Joe Holtsclaw, Senior Director, IWMS Administration
11/20/25
Executive Summary
IP&O’s Facilities Condition Analysis (FCA) Unit, part of Integrated Work Management Systems (IWMS) Administration within the Strategic Services group, plays a pivotal role in maintaining the integrity of the university’s asset management database.
This group ensures that asset data is accurate, consistent, and strategically valuable. Their work supports preventive maintenance, capital planning, compliance reporting, operational decision-making, and other mission-critical functions across all campuses.
This document outlines the FCA Unit’s structured approach to asset management, including its origins in data-driven practices, its exclusive control over system access, and its rigorous procedures for asset tracking and repair history. It also highlights the importance of training, communication, and outreach in fostering collaboration with other Institutional Planning and Operations (IP&O) groups.
With a focus on controlled data practices and a commitment to continuous improvement, the FCA Unit maintains the asset database as a trusted foundation for strategic planning. As IP&O advances toward a digital transformation and a unified infrastructure through platforms like Trimble (Project Management) and ServiceNow (Customer Service and Work Management), the FCA Unit’s leadership in data governance will remain essential to achieving long-term operational excellence.
Introduction
Established in 2013, the FCA Unit serves as the gatekeeper of the university’s asset management database. Its core mission is to uphold data integrity and maintain a dynamic, centralized information system that supports both strategic planning and day-to-day operations across all campuses. This centralized approach is vital to effectively shaping the university’s future. This overview is designed to raise awareness of the intricacies involved in maintaining data accuracy and to highlight the important work carried out by the FCA Unit and its dedicated team.
Strategic Roots
The origins of the Facilities Condition Analysis (FCA) Unit are firmly rooted in the principles and practices of asset management. From its inception, the unit was established to provide a structured, data-driven approach to tracking, evaluating, and maintaining the university’s physical assets. This foundation in asset management has shaped the unit’s core responsibilities—ensuring accurate documentation of building conditions, forecasting maintenance needs, and supporting long-term capital planning. By anchoring its mission in asset management, the FCA Unit plays a critical role in preserving the value, functionality, and safety of campus infrastructure.
System Expertise
FCA Unit staff holds exclusive responsibility for creating, editing, and maintaining the university’s asset management database. With substantial expertise in the Asset Management Module of the current work management system, AssetWorks AiM, and immersive participation in the configuration of the asset database in the pending adoption of ServiceNow as IP&O’s new work management system, the team has invested significant time in mastering its procedures and standards to ensure data accuracy and integrity.
Given the database’s critical role in both strategic planning and day-to-day operations—and the complexity and nuance of the data it contains—it is not suitable for general workforce input. To safeguard its reliability, all asset data input and editing is managed solely by the FCA Unit.
The unit is led by an Assistant Director who oversees daily operations, including planning, coordination, and scheduling. This role also manages updates to the Asset Management Module and maintains the barcode label inventory. Two Facilities Coordinators support this effort. They conduct field assessments, verify asset data, apply barcode labels, and enter updates directly into the system—both from the field and at their workstations. It should also be noted that these individuals bring extensive mechanical maintenance experience, enhancing their ability to accurately assess and categorize assets.
Procedural Precision
Clear procedures and standards have been established for reporting asset activity. These guidelines are specifically designed to capture the essential information needed to build and maintain a comprehensive master asset profile within the system.
At the macro level, this master asset profile serves as the backbone of a reliable and accurate database that supports a wide range of functions within IP&O. It enables a robust preventive maintenance program, informs operational maintenance decisions, and provides critical data for regulatory and compliance reporting. Most importantly, it plays a central role in strategic planning and reporting across IP&O.
At the micro level, the process relies on a unique asset number—represented by a barcode label—to ensure each asset is correctly identified and its data accurately recorded. This number is assigned only once and is never reused, reinforcing the integrity of the system. When a new asset is installed, whether as an initial placement or a replacement, a new asset number and barcode label are issued.
The asset number also plays a key role in repair tracking. Its inclusion in a repair work order ensures the activity is properly logged within the master asset profile. Over time, these records form a chronological history of all preventive and corrective work orders associated with the asset, helping supervisors and staff make informed decisions about future maintenance needs.
Training Standards
Ensuring that all relevant personnel are properly trained in asset management procedures and standards is essential to the success of the process. Everyone involved must understand what is expected of them daily. Full comprehension of the methodology—and active participation from supervisors, planner estimators, and mechanics—is critical.
Training resources are readily available through the myPath Training Course Catalog and the Training Resource Library.
Although mechanics do not create work orders, they play a key role by using mobile devices (currently iPads) to enter notes into work orders and maintain preventive maintenance records. Their training, as part of their onboarding process, includes completion of the Work Order Phase Processing Web-Based Training (WBT) session and the Asset Management WBT within their first week. Additional guidance is available in the Asset Management User Guide PDF.
All current Operations and Utilities supervisors and planner estimators, who are responsible for asset maintenance and repair, have received asset management training. New supervisors and planner estimators also complete this training within their first week on the job as part of onboarding. This includes the Work Order Daily Assignment Instructor-Led Training (ILT) session and the Asset Management WBT session.
Communication and Outreach
The ServiceNow implementation is enabling automation that allows Operations and Utilities staff to communicate directly with the FCA Unit to report changes to asset profiles. This streamlined process is expected to enhance the level of detail captured in the database, ultimately supporting deeper and more insightful analysis.
Since 2021, the FCA Unit has conducted “Road Shows”. These sessions strive to create synergies and increase visibility with mechanical maintenance shops on all campuses. These sessions are interactive, with the FCA Unit demonstrating asset management methodologies within the system. During the sessions, mechanics work in the system as well, applying the methodologies while gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Controlled Data Practices
The FCA Unit has worked collaboratively to develop and refine effective field assessment techniques. Unit employees can efficiently gather the necessary asset data and assessment details on-site, entering it directly into the system using laptops or iPads.
Beyond fieldwork, the team has a deep understanding of how the asset data is structured within the system. Each asset record contains more than 20 distinct data points, including make, model, serial number, asset group, cost model, complexity factor, physical life, renewal cost, unit of measure, planning group, and priority. Accuracy is critical—once uploaded, some data fields cannot be edited, leaving no room for error.
To maintain the integrity of this complex and essential database, data entry is restricted to the highly trained FCA Unit. This ensures consistency, reliability, and long-term value across all asset records.
Ensuring Trust
The asset management, work management, and preventive maintenance databases are closely interconnected. The preventive maintenance program, in particular, relies heavily on accurate asset information to generate timely work orders using the correct PM templates and standards. Most of this critical data is housed within the master asset profile in the asset management database.
Thanks to the FCA Unit’s commitment to establishing credibility, developing expertise, and implementing consistent procedures and standards, the Operations and Utilities workforce can trust the accuracy of the preventive maintenance work orders they receive. They can also be confident knowing that the FCA Unit is continuously reviewing, updating, and enhancing the database to ensure data integrity and strengthen the master asset profile.
Toward a Unified Digital Future
Moving forward requires a strong, shared commitment to data integrity across the division. This includes maintaining the FCA Unit’s role as the gatekeeper of the asset database and the central resource for all asset and assessment documentation. Equally important is the commitment from IP&O University Facilities staff to follow established asset activity reporting procedures and to actively collaborate with the FCA Unit to strengthen the asset management database.
These efforts are essential to effective data governance and strategic reporting. They also support the broader goals of implementing a unified workflow and centralized platform—key objectives of both Trimble and ServiceNow.
By working together, a program can be built that is credible, objective, timely, thorough, consistent, and reliable while reinforcing a culture of responsible stewardship across the entire IP&O asset portfolio.
