positive. Hardy says that PARD leadership is supportive, and the project is already deepening their knowledge of what else is possible with GIS. Hardy and her team continue to add GIS applications, such as a website created with ArcGIS Hub that displays a wealth of geospatial information for residents. The website equips people with maps to find a nearby park, open spaces where dogs can run off leash, and pickleball courts—all assets the parks department is responsible for. Other departments in Austin that use common government systems like Maximo now want to add Indoors to their asset management system.
Building on their success, PARD leaders are preparing to use ArcGIS technology in more areas where they can better serve the community.
“We’re not done yet,” said Hardy. “We’re looking at an indoor positioning system for real-time use so people experiencing cooling or heating issues in their home during extreme weather events can know how many beds are available at a specific location or where to access a shelter.”
Our [mission] is creating community, so we often have multiple things going on in our recreation buildings. If you’re visiting for a vaccination and your child has a sports game, you’ll know exactly where to go before you arrive.”