Denver International Airport (DEN) is the third busiest airport in the United States and sixth busiest airport in the world, welcoming over 80 million passengers annually. With one main terminal and three concourses, facilitating both domestic and international travel, DEN manages a complex built environment with thousands of wayfinding and informational signs.
DEN was relying on multiple tools and documents to manage location plans and message schedules. While these resources were carefully maintained, keeping them aligned required significant manual effort. Each update had to be made one sign at a time, and sharing accurate information with internal teams, consultants, vendors, and other stakeholders often created challenges around data integrity, version control and collaboration.
With major renovations underway in the airport’s main terminal, DEN needed a faster and more reliable way to document existing signage, support new signage requirements, and plan for future wayfinding needs.
In 2022, DEN hired a new design firm — Selbert Perkins Design (SPD). SPD recommended that DEN adopt SignAgent to streamline their internal processes and achieve greater control of their sign data and assets.
SignAgent recommended starting with a smaller pilot project in the Jeppesen Terminal. Over three days, SignAgent’s team captured approximately 4,000 signs across six floors using SignAgent’s Mobile App. The survey included front-of-house areas such as ticketing and check-in, lobbies, passenger pathways to security checkpoints, baggage claim, parking garage entries, and some exterior signs in the arrival and departure zones.
With the implementation of SignAgent, DEN experienced a major shift in efficiency. DEN now has a centralized, searchable database of their sign assets, giving the airport’s wayfinding team instant access to sign locations, photos, messaging, sign types, and other critical details.
For DEN, this shift has already created meaningful efficiencies. A process that once required several days of on-site verification can now be completed in minutes, allowing work orders and sign information to be compiled and shared quickly with the appropriate teams.
The pilot project also positioned DEN for long-term success. As more of the airport’s 10,000+ terminal signs are captured in SignAgent, the team will be better equipped to evaluate existing signage, make plan improvements, manage future projects, and enhance the passenger experience.
DEN estimates that once its sign information is fully captured in SignAgent, the airport will save 70% on annual sign management costs, freeing up resources for other operational needs.
This article was originally published by SignAgent.
