It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I introduce the Department of General Services' Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) process. This process will help improve our capital building efforts as outlined in our Excellence in Public Buildings Initiative.

In order to achieve the Initiative's goals, it is imperative that we look beyond merely completing projects within budget and on schedule.  While those goals are still important and must continue, it is equally important to evaluate the completed buildings — are they functional (meet the needs of the occupants), efficient (energy conserving and easy to maintain/operate), and sustainable (durable)?

Our method for ascertaining this information will be via the POE, which will include surveys and assessment of technical performance, cost and time data and other information about building performance, and the building delivery process. Surveys will be conducted with the following target groups:

• The occupants of the building.
• The people who operate and maintain the building.
• The people involved in the planning, design and construction process.

Information compiled from these surveys will create a "lessons learned" database (what worked and what didn't) that will enable us to correct deficiencies in existing buildings as well as incorporate successful features into future projects to improve those buildings.

While the California Department of General Services has an excellent record of completing projects, I believe we can do better. But we can't do it alone. Feedback, whether good or bad, is essential. Therefore, I encourage our clients to actively participate in the Post Occupancy Evaluation. Many of our most successful and practical improvement suggestions come from our building operators and occupants.

The POE process has been in use for over 30 years by the federal government, colleges and universities, and private sector, both nationally and internationally. Our POE program will start small and grow fast. A POE Strategic Plan will be in place by mid-2001, and implementation on targeted projects will begin in fiscal year 2001-02. It is anticipated that the process will become part of the normal planning, designing, constructing and commissioning buildings procedures within two years.

As this program grows and develops, we look forward to achieving the goals of the Excellence in Public Buildings Initiative and seeing the resulting benefits for our customers, our stakeholders and the taxpayers of the State of California.

Sincerely,

Dennis Dunne
Chief Deputy Director