UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA REVITALIZES FACILITY MANAGEMENT AND CAPITAL PLANNING PROGRAM WITH VFA
VFA’s Web-based Software and Assessment Services Selected to Create Living Database of Facility Condition and Capital Budget Information
Boston, MA – July 13, 2004 – VFA, Inc., the leading provider of software and services for facilities management and capital planning, today announced the University of Georgia has selected its solution, including VFA’s flagship technology, VFA.facility. The University will use VFA’s software and assessment services to manage facility data across multiple geographic locations. It is anticipated that the initial assessment of 30 buildings and approximately 1.5 million square feet of space will be expanded to the entire resident instruction space portfolio of more than eight million square feet. VFA’s solution will be implemented to help the University prioritize deferred maintenance projects, create budgets with greater accuracy and substantiate funding requirements to the state legislature.
Leveraging VFA’s assessment methodology, the University of Georgia can better compare building condition information from one facility to the next. VFA.facility will be used as a centralized database where the University’s facility condition and planning data can be stored and shared with funding authorities easily. This system will also help to educate budget and school officials on facility needs in a single, crystallized view, providing the cost estimating and project bundling tools that help to categorize deferred maintenance, repair and capital renewal projects.
“We wanted to maintain our facilities condition and related information in a software system that we could update easily and use as a living database of our building portfolio,” said Ralph Johnson, associate vice president for physical plant at the University of Georgia. “A critical factor in our selection of VFA was the ability its solution delivers to compare facilities conditions campus-wide in order to accurately prioritize expenditures. With VFA’s software and services, we can be confident that we are using and investing our resources wisely.”
The University of Georgia expects to use VFA’s software and assessment services to evaluate projects for optimal allocation of current funds, as well as forecast and plan for the future investment of facility dollars. With VFA’s technology, the University also plans to report facility lifecycle projects, cost projections and future needs to officials involved in the state budget process. The University competes with other state organizations for funds, and anticipates that VFA’s solution will help it argue for and secure the financial resources it needs.
“The University of Georgia is the largest institution in the state’s higher education system, and its selection of our technology and services signifies our continued success in the education market and underscores the value VFA delivers to large property holders,” said Jerry Kokos, president and CEO, VFA. “A systematic approach to capital planning can positively impact funding requests and allow for efficient allocation of funds. We look forward to working with the University of Georgia in support of its campus-wide facilities reinvestment initiatives.”
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