If it fails: the first hour
What the site contact should do before the technician arrives.
- Flag any life safety finding, such as a blocked fire exit or exposed electrical hazard, for immediate correction outside the standard report timeline
- Notify the facility manager directly rather than waiting for the final written report
- Document the finding with photos for both the immediate repair record and the final assessment report
What fails
Deferred maintenance accumulating unnoticedSmall issues, such as a slow roof leak or a failing sealant joint, go unaddressed for years without a systematic inspection, compounding into larger and more expensive repairs.
No baseline to measure decline againstWithout an initial assessment, a facility manager cannot show whether a building's condition is improving, holding steady, or declining year over year.
Capital planning based on age aloneBudgeting for roof or HVAC replacement purely on equipment age, without a physical condition check, leads to premature replacement of sound equipment or late replacement of failing equipment.
Missed structural and envelope issues behind finishesProblems like sealant joint failure, masonry cracking, or foundation settling can be hidden behind interior finishes or landscaping and go unnoticed without a targeted envelope inspection.
Inconsistent scoring between assessorsA facility condition index is only useful for comparison if scored consistently; different assessors using different criteria produce numbers that cannot be compared across a portfolio.
Life safety systems assessed separately from physical conditionFire alarm, sprinkler, and emergency lighting compliance are sometimes left out of a general condition survey, leaving a gap in the facility's overall risk picture.
What a service call includes
- Walking the full site and building, documenting condition of roof, envelope, structure, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems
- Estimating remaining useful life for major building systems and components
- Pricing the cost to repair or replace each deficiency found, using current regional cost data
- Calculating a facility condition index, the ratio of deferred maintenance cost to current replacement value
- Photographing and documenting each finding with location and severity
- Prioritizing findings by urgency, separating life safety issues from cosmetic or long-term capital items
- Delivering a report suitable for capital budgeting and multi-year planning
Preventive checklist
The items a maintenance program should carry for this system. Build a combined checklist across systems with the checklist builder.
Annual
- Commission or update a facility condition assessment as part of annual capital budget planning
- Compare the current facility condition index against the prior year to track trend direction
- Cross-reference assessment findings against the preventive maintenance log to catch systems slipping between the two processes
What it costs
| item | typical range | what moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Facility condition assessment, small to mid-size commercial building | $0.05 to $0.25 per square foot | Level of detail, from a walkthrough survey to a full engineering-grade assessment, drives most of the price variation. |
| Full engineering-grade assessment with system testing | $0.20 to $0.50 per square foot | Includes destructive or invasive testing of select systems, such as roof core samples. |
| Portfolio-wide assessment, per building | 10 to 30 percent discount from single-building pricing | Multi-site engagements typically reduce per-building cost through travel and reporting efficiencies. |
| Facility condition index report update | $1,000 to $5,000 | A lighter update to refresh a prior full assessment rather than a ground-up survey. |
National ranges. Local labor, access, after-hours timing and materials move them. Multi-site programs usually price below one-off calls.
How to choose a provider
- Ask what standard the assessor uses to calculate the facility condition index and whether it is consistent across their client portfolio
- Confirm whether the assessment includes life safety systems or only physical building condition
- Request a sample report to review the level of detail, photo documentation, and cost estimating methodology
- Ask whether the assessor has experience with the specific building types in the portfolio, since a warehouse and a retail storefront have different risk profiles
- Confirm how findings are prioritized and whether the report supports multi-year capital budgeting, not just a single list of repairs
Questions
What is a facility condition index?
It is a ratio comparing the total cost of a building's deferred maintenance and repair needs to its current replacement value, used as a shorthand score for overall building condition.
How often should a facility condition assessment be done?
Most organizations repeat a full assessment every 3 to 5 years, with lighter annual updates in between to track whether condition is improving or declining.
What is included in a facility condition assessment report?
A system-by-system condition rating, remaining useful life estimates, itemized repair or replacement costs, prioritized findings, and photo documentation, often summarized with a facility condition index.
Does a facility condition assessment replace a preventive maintenance program?
No. An assessment is a point-in-time survey used for capital planning, while a preventive maintenance program is the ongoing scheduled work that keeps systems from deteriorating between assessments.