Years ago I managed the condition assessment process and system for a number of facilities, at that time using an application called ReCAPP. That company was then sold to VFA (who had their own product) which I believe was then bought by Accruent. I looked at the VFA solution, but that was also a number of years ago. IBM will also tell you that their Tririga platform has the ability to do condition assessments. I'm sure there are many other systems out there that are comparable.
One that I did use (for reasons I'll explain below) is eComet, by Parsons, the internationally known engineering firm.
There are several important factors to consider when weighing these various systems:
- Will the company using the application have the resources to do the initial population of condition assessment data and then sustain it over time? If they do use their own resources, will the same persons be doing all the assessments (it's critical to have the same pair of eyes or at least consistent criteria when doing condition assessments - one persons' "poor" condition is another persons' "fair").
- The data does go stale - typically not right away, but even with a very thorough assessment, especially if some of the projects are completed, the data should be refreshed every 5 years, if not sooner.
- Costs - understand how the forecasted renewal costs are calculated - did someone actually do an estimate or was it a cost per sf parametric value that was used?
- Understand that, depending on your business, you won't want to drive down to the same level of detail for every system, but every system should be accounted for. I had people ask me why flooring as a system was in the database, as it's replaced by maintenance on an as needed basis or when area remodels were done. Yet when someone needed a figure for an overall building upgrade, that data suddenly became very valuable.
- The company using the application must have a very clear vision as to what is critical to their particular operation, including what systems are critical (e.g. HVAC vs. roofing) as well as understanding the implications of failure for these various systems. Condition assessment applications typically have an algorithm that lets you weight certain systems or conditions, while the less sophisticated ones simply forecast future renewal costs based on theoretical system lifecycles. Different asset types such as the ones you mention makes this exercise even more complex.
- Most or all of these databases are proprietary to some degree, so make sure when you write the contract that if you and the company part ways, there is the possibility to at least get your data out in a flat file for your next system (but there will still be lots of data massaging)
- Understand how (or if) you want the condition assessment app to play with your other platforms. The IBM Tririga platform, for example, has many capabilities well beyond condition assessment, while the others mentioned here are designed solely for that purpose.
As for eComet, here's what was unique about them at the time - many engineering companies will provide condition assessment services, but they use someone else's software (an IBM or Accruent product) to put your data in. Parsons developed eComet internally and continued to refine it based not only on the feedback of their assessors who performed the field assessments but also their clients.
Hope this helps!
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James Rodriguez AIA
Project Manager
Boeing
Torrance CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-05-2018 12:41
From: Michelle Gillette-Murphy
Subject: Building Condition Assessment Software
Seeking thoughts, recommendations, experiences, ideas about Building Condition Assessment Software products. The task is to report on available technology which can accumulate building / facility condition assessments into a database for ease of retrieval to determine building / facility renovation program for government agency with multiple plants including multiple building / facility types including office, laboratory, pumping station, industrial process facilities.
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Michelle Gillette-Murphy AIA
Associate Architect
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC)
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