Condition

A ssessm ent

Condition A ssessm ent

Definition

A process for rating the physical condition of an asset

A process of systematically evaluating an organization’s capital
assets in order to project repair, renewal, or replacement needs to
preserve their ability to support the mission or activities they were
assigned to serve

Usually a standardized approach for converting distress (e.g. a
crack) into overall rating

Many assets can be rated through a visual inspection

Important for comparing condition of different assets

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 Condition A ssessm ent
Definition

Condition assessment is the most important function in asset
management process.

Its results represent the start point for other functions such as
deterioration or repair selection

It is worth to mention that, some systems (e.g., RECAPP) can use
only the assessment results directly to generate a repair priority list,
without using functions for deterioration or detailed life-cycle
analysis

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Condition A ssessm ent

Why

Avoid premature asset failure, leaving open the option of cost-
effective repair or rehabilitation

Plan for and manage the required level of service

Risk management of asset failures and mitigation of consequence of
failures

Accurate prediction of future expenditure requirements through
understanding remaining asset life and capital investment needs

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 Condition A ssessm ent
Condition and Performance

Condition describes the physical state of the asset

Can be directly measured

Has a standard approach to calculate condition rating

Used to determine the need and timing of preventative or
remedial action to prevent loss of service or economic loss

Performance describes how well the service delivered

stakeholder needs expectations

Measured in terms of reliability, availability, and capacity

Used to compare actual performance against service standards
or design criteria
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Condition A ssessm ent

Condition and Performance

Examples

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 Condition A ssessm ent
Condition Rating system
Condition Description
0 Excellent condition, new asset
1 Very good condition
No maintenance required
2 Good condition, regular maintenance (5%)
3 Fair condition, maintenance required to
return to accepted level of service (15-
20%)
4 Poor condition, major maintenance or
renewal (20-40%)
5 Very poor, asset unserviceable,
replacement is required (>50%)
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Condition A ssessm ent

FHWA Bridges Rating system
Rating Description
9 Excellent condition , new condition: No noteworthy deficiencies

8 Very Good condition: No repair needed

7 Good condition: some minor problems for minor maintenance
6 Satisfactory condition : some minor deterioration for major maintenance

5 Fair condition: minor section loss, cracking or scour for minor rehabilitation,
minor rehabilitation is needed
4 Poor condition: Advanced section loss, deterioration or scour for major
rehabilitation
3 Serious condition: section loss, deterioration or scour have seriously
affected primary structural components for immediate rehabilitation
2 Critical Condition: Advanced deterioration of primary structural elements for
urgent rehabilitation. The bridge may be closed until corrective action is
taken
1 Imminent failure condition: Major deterioration or section loss present.
Bridge may be closed to traffic but corrective action may put back in light
service
0 Failed condition: out of service and is beyond corrective action

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Condition Assessment Process

Develop an asset hierarchy

Set the appropriate evaluation mechanism

Field inspection (visual, metrics, …)

Condition analysis

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Asset Hierarchy

An essential step for condition assessment, a building is
hierarchically decomposed into its main components

The hierarchy tries to classify and cluster these components under
different categories

For example, a building can be divided into different disciplines or
systems (electrical, mechanical, structural …etc.), that can further
be divided into a more detailed level till the component level
(interior doors, exterior doors, windows, ceiling …etc.)

The grouping of components into a branch in the hierarchy may be
done to reflect similar characteristics (e.g., materials), similar
inspection needs, or similar deterioration behavior, etc.
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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Asset Hierarchy

A building could be divided based on its Construction
Components (MasterFormat): Steel framing; Masonry walls;
Asphalt shingle roof; Carpeted floors, etc.

Or based on Functional Components (UniFormat): Foundation;

Exterior Walls; Roof; Partitions; HVAC; Lighting, Etc.

One of the standard hierarchies used by many researchers is the

UNIFORMAT II

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Asset Hierarchy – UniFormat II

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Asset Hierarchy – UniFormat II

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Asset Hierarchy: Builder

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Asset Hierarchy: RECCAP

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Condition Evaluation

Evaluating the condition of an asset component can be performed
by: a distress survey and/or a direct condition rating

The distress survey procedure most accurate and reproducible
approach. It also provides a record of what's wrong with the
inspected component.

The direct condition rating is less accurate but faster method for
performing a condition survey. It involves visually inspecting each
component and evaluating that item against a set of criteria.

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Condition Evaluation

To decide between the use of a direct rating or a distress survey, it
is important to know the purpose of the assessment

To merely identify the condition of the component, then the direct
condition rating approach is sufficient

If the purpose is to identify current problems / failures, then the
distress survey approach should be used

The values of the condition indices provide means for comparing
the condition of various components.

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Condition Evaluation

For a condition index scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents a
critical (failure) condition and 100 represents a new condition.

A linguistic representation can be made from the numeric values

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Inspection and Data Collection

Evaluating the condition for building components using a distress
survey requires full knowledge about the deficiencies that the
component can suffer from

To detect these distresses and measure its severities, a systematic
approach for field inspection becomes crucial

The mission of the inspection process is to obtain or get the
required data to calculate and/or measure the performance or to
evaluate the condition

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Inspection and Data Collection

Inspection should be performed in a fashion that is consistent,
accurate, and less subjective

To standardize the process, check deficiency lists are developed ,
these lists can be either in a paper form or in an electronic form

The inspection process could be done using robots, images, satellite
technology, automated devices, and/or smart sensors,

Inspection methods could be categorized into four main groups:

• Visual inspection; • Photographic and optical methods;

• Non-destructive evaluation methods; and • Smart sensors.

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Inspection and Data Collection

Builder deficiency Checklist

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Inspection and Data Collection

Example: Windows deficiencies

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Inspection and Data Collection

Example: Relative weight of deficiencies

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Analysis of Inspection Data

As the inspection process provides measurements of the severity
and density of component deficiencies, some analyses are required
to translate these measurements into a condition value.

Once the condition of a component is calculated, it is used to
calculate the condition at any level in the asset hierarch.

Empirical or regression-based formulas are often used to express
the component condition based on some critical measurements.

Using a deficiency list as used in the BUILDER, field measurements
can be easily used to calculate condition index

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process
Analysis of Inspection Data

One way of calculating the condition, having a specific list of
deficiencies, their weights and their severities. The weights are
normalized so that the summation of weights = 100%.

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Condition A ssessm ent Process

Analysis of Inspection Data

For example, if a component has four deficiencies D1, D2, D3, & D4
with weights 10, 30, 45, & 15, respectively

If the corresponding severities are 25, 30, 10, & 15

then the CI= 100 – (10x25+30x30+45x10+15x15)/100 = 81.75,

Which implies that the component is in good condition

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 Condition A ssessm ent Process

Pavement Condition Rating (Index)

Sewer Pipes Condition Assessment

Water Mains Condition Assessment

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