Form · MHSWR regulation 3
RAMS template
Risk assessment and method statement for one activity: the sequence of work, a five by five risk matrix, PPE, permits, rescue, and a briefing record signed against the revision.
Free download · Editable PDF
Free O&M manual template
The operation and maintenance manual is the document a building owner runs the building from after the contractor has gone. It records what was installed, who supplied it, how each system is operated and maintained, and what has to be inspected and when. This template lays out the sections a specification usually asks for, over nine pages, as a Word document and an editable PDF, with a filled example below. Free to use and reuse.
- Format
- Editable PDF and Word
- Pages
- 9
- Built on
- Building Regulations 2010 regs 38 and 40, CDM 2015 reg 12(10), GOV.UK F-gas guidance
- Cost
- Free, always
What is in the O&M manual template
9 pagesThe works and the contents
A description of the works, the systems covered and the project team, then a contents index of thirteen sections marked included or not applicable, with where each is held.
Drawings, plant and operation
As-built drawings and schematics, the plant and equipment schedule with make, model and serial number, operating instructions with set points, and the emergency isolation points with who to ring.
Maintenance and spares
The planned maintenance schedule by task, interval and competent person, which becomes the owner’s planned maintenance from day one, and the spares and consumables left on site.
Certificates and the F-gas register
Commissioning and test results, the statutory certificates from the electrical installation certificate to the air tightness test, and the F-gas register with the installer’s certificate number.
Warranties, contacts and handover
Warranties with their start dates and conditions, supplier and subcontractor contacts, the record of the regulation 38, regulation 40 and health and safety file handovers, and the sign-off.
A filled example: the O&M manual for an M&E refit
IllustrativeThe same illustrative job as the CDM template examples, at handover. This is the manual an M&E contractor hands the owner of a two-storey office building after replacing the heating plant, lighting and fire alarm. The firms, people, products and figures are invented.
Description of the works
Replacement of the gas-fired boilers with two air source heat pumps on a roof plant deck, with a buffer vessel and pump set in the plant room. New low-temperature hot water pipework and radiators, LED and emergency lighting throughout, a new distribution board with sub-mains, and an addressable fire alarm system. Specification revision C, contract dated 8 December.
Plant and equipment schedule
Two air source heat pumps on the roof plant deck, with make, model and serial numbers recorded on installation on 7 February. The buffer vessel and the twin-head pump set in the plant room. The first-floor distribution board in the east riser, the fire alarm panel in the ground floor lobby, and the emergency lighting test switches by each board.
Operating instructions
Heating runs on weather compensation from the controller in the plant room, set to a 45 degree flow at minus 3 outside and 35 degrees at 15. The occupied period is 06:30 to 18:30 on weekdays. Isolate the heat pumps at the rotary isolators on the deck and the breakers in the plant room board. The fire alarm panel is tested weekly on Tuesday at 10:00 from a different call point each week.
Emergency isolation and who to ring
Electricity: the main switch in the ground floor switch room. Gas: capped at the external meter box, with the supplier’s emergency number on the box. Water: the stopcock in the ground floor cleaners’ cupboard. Heating: the plant room board. Fire alarm faults: the installer’s 24-hour number on the panel.
Planned maintenance
Heat pumps serviced annually by an F-gas certified engineer, with the leak check at the same visit. Strainers and filters quarterly. The fire alarm serviced every six months to the standard named on its certificate. Emergency lighting tested monthly by the facilities manager, and for its full duration once a year. The distribution board inspected at the interval the electrical installation certificate recommends.
Certificates and commissioning
The electrical installation certificate with its schedules, 20 March. The fire alarm commissioning certificate and the emergency lighting completion certificate, both 23 March. The gas safety record for the capped supply, 15 January. The heating system flushing and pressure test sheet, 10 March, and the heat pump commissioning sheets, 12 March. Held electronically by the facilities manager, with paper copies in the plant room.
F-gas register
Two systems, each charged at installation with a refrigerant above the 5 tonne CO2 equivalent threshold, so the owner keeps the record for five years. The installer’s company name, address and F-gas certificate number are entered against each unit, with the charge in kilograms and in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The first leak check is due at the annual service.
Warranties and contacts
Heat pumps: five years from 7 February, conditional on annual servicing by a certified engineer. Fire alarm panel: two years from 23 March. Workmanship: the twelve-month rectification period from practical completion on 26 March. Contacts for the main contractor, the mechanical and electrical teams, the fire alarm specialist and the heat pump manufacturer’s technical line, with a named person for each.
Statutory information given
Fire safety information given to the responsible person on 24 March and acknowledged in writing on 25 March. Operation and maintenance information under regulation 40 given to the owner on 26 March, the day of completion. The CDM health and safety file handed over by the principal designer on 26 March, bound separately.
Which parts of the manual the law requires
Checked against the sourceNo regulation names the O&M manual
The specification and the contract set the contents, and on many contracts the manual is a condition of practical completion or of releasing retention. In England, three regulations require parts of what goes in one, and F-gas records a fourth.
The Unibuild article on the O&M manual and handoverMaintenance information within five days
Where Part L applies to the work, the person carrying it out must give the owner sufficient information not later than five days after completion. It covers the building, its fixed building services and their maintenance requirements, so that the building runs without wasting fuel and power.
Building Regulations 2010, regulation 40(2)Fire safety information by completion
Where the Fire Safety Order applies to the building, fire safety information goes to the responsible person no later than completion, or first occupation if that is earlier. The responsible person acknowledges in writing that it is enough to operate and maintain the building and its fire safety systems.
Building Regulations 2010, regulation 38 (England, as amended from 1 October 2023)The health and safety file
On a project with more than one contractor, the CDM health and safety file passes to the client at the end of the project. It is a separate document for whoever works on the structure next, often bound in with the manual.
CDM 2015, regulation 12(10)F-gas records
The operator of equipment holding F gas equivalent to 5 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide keeps records for five years. They cover the type and quantity of gas at installation and any added, and the dates and results of leak checks. They also record recovery and disposal, and the installing company’s name, address and certificate number.
GOV.UK, Record F gas in equipment you own or serviceHow to use it
Fill it as the job runs
Every item in the manual exists on site, correct and available, at some point during the works. File each certificate the day it is issued and each plant item as it is installed, before it is boxed in.
Write for the caretaker
The test is whether someone with a leaking valve can find out what it is, how to isolate it and who to ring. Put the isolation points and the contacts where they can be found in a minute.
Let the folders do the work
In Unibuild certificates, commissioning sheets and drawings are filed against the project with the uploading user and the date, in folders synced to your own OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. Compiling the manual becomes assembly rather than a search. See document management.
Asked most often
Questions about
Questions about
this template.
Is this O&M manual template free?
Yes. It is free to download, use and reuse, including on paid work and for clients, with no sign-up and no email address. Download the Word version or the editable PDF.
What is an O&M manual?
The operation and maintenance manual is the handover document for the building owner. It tells them what was installed, who supplied it, how each system is operated and maintained, and what has to be inspected and when. The main contractor compiles it from every subcontractor and supplier on the job, usually for practical completion.
What goes in an O&M manual?
A description of the works, as-built drawings, the plant and equipment schedule, manufacturer literature and operating instructions. The planned maintenance schedule and spares, commissioning and test results, and the statutory certificates. Warranties, supplier contacts, the F-gas register where refrigerant plant went in, and the fire safety information. The health and safety file is a separate document often bound in alongside.
Is an O&M manual a legal requirement?
Not under that name. In England, regulation 40 of the Building Regulations requires the owner to be given maintenance information within five days of completion. Regulation 38 sends fire safety information to the responsible person, CDM 2015 requires the health and safety file, and F-gas records must be kept for refrigerant equipment. The contract and the specification set the rest.
Who is responsible for producing the O&M manual?
Normally the main contractor, compiling contributions from subcontractors and suppliers to the contents the specification sets. Each installer supplies its own section: the literature, the commissioning sheets and the certificates for what it installed.
When should the O&M manual be started?
At the start of the job, as a file that fills itself, rather than at the end as a document to be written. Each certificate is filed the day it is issued and each plant item recorded as it goes in. The fortnight at the end is what deferring it costs, and on many contracts retention sits behind it.
Is the O&M manual the same as the health and safety file?
No. The health and safety file, required by CDM 2015 where there is more than one contractor, is for whoever carries out construction work on the structure next. The O&M manual is for the occupier running the building. Bind them together if the client prefers; there is a free health and safety file template too.
Should the F-gas register be in the O&M manual?
Yes, wherever the works installed air conditioning, heat pumps or refrigeration holding F gas equivalent to 5 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide. The operator must keep the record for five years and the first entries are made at installation, so the manual is how they reach the owner.
How does Unibuild handle the O&M manual?
Certificates, commissioning documents and drawings are stored against the project with the uploading user and the date. The asset register carries each item of plant with its location, make, model and serial number. The project’s folders sync to your own OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox, so compiling the manual becomes assembly rather than a search. See document management.
More free downloads
All 134 downloads →
Form · CDM 2015 regulation 15
Method statement template
How one activity on one site will be carried out. Two pages of sequence with the controls at each stage, then plant, PPE, permits, rescue and a briefing record.
Assessment · COSHH 2002 regulation 6
COSHH assessment
One hazardous substance: its hazards from the data sheet, who is exposed and how, controls in regulation 7 order, PPE and RPE, storage, spills, first aid, monitoring and review.
Next step
The manual that fills itself,
The manual that fills itself,
while the job runs.
In Unibuild’s document management every certificate, commissioning sheet and drawing is filed against the project on the day it is issued, in folders synced to your own OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. The asset register carries each item of plant with its make, model and serial number. Compiling the O&M manual becomes assembly rather than a search.