Computer‐aided facilities management and facility conditions assessment software

The economic recession in the USA during the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted in many organizations putting off scheduled maintenance of their physical plants. This has resulted in an enormous deferred maintenance backlog that companies are just beginning to attack. Software products are beginning to appear that take the building deficiency data collected during a physical audit and combine it with other data such as cost spreadsheets, financial investment models and computeraided facilities management (CAFM) software. Such integrated software, which can incorporate multimedia information, is proving to be a powerful forecasting and strategic planning tool for management. Describes the technology involved in conditions assessment and how it is being used for real property and facility assessment purposes.