Contact: McKinstry/essention, Inc.
Karen Little, (206) 268-9810
klittle@essention.com 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McKinstry/essention, Inc., Introduces Web-based Commercial Property and Facility Management Solution

InfoCentre service integrates the best of high-tech and high-touch to provide cost savings and improved productivity to property managers, occupants and vendors 

SEATTLE, WA (April 3, 2001) – McKinstry/essention, Inc., a Seattle-based application service provider of property and facility management solutions, today announced the general availability of its InfoCentre technology and service. InfoCentre integrates a powerful Web-based issue management, digital archiving and preventative maintenance tool with a professionally trained 24x7 customer service center to provide an efficient and comprehensive building management solution. McKinstry/essention has worked closely with early access customers in the development of InfoCentre to deliver a diverse offering that provides significant operational cost savings, productivity gains, and improved tenant/occupant satisfaction and retention to real estate management, retail, and Fortune 1000 organizations that manage large or geographically dispersed buildings.

“InfoCentre substantially improves efficiencies in managing commercial office and facility space. It empowers customers to effectively manage more square feet, with fewer resources, while actually improving the satisfaction and resulting retention of their tenants or occupants,” states Dean Allen, McKinstry/essention President and CEO. “No other commercial solution combines the extensive digital archiving, online preventative maintenance scheduling, and real-time issue reporting and tracking capabilities of InfoCentre with a responsive and knowledgeable 24x7 customer service center.”

With InfoCentre’s streamlined workflow management system, service requests submitted by building tenants or occupants are managed through an intuitive Web interface. Requests are then logged and handled based on pre-defined protocols set by a customer, stating the approved escalation procedures and required authorizations for each type of request. Work orders are then generated, and approved vendors are dispatched to resolve issues, with each step of the process recorded in real-time on the Web site for access by authorized users. Because many non-traditional and emergency issues cannot be handled ideally online, InfoCentre also allows users to submit requests and issues via phone, fax, or email to the customer service desk at any time of any day. 

Property managers use InfoCentre to perform real-time queries on the status of service requests to ensure vendor performance and accountability. It also provides an ideal platform for portfolio-wide performance and metric reporting across facilities in disparate locations. InfoCentre digitally archives all facility-specific documentation, including Operations & Maintenance manuals, building drawings, and preventative maintenance scheduling and warranties for all equipment. This central knowledge base increases both the short- and long-term property value for owners and saves tremendous time in asset transfer. 

Building vendors and field technicians also access InfoCentre to view digital files that allow them to service requests more efficiently and less expensively. 

“The bottom line for organizations that manage building space either as their primary business, or on account of it, is improved productivity and tangible cost savings,” explains Karen Little, McKinstry/essention Chief Operating Officer. “Our Web-based workflow process simply makes building management more efficient, while eliminating the need for occupants and tenants to spend significant time dealing with workplace-related issues.”

InfoCentre has been initially deployed at select customer sites in North America. One customer has realized tremendous savings by reducing their headcount required to manage a regional portfolio of properties by 66 percent in one region. Since deploying InfoCentre, customers have reported the volumes of tenant/occupant calls that require manager attention being reduced by 70 percent and more. This savings alone equates to several times the cost of InfoCentre, and is furthered by measurable improvements in customer service.

Originally developed by Seattle-based McKinstry Co., the leading Northwest supplier of contract mechanical, construction and design services, InfoCentre was originally intended as a complementary Web-based solution to McKinstry’s facility management offerings. Leveraging more than 40 years of industry experience, McKinstry began pilot implementations of InfoCentre in 1999, and then spun-off McKinstry/essention in May 2000 to focus on its continued development and marketing. 

About McKinstry/essention
McKinstry/essention, Inc. is a real estate application service provider (ASP) that markets Web-based property and facility management solutions. McKinstry/essention develops and markets InfoCentre, a highly scaleable technology that addresses property and facility management inefficiencies and unifies service information. InfoCentre is currently being used to manage more than 30 million square feet of commercial property across North America, including clients that own or manage substantial property portfolios and Fortune 1000 organizations with large or geographically dispersed buildings. McKinstry/essention is headquartered in Seattle, WA, and on the World Wide Web at http://www.essention.com. For additional information, send email to media@essention.com.

McKinstry/essention is a registered trademark of McKinstry/essention, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.