The first line of defense for a facility’s assets is the building envelope. The most critical portion of the envelope is the roof. Why? Because it bears the brunt of nature’s seasonal elements and protects the building insulation, an essential part of protecting the facility from excessive energy expenses. Unfortunately, the roof is often the most overlooked part of a facility and oft en only receives attention when issues occur. Typically, the designed lifecycle of a high-performance roof system is 30 years or more, but just like any other part of a facility, roof systems need maintenance to assure that they last through their intended life span.
Unfortunately, the majority of the maintenance of a roof is reactive maintenance, which takes place only after a leak is noticed, or damage occurs. But preventive maintenance is an important part of the overall preservation of a quality roof system. This assures that the system provides the proper thermal and waterproofing protection for a facility throughout its intended life and even beyond.
The best way for facility engineers and managers to assure that their roof systems perform properly is to establish an effective roof maintenance program. This allows them to keep ahead of the problems before they occur. The program should be administered using a roof asset management tool that helps organize and manage the maintenance program, ensur-ing peak performance of roof systems throughout their useful lives. How does a facility manager choose the tool that best suits the facility’s needs? Below is a comprehensive checklist of the criteria that a facility manager should consider when choosing an effective roof asset management tool.
Who Developed It, and Who Will Implement It?
A roof asset management tool can only be as good as the organization providing itand the provider should have thorough knowledge and experience with roofing. The provider should perform site inspections to properly analyze the existing condition of each section and to provide solutions on how to maintain the roof. They should also be on-site during repairs, restorations and the installation of new roof systems to ensure that they are applied properly and essential information is uploaded into the data base for future reports and analyses. The provider should also be able to recommend which options are best suited for the needs of a particular facility.
How Detailed and Comprehensive is the Information?
No two facilities are exactly the same, so it is important to be able to differentiate the separate sections of a facility and to maintain that information in an organized way, collecting and analyzing data on each roof. Most facilities have multiple roof sections that are separated by parapet walls, expansion joints and area dividers. Each section may have a different roof system that may have been installed at a different time than the other roof sections. These sections may have even been purchased from different manufacturers. It is important for a roof asset management tool to have the ability to effectively organize the data for an entire facility in a way that allows the user to easily access the information that is needed. Each roof section should have its own status report with documentation of its manufacturer, system type, warranty, current condition and preventive maintenance program.
Can You Customize the Tool to Meet Your Needs?
Another important aspect of a roof asset management tool is its ability to provide and analyze alternative solutions that have been customized for individual roof conditions and owner concerns. You will want the tool to recommend a preferred option, which may be anything from minor repairs to a complete replacement of the entire roof system. The preferred option is proposed to ensure peak performance of the roof system for years to come. However, the tool should also provide alternative options that take into account concerns, such as how long you intend to own the property and budgetary constraints. In such cases, the available options are intended to restore or repair existing roof systems for continued performance until the preferred option becomes attainable.
How Understandable are the Reports?
An executive summary, describing the condition of the roof and any necessary maintenance or repairs, is essential in a roof asset management report. It serves as a year-by-year preventive maintenance plan that allows the roof system of a facility to perform at peak levels for its intended useful life and beyond. This plan should be established so issues are resolved before they even arise. This will also ensure that the roof system’s overall lifecycle cost will be kept at a minimum. Aft er the provider of the roof asset management tool makes an initial site visit to survey the roof system, you should receive an existing condition report with a list of options and a plan for bringing the roof up to performance levels that comply with good roofing practices. The executive summary should be brief and direct, making it easy to read for busy executives and managers within the company. At the same time, the report should provide sufficient information to educate all concerned parties about the roofing conditions and options so that informed decisions can be made.
Is it a Living Document?
A roof asset management tool should possess the characteristics of a living documentthat is, a document designed to change as circumstances change. The initial survey and report are only the beginning of a process intended to ensure that your facility’s roofing systems last for their designed lifecycle or longer. Roof systems and environments change over the years, and what was applicable five to ten years ago may not apply today. Therefore, the management tool needs to have the flexibility to change along with the facility’s roof systems. Aft er each site visit, the management tool provider should be willing to sit down with the facility manager to go over and update the report. When a new roof system is installed, or even when minor repairs are performed, this information should be included in the management report.
Perhaps the preventive maintenance plan needs to be altered due to an unexpected change in circumstances. The tool must be able to adapt to the new conditions, rather than continually adding information to the end of the report without properly integrating new parameters and concerns into the actual evaluation process. Only this kind of flexibility will ensure that the report continues to be an efficient and effective means of assessing the conditions of the roof system and determining the next step of the preventive maintenance program.
Is it Capable of Real-Time Updates and Sharing?
Another important characteristic of an effective roof asset management program is the ability for facility managers to access realtime information for their facility and other facilities within their organization through the use of a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. An FTP site is a secure and easy way to share files over the Internet. Once it is established, personnel company-wide can access the information in the roof asset management tool. Real-time information can be viewed regarding the current condition of the roof system as well as the progress of major projects that may be underway, serving as a reference for a multiple-facility organization. An FTP site will also allow authorized users access to the files and provides the ability to communicate and add information regarding the roof asset management tool from their computer, and enables on-the-spot sharing of rooft op photos to keep everyone informed of conditions during inspections, repairs, and installations. The key here is ensuring all the documents are real time. The issue with emailing the report is that everybody will end up with different and possibly outdated copies. An FTP site ensures that everybody is viewing the same version of the most up-to-date information available.
In Conclusion
Just as with any other tool in a toolbox, choosing the right management tool for roofing systems is critical to success. You wouldn’t choose a screwdriver to hammer in a nail, when a hammer would be easier and faster. Why not also choose the proper roof maintenance tool to make the job of maintaining roofing systems easier and faster? By using the criteria provided here to choose your roof asset management tool, you can ensure a service life for your roofing systems that matches or exceeds the lifecycle for which they were originally designed. Doing so will not only reduce the lifecycle cost of your roof system; it will save valuable time that your staff can then use to maintain other systems within your facility.
