Time for a Roof Asset Management System?

When property managers take over a facility, whether they are looking after commercial, industrial or residential roofing, we highly recommend they create a roof asset management plan. This generally means having all of the following information in one convenient place:

• Photographs of the roof.
• Location on a site drawing.
• Computer-assisted drawings of the roof.
• Square footage and measurements.
• The year the roof was installed.
• Type of roof system, deck and materials used.
• Location of roof access points.
• Assessment of the roof’s condition.
• Temperature measurements (external and internal).
• Schedule of work for the next 10 years, plus cost estimates.
• It also helps if the previous owners have kept past work orders.
• All warranties and other material information.

In short, when a property manager knows what happened on the roof in the past and knows its projected life, scheduling a program of repairs, re-roofing and budgeting become much easier.

Once all these things are in hand, a property manager is able to create a timeline for future repairs, as well as a budget that will accommodate all future roofing needs. The roofing plan should be reviewed and updated annually, especially as the cost of materials and labor change. In addition, unexpected damage must be taken into account.

The good news is that property managers don’t have to tackle this mound of paperwork all by themselves. Many professional roofing contractors can recommend a software program that will document and record services, quotes, photographs, and other key information. However, what property managers should be looking for is a program with the following abilities:

• A secure, cloud-based program.
• On-site and remote access.
• Functionality to track historical, current and future work.
• Real-time invoicing.
• Budget planning.
• Storage of condition surveys.
• Real-time access to photos, documents, warranties, building info and work order status.

Depending on your software, the roofing asset management program may be part of a larger program that tracks all aspects of facility. Conversely, some contractors (including Global Roofing Group actually offer a roof asset management program as part of their service plan.