When is the right time to change out equipment? When repair costs begin to escalate? When it has reached the end of its rated life even if it is not showing any signs of problems? When observed conditions indicate that it is worn out? When spare parts become difficult to procure? When the application is too critical to go down unexpectedly?
The answer, of course, is all of these reasons are good reasons to change out old, aging, worn equipment. The challenge is balancing all of those tools and prioritizing which criteria is the base for a given situation. Understanding that we all have finite capital budgets to work with, we need to objectively determine which replacement will yield the best result.
You and your staff probably have a pretty good idea for the majority of the equipment or building systems that need to be addressed, but sometimes it pays to get a fresh set of eyes on the problem. A building condition assessment from an independent professional could be the resource you need to make these tough decisions. An outside professional with facilities experience can provide a dispassionate opinion based on the observable conditions of the building systems or equipment. In addition, their report will provide you with objective data that you can use internally to secure the funding that you need for the capital improvements. If done correctly, the report should provide you with photographs and the logic used to arrive at the prioritized recommendations that will help the executives understand the reasons for your selections as well as the urgency for any needed updates.