64 



Appendix III 



SevermJ Agencies Are Ajaessing R&D 



Facilitiefl' Fundisg NeecU and Missions 



Both NOAA and epa officials stated that a repair request typically must 

 reach a critical stage before it is funded. In particular, noaa facilities 

 managers stated that maintenance and repair funding of $2.9 million per 

 year is inadequate to bring the condition of noaa's laboratory facilities up 

 to an acceptable level within a reasonable period of time, especially with 

 an increasing backlog of maintenance and repair projects that currently 

 exceeds $38 million, epa facilities managers similarly noted that a recent 

 survey of field offices identified $120 million in needed repairs and 

 improvements for epa's laboratory facihties, while only $12.1 million was 

 appropriated for such expenses in fiscal year 1993. 



Routine Maintenance and 

 Repair 



The National Research Council's Building Research Board, in its report 

 Committing to the Cost of Ownership: Maintenance and Repair of Public 

 Buildings , noted that the underfunding of maintenance and repairs of 

 public buildings is a widespread and persistent problem. The Board 

 recommended that 2 to 4 percent of the current replacement value for a 

 substantial inventory of facilities (excluding land and mjyor associated 

 iitfrastructure) be allocated each year for routine maintenance and repair. 

 The Board further stated that this funding level (1) should be used as an 

 absolute minimum value in the absence of specific iivformation upon 

 which to base the maintenance and repair budget and (2) excludes funds 

 for operations, alterations, and the reduction of any backlog of repairs. 

 According to the Board's Director, this recommended guideline is 

 intended to encourage government agencies to develop a maintenance and 

 repair program on the basis of the appropriate service life of roofs, hvac 

 systems, and other building components. Whether a facility is at the high 

 or low end of the 2- to 4-percent range primarily depends on the (1) age of 

 buildings and utility systems; (2) level of use of the buildings, which 

 affects utility systems requirements; (3) type of construction — permanent 

 versus temporary; (4) climate; and (5) structure of the maintenance 

 organization. For example, hospitals and r&d laboratories have a 

 substantially greater level of use of a building's ventilation, electrical 

 power, and other utility systems than office buildings because of the 

 former's greater functional needs and concerns about health and safety, 

 reliability, and adaptability. Accordingly, a greater proportion of hospitals' 

 and R&D laboratories' current replacement value would generally be spent 

 on maintenance and repair than on office buildings. 



As shown in table 111. 1, ars and nasa spent at least 2 percent of their 

 laboratory facilities' current replacement value on routine maintenance 

 and repair in fiscal year 1992. The other six agencies spent a lower 



