1. Making the Workplace Work
Creating the 21st Century Federal Office
Presented to
State of Washington
August 16, 2016
James E. Truhan, MCR
Total Workplace Program Manager
GSA PBS Northwest/Arctic Region
2. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Public Buildings Service
Workplace Consulting &
Planning
Design and Construction
Facilities Management
Environmental Programs
Property Management
Historic Preservation
RE Acquisition & Disposal
PBS manages the federal real estate
portfolio and delivers effective federal
workplaces, at superior value to the
American taxpayer.
3. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
GSA “Total Workplace”
Total Workplace is…
1. A vision of a Federal
Workplace that better
supports agency missions, is
highly efficient, highly
sustainable and highly
desirable as a place to work.
2. A nationwide consulting team
with the expertise and
resources to help our agency
customers achieve that vision.
4. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Background
Large Federal Portfolio
National: 376 M SF; 9100+ Unique Facilities
(182M SF owned, balance leased)
Region 10: 15.8 M SF; 557 Unique Facilities
(8.6M SF owned, balance leased)
Underutilized Office space
Outdated expectations
(large high panel cubes, offices, etc.)
Growing catalog of Federal
efficiency & space standards
Missions keep growing; budgets
keep shrinking
IMPACTS
Excessive workspace cost
Staff recruiting and retention suffer
Health and wellness suffers
5. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
1. Meet Federal space
efficiency standards
2. Improve mission
effectiveness
3. Create destination
workplaces
4. Produce energy and
carbon savings
5. Save taxpayer dollars
The Challenge
6. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
The Value Proposition
Position opportunities for up to
40% reduction in long term real
estate costs
Use a deep-dive approach to
understanding needs, offering
options and guiding decisions
Deliver space and IT that support
staff choice in how and where to
work
Leverage a track record of
success in assisting agencies
through complex workplace
transitions
7. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Workplace Best Practices
1. Work patterns drive workspace
design decisions
2. Neighborhoods support specific
work patterns
3. Mobile technology is available
to all
4. Acoustics and privacy are
carefully managed
5. Access to daylight and views is
protected
6. Flexibility & Choice are
encouraged
(a policy and practice issue)
8. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Page 8
Configure workspace based on how people work.
Desk Bound Internally Mobile Externally Mobile
Contracting Officers
Auditors, Attorneys
Case
Managers
Enforcement
Officers
Program Managers
Leadership
Work Pattern Framework
9. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Health & Human Services
C o l u m b i a C e n t e r , S e a t t l e
~ 4 0 % f o o t p r i n t r e d u c t i o n
~ $ 4 . 0 M t a x p a y e r s a v i n g s ( 1 0 y r s . )
Occupied, April 2014 on accelerated schedule
Full multi-floor build-out and relocation of 305
staff
14 divisions with individual discretion over
design (mix of offices & high wall workstations)
Fish & Wildlife Service
9 1 1 F e d e r a l B u i l d i n g , P o r t l a n d
~ 3 0 % f o o t p r i n t r e d u c t i o n
~ $ 2 . 4 7 M a g e n c y s a v i n g s ( 1 0 y r s . )
Occupied December, 2015
Consolidation of 295 staff in-place on 3+ floors
(vacating 1.5+ floors)
Design approach: Install space efficient FFE,
open up space to views and light; retain selected
hard wall offices and repurpose to minimize cost.
Page 9
Recent Case Studies
10. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
22%
Reduction in Occupied
Space
R10 HQ Consolidation
Auburn Administration Building
3 phase program
Vacated a full wing x 2 floors
16,432
Square feet released for
other Agency use
Results
Space vacated by GSA was occupied
by FPS in 2015
Leverages vacant Federal Space
Avoids lease renewal
Savings potential (10 year):
~ $ 2.8 M
GSA Efficiency Goal
150
SF per person by 2017
136
SF per person for new space
Page 10
GSA Region 10 Consolidation
11. GSA Northwest/ArcticRegionGSA Northwest/ArcticRegion
Page 11
GSA Leaders “Walk the Talk”
Denise Turner-Roth, GSA Administrator, at her workstation at GSA
HQ in Washington, D.C.
George Northcroft, Region 10 Administrator, sitting at a drop-in
workstation in GSA’s Auburn, WA HQ.
GSA Executives Lead by Example
Denise and George exemplify GSA’s national commitment to move from legacy offices that are static, inflexible and
hierarchical to more open, collaborative and efficient workspaces.
Both have vacated traditional hard wall office suites, which have been converted to publicly available meeting
rooms.
