The words a maintenance regime is written in. Planned work, reactive work, statutory duties, assets and the certificates that prove them — what each term actually means, what it obliges a duty holder to do, and what an audit finds when a building has been maintained but not evidenced.
Maintenance regimes
Planned preventative maintenance
Planned preventative maintenance is work carried out to a schedule to keep assets working and compliant, rather than in response to a failure.
Reactive maintenance
Reactive maintenance is work carried out in response to a fault or a request, rather than to a schedule.
SFG20
SFG20 is a library of standard maintenance schedules for building services, widely used in UK facilities management as the reference for what maintenance tasks each asset type requires and at what frequency..
PPM frequency
PPM frequency is how often a maintenance task is carried out.
Assets & systems
Asset register
An asset register is the record of the plant and equipment in a building — what it is, where it is, its details and its maintenance history.
CAFM
CAFM stands for computer-aided facilities management: software that holds asset registers, maintenance schedules, job records and compliance documents for a property portfolio in one place..
Asset tag
An asset tag is a unique identifier fixed to a piece of plant so that records can be matched to the physical item.
Asset criticality
Asset criticality is how much the failure of an asset matters — to safety, to compliance, and to the operation of the building.
Asset life
Asset life is the expected remaining service life of a piece of plant.
Condition survey
A condition survey assesses the physical state of a building and its assets, grading each against a scale so that investment can be planned rather than reacted to..
Lifecycle planning
Lifecycle planning is forecasting the replacement of building assets over a period and the cost of doing so, so that capital can be planned rather than found at short notice..
Maintenance history
Maintenance history is the record of everything done to an asset — planned tasks, repairs, parts and certificates — held against the asset rather than against the date..
Warranty and O&M information
Warranty and O&M information is the manufacturer's and installer's documentation for an asset — operating instructions, maintenance requirements and the terms under which it is guaranteed..
Handover information
Handover information is what a construction project gives the operating team: as-built drawings, the asset register, O&M manuals, warranties and the health and safety file..
Building management system
A building management system controls and monitors a building's plant — heating, ventilation, cooling and often lighting — and generates alarms when conditions move outside their set points..
Statutory compliance
Statutory compliance
Statutory compliance in facilities management is the set of inspections, tests and maintenance a building must have by law, together with the records that prove they were done..
LOLER
LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations, which require lifting equipment to be strong enough, properly positioned, and subject to thorough examination by a competent person..
PUWER
PUWER is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, which require work equipment to be suitable, maintained, inspected where risk requires it, and used only by people who have been trained..
Water hygiene
Water hygiene is the management of water systems in a building to control the risk of legionella.
Fixed wire testing
Fixed wire testing is the periodic inspection and testing of a building's fixed electrical installation, producing an Electrical Installation Condition Report that records its condition and any defects found..
PAT testing
PAT testing is the inspection and testing of portable electrical appliances to check they are safe to use.
Compliance certificate
A compliance certificate is the document evidencing that a statutory inspection or test was carried out, by whom, on what date, with what result and what remedial work is required..
Remedial action
A remedial action is work identified by an inspection as necessary to bring an asset or a building into a compliant or safe condition, with a priority and a date attached..
Duty holder
A duty holder is the person or organisation carrying a legal duty for a building — for asbestos, fire, water safety and the rest.
Asbestos management
Asbestos management is the duty to find out whether a building contains asbestos, record it, assess the risk, and manage it — in most non-domestic premises built before the ban..
Asbestos register
An asbestos register records the location, type and condition of asbestos-containing materials in a building, including material presumed to contain asbestos where it has not been tested..
Gas safety
Gas safety duties require gas appliances, pipework and flues to be maintained safely and work to be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer competent for that type of appliance..
Gas appliance inspection
A gas appliance inspection checks that an appliance, its pipework and its flue are safe — covering combustion, ventilation, flue performance and the condition of the installation..
Fire safety in FM
Fire safety duties require a responsible person to assess fire risk in a building and manage it — covering the assessment, the measures it identifies, and the records that evidence them..
Lifting equipment
Lifting equipment in a building includes passenger and goods lifts, hoists, cradles, gantries and the accessories used with them.
Legionella control
Legionella control is managing water systems to prevent the growth and spread of legionella bacteria, through a risk assessment, a written scheme of control and recorded monitoring..
Service delivery
Permit to work
A permit to work is a formal authorisation for a defined high-risk task in a building, issued for set conditions and a set time, and signed back on completion..
Helpdesk
A facilities helpdesk is the single point where building users report faults and request work.
Hard services
Hard services are the facilities services relating to the building fabric and its systems — heating, ventilation, electrical, plumbing, lifts and structure — as distinct from soft services delivered to occupants..
Soft services
Soft services are the facilities services delivered to the people in a building rather than to the building itself — cleaning, security, catering, waste, grounds and reception..
Service level agreement
A service level agreement defines the measurable standards an FM contract will be judged by — response and resolution times, PPM completion, compliance status — and what happens when they are missed..
Job record
A job record is the account of one piece of work — what was requested, what was found, what was done, by whom, when, and what remains outstanding..
Response and resolution times
Response time is how quickly work begins after a request; resolution time is how quickly it is completed.
Contractor management
Contractor management is controlling who works on a building — their competence, their insurance, their method, and what they are permitted to do while they are there..
A–Z
- Asbestos management
- Asbestos register
- Asset criticality
- Asset life
- Asset register
- Asset tag
- Building management system
- CAFM
- Compliance certificate
- Condition survey
- Contractor management
- Duty holder
- Fire safety in FM
- Fixed wire testing
- Gas appliance inspection
- Gas safety
- Handover information
- Hard services
- Helpdesk
- Job record
- Legionella control
- Lifecycle planning
- Lifting equipment
- LOLER
- Maintenance history
- PAT testing
- Permit to work
- Planned preventative maintenance
- PPM frequency
- PUWER
- Reactive maintenance
- Remedial action
- Response and resolution times
- Service level agreement
- SFG20
- Soft services
- Statutory compliance
- Warranty and O&M information
- Water hygiene
More terms are being added. These pages explain what the words mean; they are not a substitute for advice from a competent person for the duty in question.