O&M manual

A complete O&M manual is organised by system or trade so a facility manager can find what they need quickly. Typical contents are:

• Project directory. Contact details for the builder, consultants, subcontractors and suppliers.

• System descriptions. How each system, such as mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, fire, lifts and security, is designed to work.

• Operating instructions. Start up, shut down and normal operating procedures.

• Maintenance schedules. What needs servicing and how often, based on manufacturer requirements and relevant Australian Standards.

• Product data. Technical data sheets, model numbers and safety data sheets for installed products.

• Warranties and guarantees. Each warranty with its start date, duration and conditions.

• Certificates and test results. Compliance certificates, commissioning records and test reports.

• As-built drawings. Work as executed drawings for each system.

• Asset register. A list of maintainable assets with locations and identifiers.

For a deeper look, read The O&M Manual Nobody Starts Until Six Weeks Before Handover.

The specification usually requires each subcontractor to supply its section of the O&M manual, and the head contractor compiles, checks and submits the full set. A draft is often required some weeks before practical completion so the client can review it, with the final version handed over at or soon after practical completion.

Many contracts list the O&M manual among the documents required for practical completion, or hold back part of retention or security until it is delivered. Fire safety information in the manual also supports the owner's ongoing obligations, such as annual fire safety statements in NSW and essential safety measures maintenance in Victoria. Leaving it until the last month is how handover packs end up incomplete.

As-built drawings show where things are and how they were built. The O&M manual tells the owner how to run and look after them. As-builts are usually one section of the O&M manual rather than a separate deliverable, but some contracts list them separately so both have their own approval.

The two also go stale differently. As-builts are fixed once the work is complete. An O&M manual should keep living after handover, as the owner replaces equipment, updates service contracts and records maintenance. That is why many clients now ask for the manual in a digital, editable format linked to the asset register rather than a printed folder.

• Starting at the end. Chasing 30 subcontractors for documents in the last fortnight is the main reason O&M manuals arrive late. Collect them as each trade finishes.

• Generic brochures. Marketing brochures are not product data. Include the specific model installed and its maintenance requirements.

• Warranties without start dates. A warranty is hard to claim if nobody knows when it began.

• Missing commissioning records. Test and commissioning results are often what the owner needs most when something goes wrong.

• Only a paper copy. Most owners now expect a searchable digital manual, and many contracts require it.