Basic Building Condition Assessment – Part 1

Basic Building Condition Assessment – Part 1 Prepared for Delivery through AGLEARN

Course Training Objectives • Gain an overview of the Forest Service portfolio of building assets • Understand the distinction between “basic” and “complex” buildings as described by the agency protocol • Learn how to properly conduct condition assessments on “basic” Forest Service buildings using new agency protocols • Learn how to properly document building condition assessments by correctly recording the applicable header information, standard and custom work items and quantities and accomplishment of tasks • Become aware of how building condition assessment data will be input into I-Web for further processing, including automated costing of needs, leading to a determination of building value that is adjusted based upon its condition • Gain some insight in effectively operating, maintaining and managing public facilities

Target Audience • Forest Service engineers, engineering technicians, recreation technicians and other forest, district and lab and station employees designated to conduct building condition assessments and input the related data into I-Web • Contractors employed to conduct condition assessments on Forest Service buildings • Line Officers who desire an overview of the building condition assessment process may also find this course of interest

Training - When and How • Training on the new agency-standard protocols is needed prior to conducting condition assessments of buildings beginning in FY 2008 • The AGLEARN short course is required for everyone conducting assessments on “basic” buildings; a full 3-day classroom and field trip course is required for assessors of “complex” buildings. • There are no pre-requisites for the AGLEARN course, and completion of it will be considered adequate preparation for “basic” inspectors. “Complex” building inspectors need the 3 day course plus construction certification in the “Buildings” category

Part I – Portfolio of Forest Service Buildings

Summary of Forest Service Building Inventory • The Forest Service has over 40,000 buildings, most of which are located on a National Forest, on an Experimental Forest or at a Research Station • They range in size from less than 25 to over 100,000 square feet of floor space • Over 30,000 of these Forest Service buildings fall toward the smaller end of the spectrum, being classified in I-Web as “sheds”, “shelters”, “barns” or “pit and vault toilets”

Definition of a “Building” • From FSH 7509.11, section 05, a building is defined as “a structure to support, shelter, or enclose persons, animals, or property of any kind.” • Bird houses and dog houses are not buildings • A tent is not a building

Buildings (FS-Owned) 31,3340,000 Square Feet Current Replacement Value (CRV) > $5.4 Billion $464,000,000 of Deferred Maintenance 8.6% of Total Value

Most are Old; Many are Historic *Data from 2000

Forest Service Building Value and Condition by Unit https://iweb.fs.usda.gov/cdwreports/Buildings_subcategory_fci_fy04.xls Note: this is a secure link, therefore you must be logged into eAuthentication for it to work. Also note that the +’s on the left side indicate that you can drill down to the unit of interest.

More are Being Added Every Day

Basic and Complex Buildings

Buildings classified as “Basic” • “Basic” buildings generally coincide the ones classified in I-Web as “sheds”, “shelters”, “barns” and “pit and vault toilets” although certainly some barns and shelters especially would be classified as “complex” due to the presence of heating, plumbing and/or electrical systems in them. • For the purposes of conducting condition assessments “basic” buildings are defined as those buildings having no HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), no plumbing and no electrical.

Pictorial Examples of “Basic” Forest Service Buildings Storage Shed Barn Storage Shed Vault Toilet Vault Toilet Moldering Privy Moldering Privy Trail Shelter

We really have a lot of basic buildings!

Complex Buildings • For the purposes of conducting condition assessments “complex” buildings are defined as those buildings having one, two or all of the following components: electrical, heating, ventilation air conditioning, or plumbing. • Only about 1/3 of the Forest Service’s 40,000+ buildings recorded in I-Web would be classified as “complex” for this purpose; the rest are “basic” • The AGLEARN course is the only required training for performing condition assessments on “basic buildings” • To conduct assessments on “complex” buildings completion of a 3-day course is required, as well as certification as a “Buildings” construction inspector

Pictorial Examples of “Complex” Forest Service Buildings Office Barn Office Bath House Vault Toilet Kiosk or Shed Lab Shelter Bunk House

Portable Buildings • There has been some confusion and miscommunication over how to classify portable buildings – sometimes they are classified as real property and sometimes they are classified as personal property • Generally real property is defined as being “any interest in land, together with the improvements, structures, and fixtures, including prefabricated movable structures such as Butler-type storage warehouses and quonset huts, and house trailers with or without undercarriages, and appurtenances thereto, under the control of any Federal agency” • When designated by the agency for disposition separate from the land which underlies them portable buildings convert from real to personal property • Portable buildings may still require condition assessments to inform their value whether they are considered to be real or personal property • Portable buildings which are real property must be input into I-web and may be assessed maintenance fees • Once they become identified for disposition and become personal property they will no longer be assessed maintenance fees

Pictorial Examples of Portable Forest Service Buildings Real Property Barn Real Property Vault Toilet Kiosk or Shed Shelter Portable Toilets Not yet considered “Real” Not Real Property

Temporary Buildings • May be simple, complex or portable, but are not real property • Portable storage buildings and tents are examples • No indication that the FSM addresses temporary buildings or provides different construction or maintenance standards for them • The assumption is that a temporary building would not be stored in the I-Web Inventory System, be assessed CP09 or other maintenance fees – How long is temporary? Maybe one year, but surely not 10 • Temporary buildings might require condition inspections, but as the buildings would not be inventoried in I-Web, neither would the condition surveys

Pictorial Examples of Temporary Forest Service Buildings “Plastic” Storage Building Mobile Tanker Base Tent Temporary Office

Buildings (Leased)

How would you classify this one? Hint: It does not have a permanent roof.

Review Question #1 Select the most correct answer from the following choices: a. All sheds are classified as “basic” buildings. b. A barn with electric lights would be classified as a “complex” building. c. A moldering privy would be classified as a “complex” building. d. Most historically significant buildings are classified as “basic.”

Review Question #2 Select the most correct answer from the following choices: a. A mobile trailer intended for use as a technician office and expected to be in place over a year does not require a condition survey, since it is not classified as real property. b. A large tent used to temporarily shelter competitors for an Olympic event being held on a National Forest is real property and therefore would be assessed maintenance fees. c. A quonset hut used as a work center storage building is real property and therefore would be assessed maintenance fees. d. A plastic toilet building being stored at the work center for use later at a recreation site is real property.

Answers to Review Questions 1 & 2 • Correct Answer to Question 1 – “b” • Correct Answer to Question 2 – “c”

Basic Building Condition Assessment – Part 1