Asset management is a process by which we aim to maximise the benefit from the Council's assets. This process is defined in an Asset Management Plan, which outlines the aims, objectives and targets for our asset portfolio over the short to medium term future.
We collate key asset information into a single data point from which reports can be produced to inform decision makers.
The main criteria for property performance are listed below.
Condition
The condition of the property is assessed based on guidance received from the Scottish Government. The property is scored from A-D with A being the best and D being the poorest. The grades are made up by scoring the main elements that make up the building, for example, roof, walls, internal elements. To provide a baseline, East Ayrshire Council has appointed three contractors to undertake surveys of the entire property portfolio.
The condition of our properties is reported annually to Audit Scotland and the results are available on their website.
Suitability
The suitability of the property is assessed by scoring a number of attributes to come up with a score again A-D as above. The suitability is scored by service users to ensure that service delivery is paramount.
The suitability of our properties is reported annually to Audit Scotland as a statutory performance indicator (Corporate Management 8) and the results are available on their website.
Sufficiency
This is a measure of current and future demands for an asset and can be used to calculate the capacity of an asset as a percentage. Assets that are identified as being over or under utilised can be managed accordingly. Future demand will be determined by service providers and forms part of the departmental service plans.
Sufficiency is normally applicable to the school estate but can be applied to different assets types using different parameters. For office accommodation the capacity can be expressed as m2 per full-time equivalent (FTE) and the Council's long-term strategy is to reduce the current figure of around 22m2/FTE to 12m2/FTE.
Accessibility
This determines the availability of an asset to be used by persons with a disability. Together with DisabledGo we have produced an accessibility audit together with a good practice guide. This provides recommendations to improve the accessibility of each property. We are the first Council in Scotland to undertake an exercise of this type. The results have been used to produce an independently verified assessment of the accessibility of our properties and was reported to Audit Scotland as a statutory performance indicator. The results are available on their website.
Running costs
The running costs for each asset are assessed to assist in the options appraisal of new builds and to assess whether assets are providing value for money. The costs can be used to provide indicators in conjunction with other data, for example, running costs per square metre or occupier or type.
Energy
The energy performance of a building can be used to identify areas where improvements made to the property could increase its energy efficiency.
Since 4 January 2009, we have an energy performance certificate on all its publicly accessed properties with a floor area greater than 1000m2. The certificate is similar to that used on white goods and grades a property A-G based on their CO2 emissions with grade G being the worst.
We continued that exercise beyond the current legislative requirements and are the first Council in Scotland to have an energy performance certificate for all operational properties.
For further information please contact our team, details listed below.