K-12 Schools
The average K-12 building in the United States is 40 years old. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, 14 million children, more than a quarter of American students, attend school in facilities considered below standard or dangerous and almost two-thirds of schools have building features such as air conditioning that need extensive repair or replacements.
Government
State and Local governments are required to do more with less. Budgets are difficult to balance and rising energy costs aren’t helping. This causes many to defer maintenance and capital expenditures only to be left with failing facilities and building systems that become more difficult to occupy and expensive to operate.
Healthcare
Both public and private Healthcare facilities face a variety of challenges. Most healthcare facilities have complicated systems, areas that do not allow downtime, and critical equipment that require redundancy. There are air quality concerns, infection control issues and critical care areas.
Infrastructure
The challenge of facilities and infrastructure is that when they operate properly, they are, in essence, invisible. Compounding this “invisible” issue is the challenge of finding the money necessary to make the improvements and the ability of community leaders to focus on proactive facility and infrastructure renewal rather than simply repairing items when they break.
No one thinks about the elementary school’s boiler until the heat doesn’t work in February.
No one thinks about stormwater management until Main Street floods.
No one thinks about the electric system until the power goes out.
Throughout time, people have constructed facilities and supporting infrastructure for a variety of societal purposes. Each of them critical to ensuring their community was strong and flourished.
In essence, the facility and infrastructure are simply tools. They create a place for the community’s purposes to be fulfilled. Yet over time, these buildings and infrastructure will age, become inefficient, and breakdown – making it harder for the community to serve their people and fulfill their purposes.
Get in touch today to find out how we can help you make smart, meaningful changes that will help you realize big financial and operational benefits.