Beginning the Dialogue - Report on SGR - Federal Transit ...

Defining and Measuring SGR
r OVERVIEW
Defining and Measuring State of Good Repair
FTA State of Good Repair Workshop
What exactly is meant by a “state of good repair”? In
<strong>the</strong> absence of a clear and widely-shared definition
and reliable measures of SGR, pursuing a state of
good repair can be challenging. Without such a
definition, local agency decision-makers will struggle
to 1) establish an operational policy of attaining SGR,
2) determine what it will take to reach that objective,
and 3) determine when (or if) that goal has been
attained. Therefore, this paper considers (but does
not fully answer) <strong>the</strong> following questions:
n How should <strong>the</strong> transit industry define SGR?
n How can SGR (or movement towards or away
from SGR) best be measured?
n Should <strong>the</strong> concept of SGR be based entirely on
asset physical condition or should issues of
technological obsolescence or desired service
performance be embedded in <strong>the</strong> concept?
r DEFINING STATE OF GOOD REPAIR
Before being able to measure SGR it is first
necessary to define what SGR means. The table at
right presents several definitions of “state of good
repair” as applied by a sample of U.S. transit
operators. These definitions include a mix of
concepts – including specific reinvestment guidelines
(when should specific asset types be replaced?),
asset performance standards investment (ensuring
assets are functioning at <strong>the</strong>ir “ideal capacity”) and
investments that address deferred needs. Despite
<strong>the</strong>ir differences, <strong>the</strong>se definitions are essentially a
variation on <strong>the</strong> basic <strong>the</strong>me that assets are in a
“state of good repair” when all life cycle investment
needs have been addressed – including preventive
maintenance, rehabilitations and scheduled
replacement needs – resulting in <strong>the</strong> general
absence of deferred investment needs. While this
characterization of SGR represents a notional ideal (it
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is impossible to maintain this ideal state as scheduled
rehabilitation and replacement activities arise
continuously), it does provide an objective (if
unattainable) investment target and a standard
against which current conditions can be measured.
Transit Agency Definitions of State of Good
Repair (SGR)
Agency
CTA
Cleveland
RTA
MBTA
NJT
NYCT
SEPTA
Definition
CTA defines SGR primarily in terms of standards:
• Rail lines should be free of slow zones and have
reliable signals.
• Buses should be rehabbed at 6 years and
replaced at 12 years.
• Rail cars should be rehabbed at quarter- and
half-life intervals and replaced at 25 years.
• Maintenance facilities should be replaced at 40
years (70 years if rehabbed).
State of good repair projects are those needed to
bring <strong>the</strong> system to a consistent, high quality
condition system-wide.
A state of good repair standard [is where] all capital
assets are functioning at <strong>the</strong>ir ideal capacity within
<strong>the</strong>ir design life.
"State of Good Repair" is achieved when <strong>the</strong>
infrastructure components are replaced on a
schedule consistent with <strong>the</strong>ir life expectancy.
Investments that address deteriorated conditions
and make up for past disinvestment
An asset or system is in a state of good repair
when no backlog of needs exists and no
component is beyond its useful life. State of good
repair projects correct past deferred maintenance,
or replace capital assets that have exceeded <strong>the</strong>ir
useful life.
For <strong>the</strong> purposes of discussion, this paper suggests
<strong>the</strong> following operational definition of SGR based on
<strong>the</strong> definitions considered above as a starting point
for <strong>the</strong> dialogue:
An asset or system is in a state of good
repair when no backlog of capital needs