SEATTLE—October 24, 2018— The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) recently honored the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) with a 2018 Award of Excellence in Administrative Innovation for its Specialized Maintenance & Repair Training (SMART) program. The Seattle Housing Authority was one of only 19 agencies nationwide to win an Award of Excellence.

SHA’s maintenance department created the SMART program in 2017 to help staff develop new skills and increase performance in the field. SHA journey-level trades-people conduct hands-on training of other staff and skill testing of job applicants in a training lab built to resemble a typical residential environment. The SMART program has increased efficiency, provided career growth opportunities and boosted moral and retention.

The 2018 NAHRO Award of Excellence winners were selected by regional juries from a pool of 193 Award of Merit honorees. SHA received three Awards of Merit in the Administrative Innovation category for creation of cutting-edge programs.  In addition to the SMART program, SHA won for Customer Service Awareness, recognizing the maintenance team for its self-designed training program that included input from residents, resulted in increased efficiency and improved the overall maintenance-related experience for residents. Another award was given to SHA for Lean Public Housing Inspections, a collaboration between the maintenance and inspections teams that restructured and streamlined processes, introduced mobile technology, reduced staff time by 900 hours and doubled the number of units that underwent required inspections.

“It’s an honor to receive these awards from NAHRO and have the Seattle Housing Authority’s maintenance and inspections teams be recognized for their innovation and expertise,” said SHA Executive Director Andrew Lofton. “These programs promote a culture of continuous learning for our staff, deliver increased efficiencies throughout our properties and provide improved service to our residents.”

“These agencies are leaders in the housing and community development industry,” said NAHRO President Carl S. Richie, Jr. in announcing the group of 2018 NAHRO award winners. “Their innovative approaches improve the lives of their residents and revitalize their local communities, and I am proud to celebrate their achievements.”

NAHRO Awards of Excellence honor programs that improve resident outcomes, resolve problems, are replicable by organizations of similar size, produce tangible cost savings and other positive results, enhance productivity, improve client services, and demonstrate better service coordination.

Media contact
Kerry Coughlin
kerry.coughlin@seattlehousing.org
206.615.3506