Coquitlam City Hall clinched a national prize last week for its use of Visual Plan.
The Canadian Network of Asset Managers handed out the award at its Edmonton conference after the municipality launched Visual Plan last year, one of the first communities in the country to take up the program.
Visual Plan scans the inside of a building — of which Coquitlam owns and oversees more than 120 structures in its asset portfolio, totalling 93,000 sq. m. — so users can get a 360-degree view.
Previously used in construction management, the state-of-the-art tool links photos, manuals, blueprints, training videos and other records so that users can get real-time data of the scanned building via a digital twin.
Tradespeople and contractors can then check out the floor plans and measurements from every angle online, allowing city staff to supervise the work remotely and thereby reducing the number of on-site visits.
So far, about 35 per cent of Coquitlam’s assets are uploaded to the Cloud-based platform; it’s expected all will be online by 2026.
On Monday, May 13, Coquitlam city council unanimously voted to submit Coquitlam’s Visual Plan program for a community excellence award from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM).
The next UBCM convention is Sept. 16–20 in Vancouver.
