COQUITLAM, B.C., June 23, 2026 – Coquitlam’s innovative approach to managing community buildings has earned national recognition for the second time. 

The City recently received a 2026 Willis Award for Innovation from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) for its Facilities Digital Twin Project. The award is the second for the initiative, which first received recognition in 2024 with an Innovation in Asset Management award from the Canadian Network of Asset Managers.

Smarter Facility Management

A digital twin is a live, virtual copy of something real—in this case, City facilities—that helps users understand, test, and improve performance.

The City owns and oversees an asset portfolio of more than 120 buildings, covering 108,000 square metres. Since 2023, the City has been building digital versions of these facilities using interactive 3D imagery and centralized digital records.

The system allows staff to quickly access building information, such as maintenance history, equipment details, manuals, floor plans and training resources all in one place. By improving access to information, staff can identify issues earlier, respond more efficiently and better coordinate maintenance to help keep community spaces safe, reliable and well maintained.

Improving Service Delivery for the Community

Over the past two years, the system has been rolled out across major facilities, including City Hall, the Coquitlam City Centre Library, and key recreation centres.

Better facility data helps staff identify issues earlier, plan maintenance more proactively and reduce the risk of service disruptions. It also reduces reliance on individual staff knowledge by providing virtual access to facility information, supporting faster, better-informed decisions and more efficient, responsive service for residents.

Now embedded in core Facilities Management processes, including building condition assessments, the initiative will support long-term planning and the durability of community infrastructure.

All City facilities will eventually be added, with ongoing updates built into daily operations to ensure lasting benefits for the community. To date, more than 65 per cent of the City’s inventory has been uploaded to the cloud-based platform.

Willis Award for Innovation

The Willis Award for Innovation, awarded in recognition of Jack Willis for his contribution to CAMA, recognizes programs, projects or services that demonstrate new approaches to leading, facilitating, or administering which result in positive changes to local government processes and practices, and ultimately bringing outstanding benefits to the organization and the community.

Media contact:
Lori Gray
Senior Manager, Facilities
facilitiescustomerservice@coquitlam.ca

We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-kwuh-tlum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), and other Coast Salish Peoples.