Sea-Tac Airport Honored as Winner of 2008 Airport Facilities Management Excellence Award

The Port of Seattle is proud to recognize Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as the recipient of the 2008 Airport Facilities Management Excellence Award from the Airport Facilities Council of the International Facility Management Association. Sea-Tac was awarded first place in the size category of thirty million passengers served or greater for the second year in a row.

The AFC Award for Airport Facilities Management Excellence is designed to recognize and advance excellence in the field of airport facilities. The Award for Airport Facilities Management Excellence is AFC's highest honor and provides airport maintenance departments the opportunity for national and international recognition for their outstanding achievements in facilities management.

"We take a lot of pride in receiving this award because it shows we are implementing a best-in-class management system to leverage our best-in-class workforce," said Michael Feldman, Sea-Tac Airport deputy director of facilities & environmental. "Over the past three years, we've brought in management best practices from outside of the industry to improve the ongoing maintenance of Sea-Tac. We've basically changed the way we do business to become more efficient and environmentally friendly, and the result is more value delivered to our customers."

Airport facility personnel work behind the scenes to improve passenger comfort by ensuring that everyday activities - such as airfield operation and airport renovation and maintenance - go smoothly and efficiently. In an effort to recognize their hard work and encourage excellence in airport facilities across the globe, the council sought to highlight worthy facility management teams.

"The people at these airports work every day to make sure the travel and working experiences of others are the best they can possibly be. Their contributions often go completely unnoticed - unless something goes wrong," said Wayne S. Harvey, CFM, LEED-AP, president of the Airport Facilities Council. "The intent of these awards is to recognize them for all the times things go right and provide examples for others to learn from."

A panel of IFMA Airport Facilities Council judges used a points system to determine award winners in categories based on the airport's number of annual passengers. Award submissions were evaluated using five criteria: leadership, innovation, sustainability, customer service and operational efficiency. The competition was open to all airports regardless of their membership in IFMA or the Airport Facilities Council.

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport received first place in the Greater than 30 Million Annual Passengers Served category, with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority - which manages Toronto Pearson Airport - receiving second place.

The Salt Lake City Department of Airports - which oversees three airports throughout Utah - won first place in the 20-30 Million Annual Passengers Served category.

The San Diego International Airport received first place in the 10-20 Million Annual Passengers Served category, and for the second year in a row, Oregon's Eugene Airport won first place in the Less than One Million Annual Passengers Served category.

More on IFMA's Airport Facilities Council
IFMA is the world's largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers, supporting more than 19,500 members in 60 countries. The association's members, represented in 125 chapters and 15 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than US$100 billion in products and services. Formed in 1980, IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management certificate programs and produces World Workplace, the world's largest facility management conference and exposition. For more information, visit the IFMA press room or www.ifma.org.