Learn all about what a facility condition assessment is and how you can benefit from one with the APPEM approach from Dude Solutions.
Buildings (from gyms to dorms to hospitals) may likely be at the core of your organization, allowing you to serve individuals across your community. The other side of this is that these buildings are getting older every day, creating a unique challenge for those who manage facilities. After all, the average age of a building in the United States is 41 years old.
Adding to this, it's all too common for a maintenance staff to do far less preventive than reactive work. Michael Cowley writes on facilitiesnet.com that reactive work should only be 10-15% of the total workload. For facilities that operate in a run to failure mode where the majority of work is reactive, it becomes detrimental to establishing planned maintenance work and completing major capital projects.
What is a facility condition assessment?
A facility condition assessment (FCA) is simply a process of analyzing the condition of a facility or a group of facilities. This is accomplished by looking at factors like age, materials, design, assets and more. Although conducting an FCA can seem like a daunting task, it’s crucial in monitoring your building’s health and performance in the long run. Whether you run a YMCA, church, manufacturing plant or school, an FCA may be the only thing between you and a maintenance emergency that could negatively impact your operations and those you serve.
Ensuring your FCAs are successful and a benefit to your facility doesn’t have to be complex – in fact, you can simplify the process by using capital forecasting software that relies on an APPEM approach to facility maintenance. This method of keeping track of your equipment, inventory and facility needs will help you move from reactive to proactive maintenance.
“The FCA really helped us understand how our facilities ranked based on their facility condition index and the total need for the major building systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, roofing, interiors, etc.) on campus help us make better data-driven decisions." -Corey Ruff, Abilene Christian University
Simplifying with the APPEM cycle
The APPEM process is designed to create a cycle of success that is always up to date, avoiding the need to complete FCAs every 5 to 10 years. Here’s what the APPEM method looks like:
- Assess – This is an important first step that can’t be missed. Take the time to assess every part of your building to get a comprehensive understanding of components, assets and systems.
- Prioritize – Place whatever is most urgent or important at the top of your list, whether that’s replacing carpet or repairing an HVAC. This is a good way to organize updates like replacements and capital projects.
- Plan – Make a plan for the best way to address the items at the top (and bottom) of your list. Take note of what needs to be fixed when, how much it will cost and who needs to be involved to get the job done.
- Execute – Put your plan into motion by updating the most critical items on your list, ensuring everyone has the tools (an easy-to-use work order management program) and direction they need to complete the task.
- Maintain – This is key in making FCAs successful for the future of your facility. By having a capital planning process, you can keep a close eye on each part of your facility and plan ahead to prevent any unexpected maintenance or compliance issues. Capital forecasting software makes the transition back to “Assess” possible by providing data and reporting that lead to better decision making. To sustain long-term success, you must balance and prioritize proactive, reactive and capital work all in one maintenance management system.
All in all, using this process to complete your facility condition assessments can save you time and money, while creating a safer facility and empowering a more efficient team
Learn more about future-proofing your FCA by reading this datasheet, then contact us for more information and pricing on our facility assessment software.