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Committing to the Cost of Ownership Maintenance and Repair of Public Buildings (1990) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Maintenance and Repair Component of the Cost of Ownership
Pages 17-20

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From page 17...
... In general, the following factors can have a major influence on the appropriate level of M&R expenditures: Building size and complexity Types of finishes Current age and condition Mechanical and electrical system technologies Telecommunications and security technologies · Historic or community value · Type of occupants or users · Climatic severity · Churn (i.e., tenancy turnover rates) · Criticality of role or function 17
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From page 18...
... Typical maintenance expenditure per square foot is frequently used as a yardstick for determining what an appropriate level of M&R budgeting should be, but such a measure is insufficiently sensitive to either external financial conditions or building characteristics. The relationship is better stated in terms of an annual percentage of the inventory's current replacement value.
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From page 19...
... If an inventory of buildings receives an adequate level of M&R funding, a steady-state situation should exist wherein the inventory would remain in a service condition that would neither decline nor improve and a backlog of deferred deficiencies would not develop.~3 However, if a backlog exists, it is unlikely to be reduced by expenditures limited to the 2 to 4 percent level. Further deterioration will occur if the backlog is not reduced, and the ultimate cost of correcting the deficiencies will increase.
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From page 20...
... If the backlog has been eliminated, maintenance spending may be reduced to levels truly required to maintain adequate facility performance. Escrow or set-aside accounts may be established to preserve funds budgeted but not actually expended in a given year due to favorable use conditions (e.g., warmer or drier than average weather or lower than typical utilization)
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Key Terms

  • current replacement
  • condition assessment
  • proposed range
  • term economies
  • deferred deficiencies

  • public sector
  • building diagnostics
  • maintain adequate
  • sector requires
  • effectively utilized

  • own inventory
  • total budget
  • school district
  • expectation depends
  • research board

  • building characteristics
  • cumulative result
  • diagnostic assessments
  • larger quantities
  • complexity types

  • annual percentage
  • past neglect
  • normal range
  • activity applied
  • substantial renovation

  • square foot
  • reliable estimate
  • security technologies
  • budgeting rule
  • backlog growth


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