Building Condition Assessment RFP in Alberta: Scope Checklist
Writing a Building Condition Assessment RFP for an Alberta facility?
Brookstone Inspection Services Ltd. prepares Building Condition Assessments for municipalities, non-profits, school and church boards, property managers and private owners across Edmonton Metro, Calgary Metro and Central Alberta. Field work is performed by CCPIA-certified inspectors, and reports are reviewed and stamped by APEGA-licensed Professional Engineers.
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A good Building Condition Assessment (BCA) RFP tells consultants exactly which buildings and systems to assess, how deep to go, what cost horizon you need, and what the final report must look like. When those points are clear, proposals become comparable and the report you receive is one you can actually budget from.
Many RFPs are copied from an old tender or a neighbouring municipality. The result is vague scope, proposals priced on different assumptions, and a report that doesn't answer the board's real question. This checklist walks through what to include, section by section.
What Should a BCA RFP Say About the Purpose?
Start with why you need the assessment, because purpose drives scope. A consultant prices a capital-planning BCA differently from a pre-purchase review or a grant-support report.
State plainly whether the report is for:
Capital budgeting over a set number of years.
Asset management or a municipal asset inventory.
A grant or funding application that needs condition and cost evidence.
A purchase, sale or lease decision.
Insurance, risk or board reporting.
One or two sentences here saves pages of clarification questions later.
Which Buildings and Systems Should the Scope Cover?
List every building by address, approximate floor area, year built and use. If you have a portfolio, attach a simple table.
Then name the systems you want assessed. A typical BCA scope includes:
Site: paving, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, landscaping and fencing.
Structure: foundations and framing, based on visual observation.
Building envelope: roofing, walls and cladding, windows, doors and sealants.
Mechanical: heating, cooling, ventilation, plumbing and domestic hot water.
Electrical: service, distribution, lighting and emergency power.
Life safety: fire alarm, sprinklers, emergency lighting and exit signage, observed visually.
Vertical transportation: elevators and lifts, where present.
Interiors: common-area finishes, washrooms and specialty spaces.
Say what is out of scope too, such as hazardous materials testing, destructive testing or code compliance audits, so no one prices them by accident.
How Deep Should the Assessment Go?
Depth is the biggest source of price differences between proposals. Define it in the RFP rather than leaving it to each bidder.
Reference Standard
Name the methodology you expect. At Brookstone, BCA work follows ASTM E2018-24 Property Condition Assessment methodology, adapted to the scope in the written proposal. If you need a different standard or your own municipal template, say so.
Interior Sampling
State how many tenant spaces, classrooms, suites or rooms the consultant should enter. "A representative sample" means different things to different firms. A percentage or a number avoids that.
Specialist Reviews
Decide whether you want specialist add-ons, such as a roofing review, an elevator review, an infrared scan or a building envelope review. List them as optional line items so you can compare them separately.
What Cost Horizon and Cost Detail Should You Ask For?
Specify the planning period and how costs should be presented. Common choices are a 5-year, 10-year or 20-year outlook.
Ask the consultant to provide:
Immediate needs: safety items and deficiencies needing prompt action.
Short-term needs: work expected within the first few years.
A capital forecast: year-by-year Opinions of Probable Cost for each component over your horizon.
Remaining useful life for each major component.
Priority ratings using a scale you define or accept.
If you also need a multi-year funding projection, a separate Capital Reserve Forecast can be scoped alongside the BCA.
What Should the Report and Deliverables Include?
Describe the deliverable you want to receive, in the format your board or council can use.
An executive summary with key findings and total costs by year.
System-by-system narrative with photographs.
A cost table in a spreadsheet you can edit, not just a PDF.
An engineer's review and stamp, if your organisation requires it.
A draft for review and a final report after one round of comments.
A presentation to council, the board or a committee, if needed.
What Should You Ask Consultants to Submit?
Ask for the information you will actually use to score proposals.
Firm experience with similar buildings and owners.
Named staff: who inspects the building and which engineer reviews and stamps the report.
Methodology and the standard followed.
A sample report, redacted, from a comparable project.
Schedule: site visit timing, draft delivery and final delivery.
Fee: a lump sum for the base scope, with optional items priced separately.
Insurance: professional liability and general liability limits.
How Should You Score BCA Proposals?
Publish your scoring criteria in the RFP so bidders know what matters. A simple weighting might look like this:
Understanding of scope and methodology — 30%
Team qualifications and experience — 30%
Schedule and approach — 15%
Fee — 25%
Lowest price alone often rewards the narrowest interpretation of scope. Weighting qualifications and methodology helps you compare like with like.
What Site Information Should the RFP Provide?
Bidders price more accurately when they know what they will find. Attach or describe:
Drawings and past reports, including any previous condition assessments.
Recent capital work such as roof or boiler replacements.
Known problems like leaks, heating complaints or settlement.
Access constraints: occupied spaces, security escorts, roof hatches or after-hours visits.
A site contact who can unlock mechanical rooms and roof access.
What Are Common Mistakes in BCA RFPs?
Most problems come from leaving decisions to the bidder. Watch for these:
No floor areas or building list. Bidders guess, and prices vary widely.
"Full assessment" without a definition. One firm prices a walk-through, another prices testing.
No cost horizon. You receive a deficiency list when you needed a 10-year plan.
PDF-only deliverables. Staff retype cost tables into budgets.
Unrealistic timelines. Winter roofs, snow-covered paving and occupied buildings all need planning.
How Do You Define the Building List for a Portfolio RFP?
For multi-building owners, the building list is the backbone of the RFP. A consultant can't price a portfolio fairly from a sentence like "approximately 20 facilities."
A useful building table includes:
Facility name and civic address.
Gross floor area, even if approximate.
Year built and the years of any major additions.
Primary use, such as office, recreation, library, fire hall, shop or housing.
Number of storeys and whether there is a basement or crawlspace.
Major systems of note, such as a boiler plant, ice plant, elevator or pool.
Priority level, if some buildings must be assessed first.
Ask for pricing per building as well as a total. That lets you drop or add buildings later without re-tendering, and it shows which sites drive the fee.
What Facility Condition Metrics Should You Request?
If the report will be used to compare buildings, ask for consistent metrics across the whole portfolio. Common ones include:
Facility Condition Index (FCI): deferred and near-term repair costs divided by current replacement value. It gives a simple, comparable score per building.
Component condition ratings on a defined scale, such as good, fair, poor and critical.
Remaining useful life for each major component.
Replacement value assumptions, so you know what the FCI is based on.
Our guide on Facility Condition Assessment and FCI for multi-site portfolios explains how owners rank capital needs across several buildings.
How Should the RFP Handle Data and Software?
Many municipalities and institutions already run an asset management or maintenance system. If yours does, the RFP should say so.
Name the system or attach the import template.
Ask for component data in a matching format, such as a spreadsheet with your field names.
Specify component naming, for example UNIFORMAT II categories, if you use them.
Request photo files named or tagged by building and component.
Confirm ownership of data: the owner should be able to reuse the cost tables and photos internally.
Clear data requirements prevent staff from re-keying hundreds of line items after the report arrives.
How Much Time Should the RFP Schedule Allow?
Realistic timelines produce better reports and fewer change orders. When setting dates, consider:
Question period: give bidders at least a week to ask scope questions, and publish answers to everyone.
Proposal period: two to three weeks is common for a multi-building BCA.
Site visits: occupied buildings, after-hours access and roof access all need coordination.
Season: snow-covered roofs and paving limit what can be observed. Summer and early fall usually allow the most complete roof and site review in Alberta.
Review cycle: allow time for staff to review the draft and for the consultant to finalize.
Budget deadlines: work backward from the council or board meeting where the numbers will be used.
What Contract Terms Belong in a BCA RFP?
Most organisations attach their standard consulting agreement. A few terms deserve a second look for BCA work:
Limitation of liability that matches the size and purpose of the assignment.
Reliance: who may rely on the report, such as a lender, funder or partner organisation.
Confidentiality of building information and security details.
Payment milestones, for example on draft and final delivery.
Change process for added buildings or specialist reviews.
Clear terms help bidders price risk accurately rather than adding contingency.
How Do You Handle Questions and Addenda During the Tender?
Fair process protects both the owner and the bidders. A few habits make a big difference:
Accept questions in writing only, through a single contact.
Publish all answers as addenda to every registered bidder, without naming who asked.
Hold an optional site walk for large portfolios, and record attendance.
Clarify scope changes formally. If a question reveals a gap, update the scope in an addendum rather than answering informally.
Set a question deadline a few days before proposals close.
Good addenda also help you later. If the final report is questioned, the record shows exactly what scope was tendered and accepted.
What Happens After You Award the BCA?
A short kickoff meeting sets the project up well. Use it to confirm:
Building access and contacts for each site.
The document list the consultant still needs, such as drawings and past reports.
Safety requirements, including roof access rules and occupied-space protocols.
The draft review process and who will provide consolidated comments.
The presentation date, if the findings will go to council or the board.
After the report is final, assign someone to own the cost table and update it as projects are completed. A BCA is most valuable when it becomes a living capital plan.
Common Questions About BCA RFPs in Alberta
Do we need a separate RFP for each building? Not usually. A single RFP with a building list and per-building pricing works well for portfolios.
Should we ask for a Facility Condition Index (FCI)? If you rank capital needs across several buildings, yes. Ask for FCI by building in the deliverables.
Can a BCA include accessibility or energy reviews? They can be scoped as optional items. Keep them as separate line items so the base BCA stays comparable.
How long does a BCA take? It depends on the number and size of buildings. Ask bidders to state site-visit duration and draft delivery time in their proposal.
How Do You Get a Building Condition Assessment Proposal From Brookstone?
Send your RFP or building list to commercial.brookstoneinspection.com or call 587-333-5530. We'll confirm scope questions before pricing, and fees are confirmed in writing before field work. Our guide on using a BCA for Alberta capital budgets shows how owners turn the report into a plan.
We regularly work with owners, boards and managers in:
Who We Are
Brookstone Inspection Services Ltd. provides commercial property inspections, Building Condition Assessments, Property Condition Assessments and capital-planning services across Alberta. Inspectors are CCPIA-certified, and reports are reviewed and stamped by APEGA-licensed Professional Engineers.
Request Your Building Condition Assessment Quote → · 587-333-5530
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