Managers also must decide who will perform the facility condition assessment — in-house technicians or outside consultants. Each option has its benefits. In-house technicians are no doubt more familiar with their facilities, including their problem areas, while outside experts bring experience to the process related to a broad range of facilities and equipment. The answer can depend in part on skill and experience levels, says Laurie Gilmer, president and chief operating officer of FEA, a facilities management and planning firm.
“Is the person who’s going to perform the condition assessment competent for the systems that they’re reviewing?” Gilmer asks. “Do they know what they’re looking at? If they’re going to look at MEP systems, do they understand what the systems are and what they do so that they can understand then how to assess?”
At some point, managers should involve a professional in the process, given their experience with systems and components in different kinds of facilities, says Lawrence Keenan, senior vice president and director of technical services with Hoffmann Architects + Engineers.
“A professional should be involved in some routine schedule,” he says. “Some inspection or some assessment is better than no assessment. So an assessment by an unqualified eye is better than no assessment at all. Any layman could tell whether or not sealant joints are failing or if brick is bulging.
“That being said, a more qualified inspection done on some regular basis, even if it's pushed out to 10 years, they're going to be able to tell you where your problematic conditions lie and the things to keep an eye on.
Given the staffing challenges in maintenance and engineering departments and the mounting challenges presented by aging facilities, Gilmer says managers also might need to consider bringing in an outside inspector if workloads on in-house technicians are too heavy.
“Sometimes, you may not have the skill level available to you on your team, but what we see more often is that you have the skill level but people just don’t have the time,” she says. “Their resources are stretched thin, and so they need to bring in an outsider who can focus on going to take a look at your systems.”
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He is an award-winning journalist, has spoken at NFMT and other national conferences and has more than 30 years of experience discussing and writing about facilities management, maintenance and operations issues.
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