Facility Condition Index [2024 Guide]

Strengthen Government Facilities Management with the Power of Facility Condition Assessments & Indexes

In the world of local government facilities management, maintaining public buildings and related infrastructure is crucial. While gathering detailed data on the condition of each asset can be daunting, the more information your government agency collects, the more confident you’ll be in your decision-making.

One of the paths toward better data is conducting a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA). This boots-on-the-ground evaluation of every building asset takes time and a lot of elbow grease, but serves as an indispensable tool for steering your maintenance and capital investment strategies in the right direction.

Couple your FCAs with Facility Condition Indexes (FCIs), and you’ll develop a comprehensive process that keeps your assets in tip-top shape for years to come.

What’s a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA)?

In short, an FCA is a type of building condition audit involving a thorough evaluation of a facility’s physical condition. Conducting one requires an eagle-eye inspection and documentation of structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The goal is to get a detailed understanding of the facility’s condition, identify deficiencies, and estimates associated with repairs and maintenance costs.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of the components typically included in an FCA, along with issues that can arise:

• Structural Systems: Structural integrity, signs of damage, and potential safety hazards in the foundation, framing, roofing, and exterior walls.
• Mechanical Systems: Performance, efficiency, and condition of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
• Electrical Systems: Outdated components, code violations, and energy inefficiencies related to wiring, panels, lighting, and other electrical components.
• Plumbing Systems: Leaks, corrosion, and compliance with health and safety standards regarding the water supply, drainage, and sewage systems.
• Interior and Exterior Finishes: Wear and tear, damage, and aesthetic concerns with floors, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, and other finishes.
• Safety and Accessibility: Hazards associated with fire protection systems, emergency exits, accessibility features for individuals with disabilities, and compliance with safety regulations.

How to Conduct a Facility Condition Assessment

Conducting an FCA requires careful planning and execution. Take a look at our simple, four-step FCA checklist to get started:

1. Plan and Prepare

First things first: define your assessment’s scope, select the buildings you’ll assess, and gather relevant background information. (Information like building plans, maintenance records, and previous assessment reports are great examples!). As part of this plan, it’s also important to identify a team of professionals who will conduct the assessment with you, such as facility managers, trades professionals, architects, and engineers. Professional property consultants are also available to provide assessment services.

2. Inspect the Sites

This is the heart of the FCA. During this phase, the assessment team walks through each facility, documenting the structure’s condition, as well as that of every system, noting deficiencies and taking photographs for reference.

3. Collect and Analyze Data

Collecting and analyzing data is far from a small task, but the best way to achieve this feat is with the help of government asset management software. Adopting asset management software lets you quickly and easily categorize deficiencies, estimate the building systems’ remaining useful life, and calculate repair and maintenance costs. This data analysis, along with Facility Condition Indexes (more on that soon!), will help you prioritize issues based on the severity and impact they have on the building’s overall condition.

4. Report Out

A comprehensive maintenance and repair plan can’t get to the crucial next step—execution—without the full transparency of a detailed report. This report should lay out a detailed description of each facility’s condition, a list of identified deficiencies, repair estimates, and recommendations for maintenance and improvement. Having this report on hand will be a valuable decision-making tool as you plan and budget for maintenance, repairs, and possible replacement.

Here, too, is where asset management software comes to the rescue. The software not only helps you analyze data, it builds reports and has the ability to run what-if scenarios based on your budget, timeline, and condition reports, allowing you to plan for today and the future.

Getting the Score with a Facility Condition Index

We’ve already mentioned that the Facility Condition Index is a key metric often used in conjunction with facility condition assessments. So, what exactly is an FCI? It’s a ratio that compares the cost of needed repairs and maintenance to the replacement cost of the facility. The FCI is another tool that assesses and compares the condition of different buildings, helping prioritize maintenance and investment decisions.

The Facility Condition Index Formula

Before you can calculate the facility condition index formula, you need to determine the value of every component:

Cost of Repairs

Calculate the estimated costs of all identified deficiencies and required repairs for each facility from the FCA report. This total represents the investment needed to restore the facility to optimal condition.

Estimate the Replacement Cost

Calculate the cost to replace the entire facility with a new one of similar size and function. This includes construction costs, materials, labor, and other associated expenses.

Now you’re ready to calculate the FCI using this formula:

(Cost of Repairs/Replacement Cost) x 100

The result is expressed as a percentage. For example, an FCI of 0% is a building in perfect condition. In other words, the higher the percentage, the greater the need for repairs and maintenance.

You can generally interpret the results this way:

0% to 5%: Excellent condition
5% to 10%: Good condition
10% to 30%: Fair condition
30% and above: Needs Attention
Above 60%: Potentially justifies replacement

Reaping the Benefits of an FCA

With an FCA, you have the potential to strengthen your facilities management through:

Informed Decision Making: Developing FCAs with the help of asset management software will provide you with reliable data and insights crucial for making informed decisions about repairs, renovations, and capital investments and their costs. FCAs and FCIs also play a role in long-term planning. Together, they give you a complete picture of the anticipated useful life of each facility.

(Learn more about how Cartegraph Asset Management from OpenGov can help you do just that!)

Proactive Maintenance: Facility and maintenance managers don’t care for surprises in their line of work. FCAs enable facility managers to identify and address issues before they escalate into major problems. This proactive approach extends buildings’ and systems’ lifespans and reduces the risk of unexpected failures that could not only be costly but could result in having to unexpectedly close all or parts of the building during repairs.

Budget Planning and Allocation: The FCA’s detailed estimates will help you create accurate maintenance budgets to ensure funds are allocated efficiently, prioritizing critical repairs and improvements.

Improved Safety and Compliance: Assessments uncover noncompliance with safety codes and regulations, reducing the costly risk of accidents, legal liabilities, and potential fines.

Enhanced Facility Performance: By using an FCA to address deficiencies and maintain building systems, your agency will benefit from longer facility lifespans, enhanced energy efficiency, and happier team members who will enjoy a better work environment.

Facility Condition Assessments and Facility Condition

Indexes are essential tools for effective government facilities management. By conducting regular FCAs and using FCIs, your maintenance and repair plan will be backed by data-driven decision-making, ensuring you’re using tax dollars wisely. These tools also provide peace of mind knowing your public buildings will be safe and functional for years to come.