Building Asset Management

What is a Building Asset Management Program?

Historically, when owners, architects and engineers, roof consultants, contractors, and material suppliers talk about roof or building envelop design, construction, and maintenance, the focus invariably turns to technical issues such as, products, details, construction processes, roof & building conditions, guarantees and pricing.

Building Asset Management starts the discussion of managing buildings from a financial perspective. A building asset management program focuses on roofs and the building envelop as financial assets of an organization. Cost savings, asset valuation, return on investment, budgeting, and capital conservation and allocation issues are where the discussion of building asset management begins and then the discussion proceeds to technical matters.

The Purpose of a Building Asset Management Program:

The purpose of a Building Asset Management Program is to save money and conserve cash. Savings are generated and cash is conserved by (a) extending the lives of roof & building envelop, (b) more timely maintenance, (c) more efficient use of maintenance dollars, and (d) sharing the cost of maintenance with suppliers whose guarantees remain in force. In addition to the savings generated and the capital conserved, the Program provides managers with better tools to control cash flowing to maintenance and capital expenditures.

Building asset management should be proactive. Acting to anticipate the future roofing or envelop needs or changes will ultimately minimize life cycle costs while ensuring the on-going protection of the building. This program is multi-faceted and includes the essential information for maintaining and repairing roofs and building envelops to extend the useful life and for ultimately prioritizing and optimizing expenditures of limited capital when roof replacements appear to be necessary. Limiting capital expenditures requires that not only each roofing and envelop system reaches its maturity, but ideally the service life is extended beyond maturity. The goal of maximizing the roof and building envelop system's service life can be enhanced when the following occur:

Built-in maintenance concerns are designed into each existing and new roof and building envelop system
Quality installation is performed
Maintenance responsibilities are accepted and diligently completed
Response to emergencies is minimized

A Comprehensive Building Asset Management Program Helps to Ensure that:

Costly roof and exterior replacements are deferred and life expectancies are met or exceeded
Financial planning and forecasting is improved
Potential problems are managed proactively rather than reactively
The buildings and contents are better protected

CBAMP (Comprehensive Building Asset Management Program)

1st Choice's Building Asset Management Program (CBAMP) provides owners with an opportunity to approach their assets in a proactive manner thus saving them monies that normally would have been spent being reactive. Many industry studies estimate that for every $1 spent on a comprehensive roof asset maintenance program; $5 is saved through reduced emergency repairs, interior damage, and energy conservation and extended building envelope life. 1st Choice's comprehensive approach offers owners the maximum return on their investment dollars.