Identifying condition based work for a property portfolio – where do I start?

For most portfolio holders with little data this is a big problem. The collection of appropriate data to measure the performance of the property portfolio and ensure that required actions and work can be programmed effectively can be both expensive and time consuming; but without data the consequences are very much more costly. The starting point, therefore, must be data.

The two principal issues with data are reliability and cost of collection. Unfortunately these two issues are in conflict, that is reliable data is generally more expensive to collect.

There are a number of ways property data can be collected but for the purposes of this discussion I have classified them into four:
1. Judgement forecasting – relying on local managers, surveyors and contractors knowledge to assess the condition of properties and forecast what actions and work is required to them;
2. Modelling based on existing data sources – building a symbolic model of each property and associating data from, for example, planned preventative maintenance records;
3. Non intrusive assessments – a typical condition survey; and
4. Schedule of work required – a list of tasks required to be carried out.
The reliability of these is illustrated below:

Many of the organisations I meet currently use judgement forecasting supported by an out-of-date assessment. This is not surprising as to move from this position to, say, one of up-to-date real-time assessments is both costly and time consuming.

Rather than attempting a big leap forward, with all is implications on cost, resources and risks, I often find myself recommending an approach that incrementally improves the position. This approach is to initially model the data using as much of the available reliable data as possible including any judgement forecasting data. The outputs from the model can then be used to identify properties where action is a priority. Assessments can then be carried out on the properties identified. Based on the assessments costed schedules of work can be prepared to finally feed the decision as to what should happen to each identified property. Throughout the whole of this process, which should be continuous, the model should be updated with the most reliable data available

This approach has the following benefits:
1. Concentrating money and effort where the benefits are highest;
2. Continuously improving the property data at the lowest cost;
3. Improving the situation almost immediately; and
4. Capturing structured data thus improving accessibility and usability.