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CBP Space Use | Fentress Inc.

Space planning and programming tools

    Workplace Solutions Program,
    U.S. Customs and border protection

    Fentress developed two tools to support the Workplace Solutions Program within Customs and Border Protection. These tools work together to help generate requirements for offices seeking to transition to a more flexible and open office plan that supports increased mobility and space-saving initiatives. The first tool, the Survey Analysis Tool (SAT), is a web-based application designed to gather and analyze information from employees on work styles and the degree of mobility appropriate to meet job requirements. The survey gathers a baseline of how employees work today and how employees could work with increased mobility in the future. The analysis side of the tool provides graphs and tables that summarize the results for a particular office or group of offices based on a set of filters that can be applied.

    The SAT results are then imported into the WSP Space Planning Optimization Tool (SPOT), another web-based application that generates a detailed space summary and program of requirements based on the unique needs of the overall office as well as the work styles identified in SAT. Each work style has an associated set of space standards, workstation sharing ratios, and equipment needs that are calculated in SPOT. The tool also generates an initial rough estimate of construction costs, occupancy costs, equipment costs, and annual rent. SPOT compiles all of this information to calculate an estimated “break even” point when future rent savings are projected to exceed the costs of transitioning to the new mobile work environment. 

    Space Planning | Fentress Inc.

    SPOT allows a high level of customization and fine-tuning to reflect the specific needs of the CBP office. As a central web-program that can be opened from any browser, SPOT allows users to access office programs whenever and wherever they need to, or for multiple users to access the information they need without having to share a file or worry about version or access control. The results generated by SPOT form part of the business plan that provides justification for CBP space reduction projects and helps determine which projects have the greatest return on investment.