ARP-USA & ICBI acknowledges the tragedy at Champlain Towers South


Posted August 24, 2021 by ICBI_ADMIN

We at ARP-USA & ICBI express our condolences for the victims and those affected by the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida

International Capital Budgeting Institute

Associated Reserve Planners-USA


The Champlain Towers South collapse in Florida was a tragic event that resulted in part from inadequate preventive maintenance activities over a decades long period of time.  It also highlights that too many associations have relied on reserve studies as guidance for their maintenance activities rather than creating formal maintenance plans.  Reserve studies have under served the community association industry simply because too many people have believed that the reserve study represents a maintenance plan.  It is not, the reserve study is simply a budget that is supposed to be based on a maintenance plan that includes both operating preventive maintenance activities as well as major repair and replacement activities.  Only the major repair and replacement activities are contemplated in the reserve study budget.


To help guide associations to perform appropriate maintenance activities and possibly prevent future tragedies from occurring we recommend that all associations engage a competent professional to prepare a formal, customized maintenance plan for their association.  It will still be necessary to perform reserve studies, but the proper on-site component analysis of the reserve study is limited to ascertaining if appropriate preventive maintenance activities have been performed and possibly modifying the planned major repair and replacement activities based on that analysis.  Properly trained reserve study professionals MAY notice conditions that will require corrective action or further evaluation by a qualified, specialized, professional.   We generally recommend that to maintain independence that this specialized professional NOT be the same person or company performing the reserve study.  The purpose of this independent review is to determine what specialized corrective (as opposed to maintenance) actions may be necessary.  Corrective action is often the result of inadequate maintenance activity.  Because reserve studies tend to be scheduled on recurring, relatively short-term time frames of three to five years, reserve studies can act as an early detection system to discover potential required corrective activities.  It is necessary to recognize that the reserve study on-site component analysis is limited to that of a diligent visual observation for the specific purpose of creating a long-term budget.  The reserve study is not a safety inspection. 

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Contact Email [email protected]
Issued By ARP-USA & ICBI
Website ARP-USA.org
Phone (702)605-2394
Business Address 6935 Aliante Parkway, Suite 104 #274
North Las Vegas, NV 89084
Country United States
Categories Architecture , Construction , Engineering
Tags champlain towers south , condo collapse , condominium , engineering report , reserve study
Last Updated August 24, 2021