An operation and maintenance (O&M) manual tells the people who run a building how to operate it and keep it working: what each system is, how to use it, how and how often to maintain it, and who supplied it. It is written for the facilities team and their maintenance contractors.
It is not the health and safety file. The file is for whoever carries out future construction work; the manual is for whoever runs the building. They draw on some of the same information, and the file should point to the manual rather than copy it.
Is an O&M manual a legal requirement?
There is no general requirement for every construction project to produce a single whole-building O&M manual; the contract usually specifies the compiled manual. Its contents are set by the contract and the specification, so check what yours says, including when it is due: some contracts make it a condition of practical completion.
Several things that usually travel inside the manual are required by law in their own right, each with its own recipient and deadline:
- Energy and maintenance information about the building and its fixed services, to the owner within five days of completion, where Part L applies (Building Regulations 2010, regulation 40).
- Ventilation information about the ventilation system and its maintenance, to the owner within five days of completion, where Part F applies (regulation 39).
- On-site electricity generation information, such as for solar panels, to the owner within five days of completion, where the requirement for on-site generation applies (regulation 40A).
- Overheating information about the mitigation provided and how to use it, to the owner within five days of completion, where Part O applies to new residential buildings (regulation 40B).
- Fire safety information, to the responsible person, for new buildings, extensions and material changes of use where Part B applies (regulation 38). It is often given as a separate fire safety manual. See fire safety information.
- Statutory examination records, such as the thorough examination of a lift after installation and before first use (LOLER 1998, regulation 9), and for a pressure system the written scheme of examination and, where the scheme requires one, the report of the examination before first use (Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, regulations 8 and 9).
Putting these in the manual is fine, as long as each one still reaches the right person by its own deadline. Handover documents sets out each one.
O&M manual or health and safety file?
| O&M manual | Health and safety file | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Operating and maintaining the building and its systems | Carrying out future construction work safely |
| Where the requirement comes from | The contract and specification | CDM 2015, regulation 12 |
| Who prepares it | The principal contractor, compiled from each subcontractor's and supplier's information | The CDM principal designer, with information from the principal contractor |
| Who uses it | The facilities team and maintenance contractors | Designers and contractors on future projects |
| Typical content | Operating instructions, maintenance schedules, asset data, manufacturers' information, certificates | Residual hazards, structural principles, hazardous materials, services, as-built information |
Some information belongs in both, in different forms. A roof anchor system is a good example: the manual holds its test certificate and inspection schedule; the file records that the roof has no edge protection and where the anchors are.
What a manual usually contains
The contract or specification sets the contents. A typical manual covers:
- How to use the manual: contents, structure and where the drawings and certificates are held.
- The project: the address, the date of practical completion, and contact details for the client, designers, principal contractor, each subcontractor and each supplier.
- The building and each system: what was installed, what it is designed to do, and the design parameters it was commissioned to.
- Operation: how to start up, run and shut down each system, the controls, seasonal changes and what to do in an emergency.
- Maintenance: planned maintenance tasks and their frequencies, and the competence each needs. Clients often specify SFG20, the industry's standard maintenance specification, for the schedules.
- Asset information: each item of plant and equipment with its make, model, serial number, location, supplier and warranty. Clients with a facilities management system may ask for it in that system's format, or as COBie.
- Manufacturers' information: data sheets, installation and operating instructions, and spares lists, for what was actually installed.
- Test, inspection and commissioning records: see test certificates by system.
- As-built drawings, or an index of them where the drawings are held alongside.
- Warranties and guarantees, with their start dates and conditions.
- Spares, attic stock, special tools and keys handed over, with a signed receipt.
- Decommissioning and disposal: how to take plant out of service and dispose of it, consistent with what the health and safety file says about removing installed plant.
BSRIA's guide BG 79/2020, Handover information and O&M manuals, gives model contents and a model specification, and clients often name it.
What each package typically supplies
A starting point. The specification and each subcontract say what a package actually owes.
| Package | Typically supplies | Easy to miss |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical: heating, cooling, ventilation | System descriptions and schematics, commissioning records, plant data, maintenance schedules, ventilation information for the owner | Refrigerant records for systems containing fluorinated gases; controls settings as commissioned; overheating mitigation and how to use it |
| Public health and plumbing | Water fittings contractor's certificate, flushing and disinfection records, plant data | Information the client needs for their legionella risk assessment; thermostatic mixing valve settings |
| Electrical | Electrical installation certificate (or minor works certificate) with test results, distribution board schedules, lighting controls information | Emergency lighting completion certificate and log book; operating information for solar panels or other on-site generation, and how to isolate it |
| Fire detection and alarm | Commissioning and acceptance certificates, zone plan, cause and effect | Password and access arrangements for the panel |
| Sprinklers | Design and commissioning documents, valve locations, maintenance schedule | Water supply test results |
| Lifts | Thorough examination report before first use, maintenance information | Trapped-person rescue procedure |
| Building management system | Points list, graphics, set points as commissioned, software and licences | Logins and passwords, handed over securely |
| Roofing and façade | Product data, guarantees, cleaning and maintenance access information | Fall-arrest anchor installation records and test certificates |
| Doors, ironmongery and fire doors | Door schedule, fire doorset certification, maintenance information | Fire door inspection regime for the responsible person |
| Fire stopping | Product data, installer certification, records of what was installed where | Photographs of penetrations before they were boxed in |
| Drainage and external works | As-built drainage layout, test and survey records | Location of interceptors, valves and inspection chambers |
| Finishes and fittings | Product data, cleaning and care instructions | Attic stock and where it is stored |
When to ask for it
- At subcontract award, state what each package owes for the manual, in what format, and by when. Ask for it in the subcontract, not at the end.
- During the works, collect manufacturers' information for what is actually being installed, especially where products were substituted.
- Before commissioning, have draft sections in, so commissioning results and set points can be added as they are recorded.
- At or before practical completion, as the contract says, issue the complete manual and use it for training the client's team.
- After practical completion, add certificates that arrive later, such as competent person scheme certificates (within 30 days), and record any changes made during the defects period.
The handover checklist puts this alongside the rest of the handover.
Sources
- Building Regulations 2010, Part 8: information for owners (regulations 39 to 40B)
- Building Regulations 2010, regulation 38: fire safety information
- LOLER 1998, regulation 9
- Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, regulations 8 and 9
- CDM 2015, regulation 12
- Designing Buildings: BSRIA handover information and O&M manuals guidance