Sightlines to Launch Major Study of Deferred Maintenance Practices at Canadian Universities

GUILFORD, CT--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2013) - Sightlines, a leader in helping academic institutions better manage their facilities and capital investment strategies, has been engaged by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) to conduct a comprehensive study of deferred maintenance at more than 100 universities who belong to the association.

Sightlines was awarded the contract for the project after participating in a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process managed by the CAUBO Facilities Management Committee.

"Over the past decade, university business officers across Canada have been trying to manage their growing infrastructure needs with limited capital funding," said David Kadamus, president and chief executive officer of Sightlines. "This nationwide study will provide CAUBO with a reliable set of data to help university and provincial leadership understand the amount and potential future impact of deferred maintenance on campuses."

Deferred maintenance refers to the strategy of postponing maintenance activities and capital investments -- such as repairs on property, facilities and machinery -- in order to save costs, meet budget requirements or realign available resources.

The Sightlines study kicks off in September with a survey instrument that will be sent to all CAUBO members. Once the initial responses have been collected, the Sightlines research team will analyze the data, compare it to data in the proprietary Sightlines database, and flag any responses that appear to be well outside of the normal parameters for peer group institutions. Those individual survey responses will then be further investigated by Sightlines to validate the reported data and make any appropriate revisions. After this second phase of the project is completed, the Sightlines team will review the final data set and prepare a final report that includes strategies for addressing deferred maintenance to CAUBO for national dissemination.

In addition to the final report delivered to CAUBO, Sightlines will also publish the survey data and analysis on a secure web portal. This online access will enable participating institutions to obtain details into how the deferred maintenance practices at their institutions compares with that of their peers in various regions of Canada.

The final report for the study is projected for delivery to CAUBO in early-2014. For more information, please email jkadamus@sightlinesllc.com.

About Sightlines
Founded in 2000, Sightlines works with approximately 400 academic campuses annually to create its ROPA(SM) (Return-on-Physical-Assets) service, which provides a holistic approach to defining capital needs and provides an independent view of campus performance, reliably benchmarked against peer institutions. Academic institutions use ROPA(SM) to defend budgets, secure additional funds, evaluate new construction, rebalance budgets, assess maintenance backlogs, determine proper staffing and service levels, and successfully present budgets to boards. Sightlines was named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list, an annual report from Inc. Magazine of the fastest growing privately owned businesses in the U.S., for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please call 203.682.4952, go to www.sightlines.com or email insights@sightlines.com.