For a UK building, 

There is not a general law stating that every O&M Manual be formally revised once every 12 months.

 

However, there are strong legal, safety and operational reasons why an annual review of the O&M Manual should be regarded as good building-management practice, with updates made whenever changes have occurred.

 

The distinction is important: annual review is sensible; annual revision regardless of whether anything has changed is not necessarily required.

 

Why the O&M Manual should be reviewed annually

An O&M Manual represents the building and its installed services at handover. As the building ages, however, equipment is replaced, settings change, systems are modified, contractors alter installations, software is updated and maintenance regimes evolve. Unless these changes are incorporated, the manual gradually becomes a historic handover document rather than a reliable operational record.

 

This matters particularly where the information affects health and safety. Under CDM 2015, the Health and Safety File has specific continuing requirements: where relevant work is undertaken, information must be reviewed, updated and revised to reflect changes.

 

HSE guidance expressly refers to the file being reviewed, updated and revised from time to time. 

 

There is therefore an important distinction between the O&M Manual and the statutory Health and Safety File. They are often closely related, and information may be duplicated or cross-referenced, but the legal duties applying to the H&S File should not simply be described as a statutory requirement to update the entire O&M Manual annually.

 

Fire safety makes current information particularly important

Building Regulations Regulation 38 requires relevant fire-safety information to be handed to the Responsible Person so that the building, its services, fittings and equipment can be operated and maintained with reasonable safety. The intention is that the Responsible Person has sufficient information to understand the fire strategy, maintain fire-safety systems and undertake an effective fire-risk assessment. 

 

Following changes introduced through the Building Safety Act 2022, Responsible Persons also have enhanced duties to record and, where necessary, update fire-safety information and to pass relevant information to an incoming Responsible Person. That information expressly includes information originally provided under 

 

Regulation 38. 

For certain residential buildings, some fire-safety information actually does have an explicit annual requirement: fire-safety instructions must be reissued to existing residents at intervals not exceeding 12 months and following material changes. 

What an annual O&M review should check

 

A sensible annual review should determine whether the manual still accurately represents the building, particularly:

installed plant and equipment, including replacements and modifications;

as-fitted drawings, schematics and equipment schedules;

manufacturers' literature and current maintenance requirements;

commissioning or recommissioning information following alterations;

BMS controls, setpoints, software and control strategies;

fire alarms, emergency lighting, smoke control and other life-safety systems;

electrical distribution and protective devices;

 

HVAC and water systems;

statutory inspection, testing and certification information where it forms part of the building records;

maintenance schedules and frequencies;

emergency procedures, isolation arrangements and key contacts;

asset registers, warranties and replacement equipment;

alterations, extensions and changes of use; and

relevant information that should also be incorporated into or coordinated with the Health and Safety File, Fire Safety information, Building Logbook or other controlled building records.

 

Crucially, the manual should also be updated when a significant change occurs rather than waiting for the annual review.

 

The legal and commercial significance

An inaccurate O&M Manual can create genuine risk. An engineer relying on an obsolete isolation drawing, an incorrect distribution-board schedule or outdated fire-alarm information may make decisions on the assumption that the record represents the actual installation.

 

Current documentation also provides an audit trail. It helps an owner, facilities manager or Responsible Person demonstrate that building information is being actively managed rather than simply archived after practical completion.

 

This is increasingly significant in the wider building-safety environment, where maintaining continuity and accessibility of safety information—the golden thread principle—is given much greater emphasis. Government guidance specifically describes maintaining continuity of fire-safety information throughout the lifetime of a building.