A facility condition assessment (FCA) is how an owner finds out what every building it already runs will need, and when. School districts, universities, hospitals, cities and companies with a campus or a portfolio use one to turn "the boiler is old" into a dated, costed line in a capital plan. This template takes one building at a time and records each major component: how old it is, how long that kind of thing normally lasts, how long you think it has left, its condition on a plain 1-to-5 scale, what should be done, in which budget window, and your estimate of the cost. Fill it in here and download the PDF, or walk it with the app: speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Who an FCA is for
An FCA is written for the owner, not a buyer. Its reader is a facilities director putting together next year's budget, a board deciding between two roof replacements, or a finance team that wants to know how much deferred work is building up across thirty buildings. That changes the questions. A buyer wants to know what is wrong today. An owner wants to know what will be wrong in year four, so the money can be there when it is.
That is also the difference from a property condition assessment, which a buyer or lender commissions on a single property before a deal. The site walk looks similar; the purpose, the reader and the output are not.
One entry per component, not one line per building
A single rating for "HVAC" hides the useful part. A building with two new rooftop units and a thirty-year-old chiller does not have fair HVAC; it has two items to leave alone and one to budget for. So the inventory here is a list you add to: one entry for each component that will need money on its own, named the way your maintenance team names it.
Each entry has the same questions in the same order, which is what lets you sort hundreds of entries across a portfolio into a plan later: by system, by priority band, by building.
Age, expected life and remaining life
Age is how long the component has been in service, from drawings, nameplates, invoices or the people who were there when it went in. Expected life is how long that kind of component normally lasts, from your own records or published life tables. Remaining life is your judgement for this one, and it should not simply be the difference between the two: a well-kept roof can outlast its table life, and a neglected one can fail ten years early.
Write down where the age came from when it is a guess. A plan built on estimated ages is still useful, as long as the reader knows which ones they are.
Priority bands and your own costs
Each component goes in one band: Immediate (this budget year), 1–2 years, 3–5 years, 6–10 years, or nothing planned in the next ten. Anything that is a hazard to people, or a failure that is causing damage now, belongs in Immediate whatever its age. Those, and anything rated Poor or Failed, are pulled into the summary of findings automatically.
The cost of the work is your figure, from your own unit rates, a contractor's price or past jobs, and the form asks what it is based on. It never suggests a number and it never adds them up. If you calculate a facility condition index, there is a place to record the one you worked out and how.
Keeping it current
An FCA is most valuable as a living record. Many owners reassess each building every three to five years and update the entries in between when work is done or something fails. Because the report keeps one entry per component, next time you can start from the same list, change what has changed, and see the plan move.
Common questions
What does a facility condition assessment include?
Usually every major building system — site and paving, structure, roof, exterior walls and openings, interiors, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, fire and life safety, elevators and accessibility — with each component's condition, age, remaining life, recommended action, timing and an estimated cost.
How is an FCA different from a property condition assessment?
A property condition assessment is commissioned by a buyer or lender on one property, usually before a transaction. An FCA is the owner's own tool for planning maintenance and capital spending across the buildings it already has, and it is repeated over time.
What is the facility condition index?
A ratio many owners use to compare buildings: commonly the cost of needed repairs and renewals divided by the building's current replacement value. Definitions vary, so this form does not calculate it. If you work one out, record the figure and the basis in the summary.
What does the 1-to-5 condition scale mean?
5 Very good: new or close to it. 4 Good: sound, needs only routine upkeep. 3 Fair: worn but doing its job. 2 Poor: failing parts, near the end of its life. 1 Failed: not working, or unsafe to rely on.
Can our own maintenance staff carry out an FCA?
Many owners do the walk in-house and bring in engineers or specialists for structure, roofs, elevators or major plant. The form has a place to recommend a specialist for any component you could not judge yourself.
Does the template add up the costs?
No, on purpose. You enter each figure and its basis; totals belong in your capital plan, where you can apply your own inflation, contingency and phasing.