This package prepares candidates for the BOMI Facilities Management Administrator (FMA®) Capstone Exam and the supporting FMA coursework in facilities operations, finance, risk, projects, and sustainability. BOMA describes the Capstone as a proctored, two-hour, 100-question multiple-choice application exam taken after required courses; candidates should confirm current course, experience, scheduling, fee, and exam-access requirements with BOMA/BOMI before registering. The 20-question set here is a supporting-knowledge preview, not a full simulation or a substitute for the official experience requirement. This is an independent study aid. It checks supporting knowledge and does not replicate the official 100-question Capstone; confirm current requirements with BOMA/BOMI.
What the FMA Capstone Tests
The Capstone is application-oriented: expect scenario decisions, calculations, and management judgment rather than isolated definitions.
The FMA credential is aimed at assistant facility managers, facility managers, and professionals responsible for daily operations and maintenance. BOMA describes the Capstone as a 100-question, two-hour, proctored multiple-choice exam taken after the required FMA courses. BOMA also describes the questions as application-based scenarios that rely on experience in commercial property and facility management. Requirements can change, so confirm the current course list, experience form, scheduling, fees, and exam-access details with BOMA/BOMI before you register.
Use this guide to practice reasoning, not slogan recall. Read the scenario, identify whether it is asking for a calculation, a first action, a best control, or an interpretation of performance data. Calculate only from stated data and choose the answer that best fits the facts. Many realistic items combine domains, such as a contractor-risk issue inside an occupied-building project.
The 20-question practice set is a preview of supporting knowledge, not a simulation of the full Capstone. It intentionally samples operations, finance, risk, projects, and sustainability. Treat missed questions as diagnostic signals, then return to the underlying mechanism rather than memorizing the answer choice.
Prioritize Preparation Without Assuming Weightings
Do not assume an official domain weighting or pass mark. Build your own diagnostic and prioritize weak mechanisms.
No official weighting or pass mark is assumed here. A practical approach is to take the 20-question set once, record every miss by domain and by skill type, and then allocate study time to the weakest mechanisms. Common skill types are formula calculation, document review, sequencing of actions, interpretation of a KPI, and selection of a risk control.
Operations deserves early attention because it supplies vocabulary used elsewhere: utilization, churn, preventive maintenance economics, service-level performance, and backlog. Finance then becomes easier because occupancy cost, additional rent, and variance analysis depend on clear units and definitions. Risk and compliance require disciplined documentation and contractor oversight. Projects and sustainability reward careful phasing, payback screening, and measurement.
If your math is weak, practice one formula family at a time and always write the unit. If your judgment is weak, practice “best next step” questions by ranking immediate safety or compliance, critical-function continuity, stakeholder communication, and documentation. The best answer is usually the one that addresses the stated risk with a feasible control, not the most dramatic response.
Operations and Service Performance
Use ratios carefully: peak utilization, churn, backlog percentage, and preventive maintenance net savings each answer a different question.
Peak workstation utilization equals peak observed occupied workstations divided by total workstations. If a building has 650 workstations and a peak observed occupancy of 520, utilization is 520 ÷ 650 = 80%. Do not substitute assigned headcount if the question asks for peak observed use. Assignable area per person is a different metric and should not be mixed into a workstation-utilization question.
Churn rate is commonly moves divided by average occupancy over the period. If a department records 60 internal moves against an average occupancy of 250 people, churn is 60 ÷ 250 = 24%. State the time period. A move count without a denominator is not a rate.
Preventive maintenance economics compare the incremental cost of the program with the reactive cost avoided. Suppose reactive repairs currently cost $60,000 per year. A preventive program costs $24,000 per year and is expected to lower reactive repairs to $30,000. Reactive cost avoided is $60,000 − $30,000 = $30,000. Net annual saving is $30,000 − $24,000 = $6,000. Do not call the gross avoided cost the net saving.
Service-level agreements should separate response from resolution. A report showing 95% of work orders acknowledged within four hours but an average resolution of nine days against a three-day target means acknowledgement is strong while outcome performance is poor. Investigate dispatch, parts availability, vendor capacity, and backlog aging. A 30-day backlog percentage is the count older than 30 days divided by all open orders; 80 of 400 is 20%.
Finance and Occupancy Cost
Keep annual and monthly periods straight, separate base rent from additional rent, and classify capital versus operating expense with stated facts and policy.
Total occupancy cost per square foot sums the stated cost lines for the same period and area basis. For 20,000 square feet with rent at $28/sf, operating expenses $6/sf, utilities $2.50/sf, taxes $3/sf, and insurance $0.50/sf, the total is $28 + $6 + $2.50 + $3 + $0.50 = $40/sf. The annual total is $40 × 20,000 = $800,000. Do not add a monthly utility figure to annual rent unless you first convert both to the same period.
Lease administration often uses an operating-expense stop. If a 10,000-square-foot tenant has an $8/sf stop and actual operating expenses are $10/sf, the expense over the stop is $10 − $8 = $2/sf. Additional rent for that overage is $2 × 10,000 = $20,000. Base rent is separate unless the question expressly includes it.
Capital versus operating classification depends on policy and accounting treatment, but a replacement that restores or extends the life of a major building asset is more likely to be capital than routine filter changes, cleaning, or minor paint touch-up. Use the facts in the scenario and avoid assuming a dollar threshold or tax rule.
Variance analysis compares actual with budget and explains the driver. Budgeted utilities of $250,000 with actual spending of $275,000 create a $25,000 unfavorable expense variance, or 10% over budget. Segment variance by line, volume, price, timing, and one-time items. Good reporting does not hide overruns by moving them elsewhere; it explains them and states corrective action.
Risk, Safety and Contractor Management
Start with risk assessment and critical functions, document life-safety work to closure, and treat contractor prequalification as broader than an insurance certificate.
Business-continuity planning begins with risk assessment and business-impact analysis. Identify critical functions, dependencies, recovery-time objectives, and minimum resources. If a critical system has a four-hour recovery-time objective but the available vendor response commitment is eight hours, the plan has a gap. Mitigate it with an alternate service, spare capacity, a backup process, or a different support arrangement rather than rewriting the objective without analysis.
Life-safety documentation should show tests, inspection results, deficiencies, corrective actions, responsible parties, and closure dates. A file of reports with no follow-up does not demonstrate control. Follow applicable codes and use qualified professionals for inspection, testing, and remediation; this guide is educational and does not replace local requirements.
Contractor management includes scope definition, licenses, safety history, current insurance certificates with required limits and endorsements, contract terms, permits, site orientation, and task-specific controls. A certificate of insurance is necessary evidence but not proof that the contractor is fully prequalified. For hot work or other high-risk tasks, confirm permits and site-specific precautions before access.
Use the hierarchy of controls for hazards. A wet lobby floor is best addressed first by eliminating or controlling the source through drainage, mats, and housekeeping, then by administrative measures such as signs. A sign alone leaves the hazard in place. For emergency readiness, define roles, communication, drills, supplies, and after-action review so that lessons become corrective actions.
Projects, Energy and Sustainability
Plan occupied-building work around disruption, screen retrofits with simple payback, and verify sustainability results against a baseline.
In an occupied building, phasing should isolate work areas, schedule noisy or disruptive tasks off-hours where possible, coordinate utility shutdowns, control dust and vibration, and give tenants advance notice. Starting all tenant areas at once may shorten one trade’s work but can create unacceptable business interruption. The best plan balances schedule, cost, safety, and tenant operations.
Project delivery method is a tradeoff. Design-bid-build separates design from construction and can support competitive bidding. Design-build can align design and construction under a single point of responsibility and may suit a client prioritizing speed and coordination. Neither method is universally best; answer from the stated priorities, schedule, risk allocation, and cost certainty.
Simple payback is project cost divided by expected annual savings. A $72,000 lighting retrofit saving $18,000 per year has a simple payback of 72,000 ÷ 18,000 = 4 years. Payback is a screening tool; it does not account for time value of money, maintenance effects, or non-energy benefits, so do not treat it as the only decision rule.
Demand-charge savings equal reduced peak demand multiplied by the demand rate, provided the billing units match. A 40 kW reduction at $12 per kW per month saves 40 × $12 = $480 per month. For sustainability claims, establish a baseline, meter performance, verify savings, and communicate results. Occupant engagement helps, but it does not replace measurement.
Common Errors and How to Avoid Them
Most misses come from unit confusion, incomplete ratios, and choosing a generic control instead of the scenario-specific best action.
First, using the wrong denominator: peak utilization uses peak occupied workstations, not assigned headcount or total building area. Second, treating a count as a rate: a move count needs average occupancy and a period before it becomes churn. Third, calling gross reactive-cost avoidance a net saving; subtract the preventive program cost.
Fourth, declaring a service-level agreement successful because response is fast while resolution is slow. Fifth, mixing monthly and annual costs or square-foot and total costs. Sixth, assuming every repair is operating expense or every replacement is capital; use stated facts and policy.
Seventh, treating an insurance certificate as complete contractor prequalification. Eighth, choosing an administrative control such as a warning sign when the hazard can be eliminated or engineered out. Ninth, ignoring a mismatch between recovery-time objectives and vendor response. Tenth, using simple payback as the only project justification.
A useful correction habit is to write one sentence for every answer: what is given, what is asked, what formula or control logic applies, and what assumption is stated. If your sentence requires an unstated fee, code threshold, weighting, or pass mark, the answer is probably relying on outside information.
Integrated Practice Task and Self-Check Rubric
Use one multi-domain case to practice calculations, lease interpretation, risk controls, phasing, and sustainability verification.
Scenario: A 120,000-square-foot office building has 650 workstations and peak observed occupancy of 520. Annual base rent is $24/sf on 120,000 sf; operating expenses are $7/sf; utilities $2/sf; insurance $0.50/sf; and taxes $3.50/sf. A 20,000-sf tenant has an operating-expense stop of $6/sf while actual operating expenses are $7.50/sf. Current reactive maintenance is $90,000 per year. A proposed preventive program costs $30,000 per year and is expected to lower reactive maintenance to $45,000 per year. A lighting retrofit costs $72,000 and saves $18,000 per year. A demand measure reduces peak demand by 30 kW at $14 per kW per month. The retrofit must be installed in occupied tenant areas.
Calculate peak workstation utilization, total occupancy cost per square foot, the tenant’s expense overage, preventive-maintenance net saving, retrofit simple payback, and monthly demand-charge saving. Then recommend three project controls for occupied-building phasing and one contractor-risk control. Finally, state what data you would collect to verify the sustainability result.
Self-check rubric: 0–3 for calculation accuracy with correct units and formulas; 0–3 for lease and cost interpretation; 0–3 for risk and contractor controls; 0–3 for phasing and communication; 0–3 for sustainability measurement. A strong response shows formulas, uses only stated data, distinguishes base rent from additional rent, and avoids unsupported code, fee, tax-threshold, weighting, or pass-mark claims. Expected checks: utilization 520 ÷ 650 = 80%; occupancy cost $24 + $7 + $2 + $0.50 + $3.50 = $37/sf; expense overage ($7.50 − $6) × 20,000 = $30,000; PM net saving ($90,000 − $45,000) − $30,000 = $15,000; payback $72,000 ÷ $18,000 = 4 years; demand saving 30 × $14 = $420 per month.
Practical Study Sequence
Use a six-week cycle: diagnose, build formula fluency, practice each domain, integrate, and finish with a review of official requirements.
Week 1: take the 20-question set, create an error log, and review the four domain descriptions. Write a one-page formula sheet for utilization, churn, backlog percentage, PM net saving, total occupancy cost, expense-stop overage, variance, simple payback, and demand-charge saving. Do not memorize numbers; memorize what each formula answers.
Weeks 2–5: spend one week per domain. For operations, practice ratio interpretation and service-level judgment. For finance, practice period conversion, lease overages, capital-versus-operating classification, and variance explanation. For risk, practice continuity gaps, life-safety documentation, contractor controls, and hierarchy-of-controls reasoning. For projects and sustainability, practice occupied-building phasing, delivery-method fit, payback, and measurement.
Week 6: complete the integrated task again without looking at the rubric, then score it. Rehearse short written recommendations that state facts, calculation, risk control, and verification. Finish by confirming current FMA course, experience, scheduling, fee, and exam-access requirements with BOMA/BOMI. A steady 45–60 minutes per day is more useful than one long session, because the exam rewards repeatable reasoning.
References and further reading
Use these references to explore the concepts and check the latest information from the relevant organizations.