Twenty-First-Century Technology Tracking Georgia's Eighteenth-Century Treasures: The Governor's Mansion RFID Project

The Georgia Building Authority

The Georgia Building Authority (GBA) is responsible for ensuring that the $13 million art collection housed at the Governor's Mansion is maintained, and inventory is always kept up to date. As recently as 2018, inventorying the Mansion's extensive collection required manually locating items and comparing them against the last appraisal reports. This process took weeks to reconcile due to the arduous process of matching items with original mid-twentieth-century photos and hand-painted inventory numbers for verification.

To boost efficiency, GBA engaged WiseTrack, an application that specializes in inventory tracking for government agencies. With the help of WiseTrack, GBA carefully attached a variety of radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips to each of the collection's pieces. Data picked up from antennae, scanners, and chips are compiled in a web-based application. GBA staff are now able to locate and track item movement easily by using a scanner and reviewing the RFID antenna report. The solution is an effective way to track the museum-quality collection at a taxpayer-conscious price. With artifacts now tagged, GBA's plans include adding interactive metadata so that Governor's Mansion guests can use their smartphones to learn more about each piece.