Conducting a facility condition assessment is a critical step in developing a facilities capital plan. True to its name, a facility condition assessment captures all the data about an organization’s facilities portfolio. This trove of information helps executives and other leaders identify risks and opportunities so they can develop successful long-term facilities capital plans that help them reach their goals. Such an assessment provides an objective starting point for smart investments in the built environment.
Collecting Facility Condition Assessment Data
Gordian offers organizations four tiers of facility condition assessments. It is up to the organizations to decide which assessment options meet their needs. It’s not as easy as selecting the facility condition assessment most likely to help them achieve their objectives. Organizational leaders must also consider the time and resources they want to commit to such an undertaking. Here is an overview of Gordian’s facility condition assessments.
1. Facility Condition Assessment+
Gordian’s enhanced Facility Condition Assessment+ (FCA+) offering is designed for those who require project-level detail to effectively plan and execute their maintenance and renovation work. The most comprehensive and detailed assessment Gordian offers, the FCA+ is ideal for organizations looking for a thorough evaluation that captures both existing deficiencies and opportunities for improvements, ensuring they have the detailed information necessary for savvy decision-making and strategic planning. This assessment transcends facility condition and documents additional considerations such as code compliance, life/safety, modernization and resilience.
The FCA+ is conducted by experienced assessors who inspect facilities from top to bottom. These teams catalog every building component from the foundation to the roof and everywhere in between, assessing every pipe, every valve, every door, every boiler, every heater, every vent and so on. If something can be assessed, it will be assessed.
2. Facility Condition Assessment
Similar to the FCA+, Gordian’s Facility Condition Assessment tier involves qualified professionals (engineers and/or practiced assessors) evaluating a building’s major systems to determine their age and condition. Using data collected about plumbing, HVAC, various electrical systems and more, organizations get a better sense of the big picture. This data-driven understanding of systems replacement timing and capital expenditure needs enables a sound facilities investment strategy.
Learn more about gathering, sharing and storing facility condition data in our free eBook.
3. Modeled Assessment
Developed by industry experts, these statistical models offer high-level insights into facility conditions – what you might call a 30,000-foot view – without anyone physically walking through a building. This method emphasizes speed and de-emphasizes specificity. Modeled Assessments provide estimates of potential building or portfolio needs, and while this type of facility condition assessment alone is sufficient for some assets, organizations often use them to understand where a more detailed assessment is needed. Affordable and designed to provide high-level budgetary requirements for buildings and assets that are similar in style, the Modeled Assessment is efficient and non-disruptive.
4. Self-Assessment on Gordian Cloud Platform
As the most flexible and cost-efficient tier available from Gordian, the Self-Assessment (located on Gordian Cloud Platform) is fully controlled by an organization’s staff. An in-house assessment is a cost-effective way to baseline building conditions, quickly identify problem areas, prioritize facilities projects and keep data current.
This assessment tier is intended to be used by mature capital planning organizations that lack the tools and resources they need to create optimized capital plans. It is not suitable for companies needing on-site or guided assistance with capital planning needs nor for those desiring a dedicated project team. Rather, the Self-Assessment software is built for organizations that have staff who are already experts in facility assessments and capital planning.
Data Gathered in a Gordian Facility Condition Assessment
The level of detail captured in an assessment will vary based on the needs of the organization. The following is a list of data points that could be captured in an assessment. It is by no means exhaustive, but it will give you an idea of the type of data you can expect to be gathered.
- Functional use – Hospital, classroom, offices, etc.
- Location
- Number and type of systems – HVAC, gas, flooring
- Actual age – The age of a system or component
- Renovation age – The time since a system or component was repaired or upgraded
- Improvement needs
- Recommended actions – Repair or replacement
- Costs – Gordian facility condition assessments use RSMeans™ Data, the industry standard for construction costs, to estimate costs
- Energy use – As organizations prioritize environmental sustainability, knowing how much power it requires to make buildings function is crucial
The Gordian Cloud Platform
Data for every Gordian assessment tier can be accessed in the Gordian Cloud Platform. Integrating capital planning, estimating and construction procurement capabilities in a single application, Gordian Cloud Platform offers a unified user experience by connecting workflows throughout the building lifecycle. These workflows are enhanced with powerful automation and insights, ultimately ensuring optimal decision-making in project selection, budgeting and execution.
Facility Condition Assessments: A Matter of Degree
It’s a good idea for any organization to conduct a building condition assessment. From large, private hospitals to rural public schools to the U.S. federal government, organizations of all sizes must collect and examine reliable conditions data before they plan or invest in their physical assets. To do otherwise is borderline reckless.
Before beginning an assessment, leaders must align on organizational objectives and have honest conversations about how much facilities condition detail they need to meet those objectives and what resources they are willing to commit to gathering data. Only then can they decide which tier of facility condition assessment is right for them.
