Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook - Federal Transit Administration

GUIDEBOOK:

Facility Condition Assessment

Federal Transit Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background and Purpose ........................................................................................ 1

1.2 Document Organization ........................................................................................... 1

1.3 Legislative Background............................................................................................ 1

2.0 Reporting and Data Requirements................................................................................... 3

2.1 Reporting Procedures .............................................................................................. 3

2.2 Data Requirements.................................................................................................. 4

2.2.1 Facility Types ............................................................................................ 4

2.2.2 Inventory Data........................................................................................... 5

2.2.2 Condition Assessment Measure ................................................................ 9

2.3 Summary ............................................................................................................... 10

3.0 Condition Assessment Procedures ............................................................................... 12

3.1 Overview ............................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Facility Components and Sub-Components ........................................................... 13

3.3 Condition Assessment Guidelines and Rating Descriptions ................................... 16

3.3.1 Condition Assessment Rating Scale .......................................................... 16

3.4 Condition Assessment Procedures ........................................................................ 18

3.5 Aggregation Approach ........................................................................................... 23

Alternative 1. Weighted Average Condition ...................................................... 23

Alternative 2. Median Value ............................................................................. 24

Alternative 3. Alternative Weighting.................................................................. 26

3.6 Quality Management.............................................................................................. 27

4.0 Appendices...................................................................................................................... 29

4.1 Definitions.............................................................................................................. 29

4.2 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component........................................................ 30

4.2.1 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component: Administrative/ Maintenance

Facilities........................................................................................................... 30

4.2.2 Condition Rating Descriptions by Component: Passenger Facilities ........ 40

4.3 Sample Administrative/Maintenance Facility Condition Assessment Form............. 50

4.4 Sample Passenger Facility Condition Assessment Form ....................................... 51

4.5 References ............................................................................................................ 52

FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook

1.0 Introduction

1.1 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). 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.

1.2 Document Organization

This guidebook is organized into four main sections:

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Section 1 describes the scope of this document and provides a brief policy background,

linking this guidance to the requirements of the NTD.

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Section 2 outlines data requirements and definitions relating to reporting facility

condition data.

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Section 3 details facility components and sub-components, and provides instructions on

how to assess their condition.

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Section 4 presents a set of appendices, including a glossary of terms, example forms,

and references.

1.3 Legislative Background

The guidance presented here is intended to help agencies fulfill data requirements outlined by

Title 49, ¡ì5335 of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.): National Transit Database. As described in 49

U.S.C. ¡ì5335, 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

¡ì5307 or ¡ì5311 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.

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 U.S.C. ¡ì5335. 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

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FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook

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.¡±

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.

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FTA Facility Condition Assessment Guidebook

2.0 Reporting and Data Requirements

2.1 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 ¡ì5307 or ¡ì5311 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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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