Issue link: https://tradeshowexecutive.epubxp.com/i/76788
EVENT RECAP Software Evolution Makes ESCA's WIS 2.0 Badge Easier to Adopt Coeur d'Alene, ID – Te adoption of the universal labor identification badge developed by the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (ESCA) may pick up steam aſter convention center management in Boston was able to adapt its soſtware package to its existing badge scanning equipment. Trough many months of working together with ESCA, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) recently began scanning ESCA's Worker Identification System (WIS) using equipment already in place at the service entrances to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). Te result has been faster labor check-ins on the show floor and the likelihood that more con- vention centers will be able to adapt WIS 2.0 with many enhanced features faster. Larry Arnaudet, executive director of ESCA, said the adaptation of WIS 2.0 soſt- ware could make it possible for venue man- agers to have WIS up and running with a minimum of fuss and, more importantly, without having to jump through vari- ous hoops in order to install a new set of scanners. "It generally requires a total time span of three or four months from start to finish to bring a venue and workers up to speed with the program," Arnaudet told TSE at the ESCA Summer Education Confer- ence in Idaho. "One of the most convenient features of the system is that employers can order badges for their workers online 24/7 from any location," he noted. Arnaudet said that installing scanners may oſten be considered a capital expen- diture by municipally owned facilities, requiring an extended approval process, thus delaying implementation of the sys- tem. "Te BCEC was already scanning its own badges so it just required a soſtware interface with the new WIS 2.0. Now there is a permanent record of who worked in the building every day and who they were employed by," he pointed out. Fred Peterson, director for facilities operations for the MCCA, told the audience 18 July 2012 | Trade Show Executive at the ESCA conference that move-in was moving smoother now that WIS had eased the chronic chokepoints at the security sta- tions where contractor workers can be veri- fied and passed through the gates in a few seconds. "Even a few seconds per worker can add up at a major show," he said. "Labor calls can be 600 to 800 people," Peterson said. "I strongly feel that the WIS program will become the norm for the industry." Master List ESCA said approximately 22,000 WIS badges had been issued as of this Summer and are in use in 10 major venues across the country. Another feature of the system is that the individual worker's WIS badge is recognized and accepted in all ten build- ings across the country. Te number of centers using the universal ID will reach 11 when the Long Beach Convention Center comes online later this year. Te updated soſtware's "Daily Labor Call Report" will make it possible for service contractors, both union and non-union, to send daily rosters of work- ers to the convention center security department. Te names are downloaded into the scanning system database and merged into a comprehensive one-stop list of who will be working in the build- ing on any given day, who they are working for and on what show. "Until now, many buildings had no idea who was going to be there on a given day," Arnaudet said. "Tey only knew Freeman or GES or another contractor was going to be there with 30 or 40 workers. Now with the scanning technology in place, the La- bor Call Report lets the venue know who is on call for the day and which contractor they will be working for." New Uses Mitt Arnaudet, ESCA's national adminis- trator for the WIS project, said customer education remained a key to the success of WIS. Exhibitor-appointed contractors, subcontractors, union locals and even show managers needed to be shown how to compile a WIS roster aſter years of faxing in handwritten lists. Union officials who attended the ESCA Summer Education Conference told TSE some of their members objected to picking up the modest cost of a WIS badge when they were still being required to carry badges obtained from their local halls. Others are concerned that being scanned at a designated entrance could actually slow down check-in because it would prevent them from breezing in through a loading dock or some other door where they are familiar to building staff. But "breezing in" is precisely what the badge is designed to circumvent, and the complaints appeared relatively minor compared to the streamlined security, increased efficiency checking in through security and the other uses ESCA fore- sees for WIS 2.0 in the future. At the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, for example, a WIS badge may be used for a discount at the facility parking garage, which General Manager Mark Zimmerman said helped keep the streets clear for trucks hauling in freight on move-in days. Luther Villagomez, a member of the ESCA board and general manager of the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRBCC) in Houston, said new refine- ments in the future may even enable the badges to show the locations of specific employees inside the building. "It is really going to be a nice tool for us," he said. GRBCC is scheduled to implement the new scanning technology later this year. Reach Larry Arnaudet at (972) 447-8211 or larry@esca.org; Mitt Arnaudet at 972-447- 8212 or mitt@esca.org; Mark Zimmerman at (404) 223-4500 or mzimmerman@ gwcc.org; Fred Peterson at ( 617) 954- 2000 or fpeterson@massconvention.com; Luther Villagomez at (713) 858-8000 or luther.villagomez@cityofhouston.net