PCA is an overall technical, building systems review process of commercial facility or property from commercial, industrial to institutional buildings in finding out most obvious deficiencies and highlight them in categories of immediate, short term to longer term repairs or replacement costs. PCAs are typically written for the purpose of property acquisition.

The standards of PCA are mostly based on the ASTM E2018 Standard for Property Conditions Assessments: Baseline Property Condition Assessment and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Protocols for Building Condition Assessment.

Basic level PCAs are primarily a financial tool to identify overall condition, fatal flaws, and cash flow over a specified period of time. These reports are typically done quickly to meet the schedule of the loan process and interest rate lock. These reports are rarely used by management or maintenance staff for day to day property maintenance. Due to the speed of completion, Baseline PCAs are typically light on assessment and take a limited approach in estimating costs. These PCAs are primarily financial tools used by lenders. A financial model is based upon extrapolation from a limited body of actual information and relies upon professional insight rather than extensive physical observation of condition. Report writers typically lean towards simple and abbreviated critiques of the properties. Little technical information is provided. The reports are intended for financial rather than maintenance purposes.

Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) provides a targeted approach to managing the repair and upkeep of your facility usually over a 20 year period. They can be used to input to Asset Management or standalone health report on a particular facility which helps the owner to come up with their capital planning for the facility in a more detailed, timely manner.

Users should consider their requirements, the purpose that the PCA is to serve, and their risk tolerance level before selecting the consultant and the level of due diligence to be exercised by the consultant. The user should also review or establish the qualifications, or both, of the proposed field observer and PCR reviewer prior to engagement.”

Energy Star Certification of a building is managed by Natural Resources of Canada (NRCan) in conjunction with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency of US) by using their computer program, Portfolio Manager tool helps the owner measure and track the energy and water use, waste and materials and greenhouse gas emissions of your buildings, all in a secure online environment. At the end, a comprehensive report will be generated for the user.

By participating in the Energy star Certification, you can use the results to identify underperforming buildings, set investment priorities, verify efficiency improvements and receive NRCan or EPA recognition for superior energy performance.