Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook

1 Guidebook : Facility Condition Assessment Federal Transit Administration Department of Transportation Table of Contents Introduction .. 1 Background and Purpose .. 1 Document Organization .. 1 Legislative Background .. 1 Reporting and Data Requirements .. 3 Reporting Procedures .. 3 Data Requirements .. 4 Facility Types .. 4 Inventory Data .. 5 Condition Assessment Measure .. 9 Summary .. 10 Condition Assessment Procedures .. 12 Overview .. 12 Facility Components and Sub-Components .. 13 Condition Assessment Guidelines and Rating Descriptions .. 16 Condition Assessment Rating Scale .. 16 Condition Assessment Procedures .. 18 Aggregation Approach .. 23 Alternative 1. Weighted Average Condition .

2 23 Alternative 2. Median Value .. 24 Alternative 3. Alternative 26 Quality 27 Appendices .. 29 Definitions .. 29 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component .. 30 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component: Administrative/ Maintenance Facilities .. 30 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component: Passenger Facilities .. 40 Sample Administrative/Maintenance Facility Condition Assessment Form .. 50 Sample Passenger Facility Condition Assessment Form .. 51 References .. 52 FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook 1 Introduction Background and Purpose The objective of this Guidebook is to detail the methodology for transit agencies to use for measuring and reporting Facility conditions of administrative, maintenance, and passenger facilities to the National Transit Database (NTD).

3 This information on Facility conditions is intended to supplement other Facility -related information entered in the NTD Asset Inventory Module and fulfills the reporting requirements for the Transit Asset Management Performance targets. Document Organization This Guidebook is organized into four main sections: Section 1 describes the scope of this document and provides a brief policy background, linking this guidance to the requirements of the NTD. Section 2 outlines data requirements and definitions relating to reporting Facility Condition data. Section 3 details Facility components and sub-components, and provides instructions on how to assess their Condition . Section 4 presents a set of appendices, including a glossary of terms, example forms, and references.

4 Legislative Background The guidance presented here is intended to help agencies fulfill data requirements outlined by Title 49, 5335 of the Code ( ): National Transit Database. As described in 49 5335, the NTD serves to gather uniformly categorized financial, operating, and asset Condition information from transit agencies to assist with public transportation service planning and investment. The resulting information and organization of the NTD is intended to help any level of government make investment decisions. Any organization receiving funds under 5307 or 5311 must report data consistent with the uniform requirements for inclusion in this database. The FTA uses NTD data to apportion funding to transit agencies across the country, with separate funding programs for transit agencies that operate in urbanized and rural areas.

5 Agencies that operate in both urban and rural areas may receive or benefit from both funding programs. In order to receive funding from the FTA, transit agencies must report to the NTD in a compliant manner. The transportation reauthorization legislation Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) contains several provisions impacting 49 5335. Section 20025 of MAP-21 specifically adds asset Condition information to the scope of the NTD. Section 20019 clarifies the need for this information. It includes a definition of a transit asset management plan to be required of grant recipients, and a requirement that Secretary of Transportation develop a FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook 2 definition of state of good repair (SGR) that includes standards for measuring the Condition of capital assets of recipients, including equipment, rolling stock, infrastructure, and facilities.

6 Given that the NTD did not previously include data on Facility conditions, MAP-21 effectively created a new requirement that this data be added to the NTD to support requirements for transit asset management plans and calculation of SGR-related measures. This Guidebook offers a methodology for defining, gathering, and reporting this new Facility Condition data. FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook 3 Reporting and Data Requirements Reporting Procedures The NTD Policy Manual lists requirements regarding collecting and reporting financial data, service data, and safety data, collected annually from all transit agencies receiving or benefiting from 5307 or 5311 formula grants. The NTD defines several reporting types depending on the size of the agency in question and whether they fall into the category of Urban or Rural.

7 Medium, large, and some small agencies are Full Reporters, which require monthly reports, while smaller agencies are often in the category of Reduced Reporting and submit on an annual basis. Agencies required to submit an Annual Report must do so four months after the end of that agency s fiscal year end date. Following this deadline, there is a four-month revision period during which the report is reviewed and can be revised by agency reporters and NTD analysts to ensure that it is compliant. For full reporting agencies, the required monthly reports are due on the last day of the month following collection. For more detail, refer to the NTD Policy Manual Introduction, which further defines agency categories and associated reporting requirements.

8 Facility Condition data must be reported as part of a reporter s Annual Report. However, this does not imply that Condition data must be collected annually. It is understood that it would be time consuming for agencies to reassess Facility conditions annually. Thus, FTA requires that Facility Condition data be fully updated every three years at a minimum. Each report must include updated Facility Condition data incorporating any assessments completed since the last report. For an agency with a single Facility the above requirements may translate into performing a Condition Assessment on the Facility every three years. In contrast, a larger agency would likely perform Condition assessments on an annual cycle, each year updating approximately a third of its data.

9 Alternatively an agency might choose to assess conditions of selected facilities on a more frequent cycle. When reporting Facility conditions, a reporter is required to specify the overall Condition for each Facility detailed in the agency s asset inventory using the scale described in the next section. This overall Condition is derived from Assessment of the Condition of individual components of the Facility . Agencies are not required to report more detailed component-level data, but are encouraged to retain this information for their own use and recordkeeping. In addition to reporting Facility conditions, it is recommended that larger agencies document their procedures for performing Condition assessments, including procedures for performing inspections, and assuring/controlling data quality.

10 Similar to other aspects of an agency s activities related to NTD reporting, these procedures may be subject to review by FTA. Note agencies are not required to prepare such documentation, but are encouraged to do so as good management practice. FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook 4 Data Requirements This section defines what data on facilities are required to be collected. The NTD Policy Manual offers definitions on what building types must be assessed, while the FTA s Asset Inventory Model (AIM) details what data specifically must be reported on each Facility type. Facility Types The Condition Assessment data must be gathered on all facilities as defined by the FTA. The definitions for different types of facilities are listed below.