Condition Assessment¶
User Guide¶
Document and track the physical condition of objects in your collection for conservation, loans, and insurance purposes.
Workflow Overview¶
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ Select │ │ Record │ │ Document │ │ Schedule │
│ Object │ ──▶│ Condition │ ──▶│ Damage │ ──▶│ Treatment │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Find item │ │ Overall │ │ Photos │ │ Priority │
│ to assess │ │ rating │ │ Annotations │ │ Follow-up │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
When to Use¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ USE CONDITION ASSESSMENT FOR: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 📦 ACQUISITION │
│ Document condition when items arrive │
│ │
│ 🚚 LOANS │
│ Before sending out and when returned │
│ │
│ 🖼️ EXHIBITION │
│ Pre and post-exhibition checks │
│ │
│ 📋 ROUTINE │
│ Regular collection surveys │
│ │
│ ⚠️ INCIDENT │
│ After damage, flood, or emergency │
│ │
│ 💰 INSURANCE │
│ Valuation and claims documentation │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
How to Access¶
Option A: From a Record Option B: From Dashboard
─────────────────────── ─────────────────────────
View Object Record Main Menu
│ │
▼ ▼
Click "More" menu GLAM/DAM
│ │
▼ ▼
"Condition Assessment" More
│ │
▼ ▼
Assessment Form Condition
│
▼
Dashboard
Part 1: Condition Dashboard¶
Overview Screen¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONDITION DASHBOARD │
├──────────────────┬──────────────────┬───────────────────────┤
│ │ │ │
│ COLLECTION │ HIGH RISK │ UPCOMING │
│ OVERVIEW │ ITEMS │ ASSESSMENTS │
│ │ │ │
│ 🟢 Good 65% │ 12 │ 8 │
│ 🟡 Fair 25% │ need urgent │ due this month │
│ 🔴 Poor 10% │ attention │ │
│ │ │ │
└──────────────────┴──────────────────┴───────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RECENT ASSESSMENTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Date │ Object │ Rating │ Assessor │ Type │
├────────────┼──────────────────┼─────────┼──────────┼────────┤
│ 10 Jan 26 │ Photo Album 1935 │ 🟡 Fair │ J Smith │ Loan │
│ 09 Jan 26 │ Oil Painting │ 🟢 Good │ M Jones │ Routine│
│ 08 Jan 26 │ Textile Fragment │ 🔴 Poor │ J Smith │ Incident│
└────────────┴──────────────────┴─────────┴──────────┴────────┘
Part 2: Creating an Assessment¶
Assessment Types¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TYPE │ WHEN TO USE │
├────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Acquisition │ New item entering collection │
│ Loan Out │ Before sending on loan │
│ Loan In │ Borrowed item arriving │
│ Loan Return │ Item coming back from loan │
│ Exhibition │ Before/after display │
│ Storage │ Items in storage areas │
│ Conservation │ After treatment │
│ Routine │ Regular scheduled check │
│ Incident │ After damage/emergency │
│ Insurance │ For valuation/claims │
│ Deaccession │ Before disposal/transfer │
└────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘
Condition Rating Scale¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONDITION RATINGS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 🟢 EXCELLENT (1-2) │
│ Like new, no visible issues │
│ No treatment needed │
│ │
│ 🟢 GOOD (3-4) │
│ Minor wear consistent with age │
│ Stable, monitor only │
│ │
│ 🟡 FAIR (5-6) │
│ Some damage but stable │
│ Treatment recommended │
│ │
│ 🔴 POOR (7-8) │
│ Significant damage or deterioration │
│ Treatment required │
│ │
│ 🔴 CRITICAL (9-10) │
│ Severe damage, at risk │
│ Urgent intervention needed │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Assessment Form¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NEW CONDITION ASSESSMENT │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Object: ABC/001/012 - Photograph Album 1935 │
│ │
│ Assessment Type: [ Loan Out ▼] │
│ │
│ Date: [ 10/01/2026 📅] │
│ │
│ Assessor: [ Jane Smith ▼] │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ OVERALL CONDITION │
│ │
│ Rating: [ Fair ▼] │
│ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Excellent │ │
│ │ Good │ │
│ │ Fair ← │ │
│ │ Poor │ │
│ │ Critical │ │
│ └─────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Numeric Score: [====●=====] 5/10 │
│ │
│ Summary: │
│ [Album shows age-related wear. Spine is detached at ]│
│ [upper hinge. Pages are yellowed but stable. Photos are ]│
│ [intact with minor foxing. ]│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Part 3: Recording Damage¶
Damage Types¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DAMAGE CATEGORIES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 💥 PHYSICAL Risk: 1.0x │
│ Tears, breaks, cracks, abrasion, loss │
│ Warping, dents, chips, scratches │
│ │
│ 🦠 BIOLOGICAL Risk: 1.3x │
│ Insect damage, rodent damage │
│ Biofilm, algae growth │
│ │
│ 🧪 CHEMICAL Risk: 1.2x │
│ Corrosion, oxidation, acid damage │
│ Discoloration, staining │
│ │
│ 💧 WATER Risk: 1.3x │
│ Water stains, tide lines │
│ Swelling, cockling │
│ │
│ 🔥 FIRE Risk: 1.2x │
│ Charring, smoke damage │
│ Heat distortion │
│ │
│ 🍄 MOULD Risk: 1.5x │
│ Active mould growth │
│ Mould staining, musty odour │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Severity Levels¶
SEVERITY SCALE
NONE MINOR MODERATE SEVERE CRITICAL
│ │ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━▶
0 2 4 7 10
No Surface Affecting Major Immediate
damage only stability damage risk
Risk Score = Severity × Damage Type Multiplier
Example: Mould (1.5x) with Severe damage (7)
Risk Score = 7 × 1.5 = 10.5 (HIGH PRIORITY)
Add Damage Record¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ADD DAMAGE OBSERVATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Damage Type: [ Physical ▼] │
│ │
│ Specific Type: [ Tear ▼] │
│ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Crack │ │
│ │ Tear ← │ │
│ │ Loss │ │
│ │ Abrasion │ │
│ │ Break │ │
│ └─────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Severity: [ Moderate ▼] │
│ │
│ Location: [Upper spine, front hinge___________] │
│ │
│ Material: [ Leather ▼] │
│ │
│ Description: │
│ [3cm tear along spine where front board meets spine. ]│
│ [Leather is brittle at this point. Board still attached ]│
│ [but hinge is weak. ]│
│ │
│ [ Cancel ] [ Add ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Part 4: Photo Documentation¶
Taking Condition Photos¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PHOTO GUIDELINES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 📷 OVERALL SHOTS │
│ • Front view │
│ • Back view │
│ • Top/bottom if relevant │
│ │
│ 🔍 DETAIL SHOTS │
│ • Each area of damage │
│ • Include scale ruler │
│ • Good lighting, no shadows │
│ │
│ 📏 SCALE │
│ • Include colour chart if possible │
│ • Use consistent backgrounds │
│ │
│ ⚡ BEFORE/AFTER │
│ • Same angle for comparison │
│ • Document all treatments │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Image Annotator¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONDITION ANNOTATOR [Fit View] │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Tools: [📍Pin] [□ Box] [○ Circle] [✏️ Draw] [💬 Note] │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ 📷 │ │
│ │ Object Image │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌───┐ │ │
│ │ │ 1 │ ← Tear marked │ │
│ │ └───┘ │ │
│ │ ┌───┐ │ │
│ │ │ 2 │ ← Stain marked │ │
│ │ └───┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ANNOTATIONS: │
│ 1. Tear - Moderate - Upper spine │
│ 2. Stain - Minor - Lower right corner │
│ │
│ [ Clear All ] [ Save ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Part 5: Treatment Recommendations¶
Priority Levels¶
TREATMENT PRIORITY
LOW MEDIUM HIGH URGENT
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Address │ │ Normal │ │ Prompt │ │Immediate│
│ when │ │workflow │ │attention│ │ action │
│ able │ │ │ │ needed │ │ required│
└─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘
Months Weeks Days Now
Treatment Form¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TREATMENT RECOMMENDATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Treatment Required: ● Yes ○ No │
│ │
│ Priority: [ High ▼] │
│ │
│ Recommended Actions: │
│ ☑ Stabilization │
│ ☑ Cleaning │
│ ☐ Repair │
│ ☑ Rebinding │
│ ☐ Fumigation │
│ ☐ Digitization (preservation copy) │
│ │
│ Estimated Cost: [ R 2,500.00________] │
│ │
│ Recommended Vendor: [ ACME Conservation ▼] │
│ │
│ Notes: │
│ [Recommend stabilizing spine before loan. Full rebind ]│
│ [can wait until post-loan. Create digital copy before ]│
│ [treatment. ]│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Part 6: Condition History¶
Object Timeline¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONDITION HISTORY - Photo Album 1935 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Timeline: │
│ │
│ 10 Jan 2026 ●──── Loan Out Check ───────── 🟡 Fair │
│ │ Spine damage noted │
│ │ Treatment recommended │
│ │ │
│ 15 Oct 2025 ●──── Routine Check ────────── 🟡 Fair │
│ │ Stable, monitor │
│ │ │
│ 03 Mar 2025 ●──── Conservation ─────────── 🟢 Good │
│ │ Post-treatment │
│ │ Pages stabilized │
│ │ │
│ 01 Mar 2025 ●──── Conservation ─────────── 🟡 Fair │
│ │ Pre-treatment │
│ │ Foxing throughout │
│ │ │
│ 12 Dec 2024 ●──── Acquisition ──────────── 🟡 Fair │
│ Initial assessment │
│ Donor: Smith Estate │
│ │
│ [ View Details ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Part 7: Reports¶
Available Reports¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ REPORT │ DESCRIPTION │
├────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Collection Survey │ Overall collection condition │
│ High Risk Items │ Items needing urgent attention │
│ Treatment Queue │ Pending conservation work │
│ Loan Condition │ Pre/post loan comparisons │
│ Assessment Schedule │ Upcoming assessments due │
│ Assessor Activity │ Work by staff member │
│ Damage Statistics │ Types and frequency of damage │
│ Cost Estimates │ Treatment budget planning │
└────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘
Generate Report¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GENERATE CONDITION REPORT │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Report Type: [ Collection Survey ▼] │
│ │
│ Date Range: [ 01/01/2025 ] to [ 31/12/2025 ] │
│ │
│ Filter By: │
│ │
│ Condition: ☑ Excellent ☑ Good ☑ Fair │
│ ☑ Poor ☑ Critical │
│ │
│ Location: [ All Locations ▼] │
│ │
│ Format: ○ PDF ● Excel ○ CSV │
│ │
│ Include: ☑ Photos ☑ Annotations ☐ Full history │
│ │
│ [ Cancel ] [ Generate ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Quick Reference¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TASK │ HOW TO DO IT │
├────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────┤
│ New assessment │ Record → More → Condition │
│ View dashboard │ GLAM/DAM → More → Condition │
│ Add damage record │ In assessment → Add Damage │
│ Upload photos │ In assessment → Add Photo │
│ Annotate image │ Photo → Open Annotator │
│ Schedule assessment │ Dashboard → Schedule │
│ Generate report │ Dashboard → Reports │
│ View history │ Record → Condition tab │
└────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘
Tips for Best Practice¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ DO │ ✗ DON'T │
├────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ Use consistent lighting │ Take blurry photos │
│ Include scale reference │ Skip damage details │
│ Be specific about location │ Use vague descriptions │
│ Take before/after photos │ Forget to save │
│ Note environmental factors │ Ignore minor damage │
│ Schedule regular checks │ Only check after damage │
│ Link to treatments │ Leave recommendations │
│ │ incomplete │
└────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘
Troubleshooting¶
Problem Solution
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Can't find Condition option → Check GLAM/DAM → More menu
May need permission
Photo won't upload → Check file size (<10MB)
Use JPEG or PNG format
Annotator not loading → Refresh page
Clear browser cache
Try different browser
Can't save assessment → Complete required fields
Check you have edit access
Report won't generate → Reduce date range
Uncheck "Include photos"
for large reports
Need Help?¶
Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.
Part of the AtoM AHG Framework