BIA School Facility Condition Assessments

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education collaborated with teams across the Bodwé family to conduct facility condition assessments on 34 school campuses spread across nine states.

The purpose was to evaluate critical building systems that impact the service life of these facilities and document conditions/deficiencies identified through the assessment.

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Critical building systems evaluated included the following:

• Major Building Systems: roofing, doors, building drainage, windows, ceilings, floors, interior/exterior walls, stairs
• Mechanical Systems: air handling systems, ventilation/ductwork, chillers, boilers, plumbing, sprinklers/ fire alarms, controls, sensors, elevators
• Electrical Systems: load/excess capacity, single or three-phase, backup generators, distribution, wiring and lighting
• Building Security: access/lockdown capacity, notification systems, remote surveillance
• Accessibility: accessibility compliance to applicable codes/regulations for disabled individuals, including ramps, walkways, restrooms, doors, fixtures, and controls
• Structural Support Systems: concrete foundations, structural steel, basement walls, sheer walls, and timber
• Fixed Furnishings: kitchen and classroom equipment

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The assessment also determined the projected lifespan of each building. In addition, 7GAE compared existing conditions to establish evidence-based BIA and BIE guidelines, making recommendations concerning deficiencies or inadequacies.

Environmental sustainability is a core value at 7GAE and our scope of services also included identifying environmental contaminants and assessing energy efficiency and sustainability throughout the facilities. Where possible, 7GAE recommended potential upgrades that could lead toward attaining LEED Silver status. In addition, alternative energy possibilities were recommended, including solar, wind, and geothermal power.

The scale and scope of the project presented its own set of challenges to our team amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its ever-changing restrictions, specifically for logistic factors like site access and coordination, travel coordination, and scheduling. Despite the challenges both intrinsic to the project and external compounding factors, our Bodwé team remained flexible and adaptive throughout.