Committing to the Cost of Ownership

AM Foundational Thinking Miniseries - Reloaded

This continues the Foundational Thinking miniseries with an overview of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicines’ Committing to the Cost of Ownership: Maintenance and Repair of Public Buildings published in 1990.

The purpose of Committing to the Cost of Ownership was to draw attention to the widespread and persistent problem of underfunding maintenance and repair of public buildings. It makes the point that the: “earliest signs of neglect are often subtle and escape the notice of those unprepared by training or experience to recognize them.” It observed that “public policy is failing either by conscious decision, or insufficient foresight, to protect the value of these [public building] assets.” The report contains several recommendations to include:

• “M&R [maintenance and repair] budgets should be structured to identify explicitly the expenditures associated with routine M&R requirements and activities to reduce the backlog of deferred deficiencies,

• An appropriate bu…