INNOVATION March-April 2012

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standards have come from recognized institutions such as: the Canadian Standards Association (CSA); American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM); Construction Specification Institute (CSI); and their European ISO counterparts to name a few. Technical standards for facility condition audits, building life cycle costing analysis, and building cost benefit life cycle analysis already exist. The CSI UniFormat method of information organization, which is based on functional assemblies rather than individual components, appears to be tailor-made for the common property inventory clas- sification. It appears however there is no single standard which would apply to the whole of the report. Since standards for parts of the report are already developed, accepted by industry and have stood the test of time, there is no need to “reinvent the wheel” or develop a standard in isolation. Instead, it is possible to assimilate the information that has already been developed to bring together a comprehensive technical standard for the depreciation report and the qualifications of the report provider. Such a move would facilitate training and the transfer of know- ledge and experience to younger engineers, promote public trust, and bring accuracy and consistency to the strata depreciation report. v Jeff Renwick PEng is the principal of Bamtec Engineering, a firm that conducts facility condition audits and depreciation reports across BC. Jeff can be reached at jeffr@bamtec.ca.

One of the key elements to this is to understand that when we present a report to the strata, we not only represent our individual firms, but that we also represent engineers as a group. It is in our interest as a group and profession, to present to the strata accurate and consistent information with a high level of integ- rity. As the strata council are composed of people from all walks of life, the information needs to be provided to the strata in a way that such a diverse group can understand. One way we can maintain a consistent perception of the report information is through standardization of the reports. As each engin- eering firm is unique, each firm will have a different approach to the methodology of the report preparation and the level of service they wish to provide. However it is important that all the reports generally present similar information at the end of the day. Since the reports are now substantially a national requirement, it seems reasonable that a national standard for the report and the qualifications of the report provider would filter out the de-stabilizing effects of inconsistent and non-professional work. Who or which body does that is a subject for further discussions and debates; however there is merit in the BC Government’s not trying to closely define the technical requirements of the report. That task is best left up to the people and organizations with specialized training and knowledge of the subject at hand. Certainly, our engineering world is defined by standards and specifications, and in my experience, the most meaningful

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client: Lynne Cruz