Essential Safety Measures Software

No matter what you call them; Essential Safety Measures, ESM, Essential Services, Fire Protection Services, etc. by law they must be maintained.  When the construction of a commercial building is complete, the building owner is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance, particularly its safety features.  FM Innovations has designed the WSM software to establish, track and manage all your Essential Safety Measures (ESM) as well as your Environmentally Sustainable Developments (ESD) once they have been established by a registered building surveyor or on the occupancy permit .  FMI's Works Management Module (FM-Work) has been developed to not only manage your planned ESM and ESD requirements but also the day-to-day maintenance management jobs at your or your site(s). 

See more below. 

Essential Safety Measures Briefly Explained (Victoria)

An essential safety measure, for the purpose of the Regulations is provided for the safety of people in a building or place of public entertainment.

The maintenance of essential safety measures will ensure that the safety measures mainly dealing with fire situations within the building, remain at the required operational level throughout the life of the building.  The type of maintenance depends on the complexity of the service, equipment or feature and the experience of the person carrying out the inspection or test.

As an example, essential safety measures defined under the Building Regulations include:

Please refer to the Regulations for a full listing of essential services.

The Relevant Building Surveyor (RBS) at the time of issuing an Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Final Inspection must assess the building and list which essential safety measures in the building or place of public entertainment are required to be maintained, and the level of maintenance and frequency to enable the essential safety measures to perform their required functions.

Built or altered since 1st July 1994

If your building was built or altered since 1st July 1994, the Regulations require you to keep a current copy of your buildings occupancy permit together with an annual essential safety measures report in the building.  All essential safety measures reports, records of maintenance checks, services and repair work to the building must also be kept on the premises so it is easily accessible for a municipal building surveyor or Chief Officer of the relevant fire brigade to randomly check for compliance. These documents are important as collectively they ensure that owners are fulfilling these obligations.  These documents can all be electronically stored within the WSM system.

Built before 1st July 1994

If the building was built before 1st July 1994, owners are also responsible for ensuring that any safety equipment, safety fittings or safety measures are maintained and fulfilling their purpose. Owners are also required to prepare and display an annual essential safety measures report. This includes exits and paths of travel to exits. It is also advised that records of maintenance checks, service and repair work be kept so they can be made available for inspection by a municipal building surveyor or chief officer. This can easily be presented on demand as WSM records all of your ESM history in one easy to use interface.  If building work is carried out, your ESM requirements may change, so it is worth checking with a municipal building surveyor or private building surveyor to see what is needed to do to comply with the Regulations or contact the Building Commission.

Annual Essential Safety Measure Report

With the release of the Building Regulations 2006 it is now a requirement for all public buildings to have an annual essential safety measures report prepared before 13 June 2009.

On the Essential Safety Measures Certificate an owner must hereby state that they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that —

1. each essential safety measure is operating at the required level of performance or to fulfil its purpose; and
2. where applicable each essential safety measure has been maintained in accordance with the occupancy permit or maintenance determination and will fulfil its purpose; and
3. since the last annual essential safety measures report there have been no penetrations to required fire-resisting construction, smoke curtains and the like in the building, other than those for which a building permit has been issued; and
4. since the last annual essential safety measures report there have been no changes to materials or assemblies that must comply with particular fire hazard properties, other than those for which a building permit has been issued; and
5. the information contained in this report is correct.

The  acceptable standard that should be considered should be the latest maintenance standard AS1851-2005 unless the owner can justify why some other standard can be used.  (See below)

 WSM Essential Safety Measures Software

FM Innovations has designed the WSM software to establish, track and manage all your Essential Safety Measures as well as your Environmentally Sustainable Developments once they have been established by a registered building surveyor or on the occupancy permit.  WSM was designed as an easy to use software program to help building owners (and their management) comply with the ESM maintenance provisions ensuring safe building and maintenance practices. 

There are four crucial steps in maintaining essential safety measures within your building through WSM;

1. Identify all essential safety measures present in your building and their locations through a registered building surveyor or as listed on your certificate of occupancy
2. Specify specific internal or external personnel to maintain safety measures
3. Setup an inspection schedule using WSM planned jobs to make sure the building components are compliant with the law.  The  acceptable standard that should be considered should be the latest maintenance standard AS1851-2005 unless the owner can justify why some other standard can be used.
4. Use WSM to contact, monitor and report on your contractors to ensure compliancy. 

The system is designed to run several reports such as - 

• Essential Services work order history - Tracking previous and existing work orders with the respective dates including cancellations and the reason behind these.
• Outstanding Essential Services Work Orders - Overdue work orders, identifying what and why they are late and establishing additional planning strategies or immediate action.
• Many more. 

For more information on how we can help you please contact FM Innovations on sales@fminnovations.com.au

Essential Safety Measures Providers

FM Innovations are specialists in the field of software development, we have an extensive network of Registered Building Surveyors and specialist Maintenance Providers who come highly recommended by some of our very own clients.  Please contact us to see how we can help you. 

Essential Safety Measures in greater detail

The following has been based on the fourth edition of the Essential Safety Measures Maintenance Manual.  For up to the minute information please see the Building Commission website. 

Hierarchy of building control documents

What are essential safety measures?

Essential safety measures are the fire, life safety and health items installed or constructed in a building to ensure adequate levels of fire safety and protection from such things as Legionella over the life of the building.  Essential safety measures include all traditional building fire services such as sprinklers and mechanical services etc., but also include passive fire safety such as fire doors, fire-rated structures and other building infrastructure items such as paths of travel to exits.  An essential safety measure, for the purpose of the Regulations, is provided for the safety of people in a building or place of public entertainment.  The term ‘essential safety measure’ has been defined in the Regulations as including:–

1. Safety measures as listed in Table I1.1 to I1.11, excluding artificial lighting contained in Table I1.4, of the BCA Volume 1;
2. Mechanical ventilation systems, hot water or cooling systems;
3. Any other item listed as an essential safety measure; and
4. Essential service as defined under the Building Regulations 1994 (Previous Regulations).

This definition of essential safety measure is self-explanatory and encompasses the industry practice of referring to all safety measures, essential services, safety fittings, and equipment under the one definition of essential safety measures. You will note
that Table I1.12, I1.13 and artificial lighting under Table I1.4 of the BCA are not included.

Why do they need to be maintained?

The objective of maintenance is to ensure that every essential safety measure continues to perform at the same level of operation that existed at the time of commissioning and issue of the occupancy permit. The maintenance of essential safety measures involves:–

• Ensuring the service is maintained at a level of performance specified by the relevant building surveyor (RBS) (usually to the BCA or an Australian Standard);
• Periodical inspections and checks in accordance with an Australian Standard or other specified method; and
• Maintaining a record of the maintenance inspections and checks in the form of an annual ’essential safety measures report’.

Reasons for ensuring maintenance of various services:–

• General wear and tear — i.e. electro-magnetic hold-open devices on fire doors, shut down of air conditioning system in fire situation, replacement of emergency lighting batteries and tubes;
• Reliability of a system operating — i.e. sprinkler system, mechanical ventilation system (used as a smoke hazard management system), early warning and intercommunication system;
• Faults after commissioning of a system — i.e. emergency power supply; and
• General housekeeping — i.e. ensure paths of travel to exits are not obstructed, fire-protective coverings are maintained, portable fire extinguishers remain in place.

What type of buildings are affected?

All buildings other than a house or outbuilding are affected. These include the following Classes as defined in the Building Code of Australia:

Class 1b: Some boarding houses, guest houses or hostels
Class 2: Buildings containing sole-occupancy unit (e.g. apartments, blocks of flats)
Class 3: Backpacker accommodation, residential parts of hotels or motels residential parts of schools, accommodation for the aged, disabled or children
Class 5: Offices for professional or commercial purposes
Class 6: Shops or other buildings for sale of goods by retail cafés, restaurants, milk bars, dining rooms, and bars
Class 7: Buildings used for car parks, storage or display of goods.
Class 8: Laboratories or buildings for production or assembly of goods
Class 9: Public buildings such as health care buildings or assembly buildings, nightclubs, bars etc.

Buildings built on and after 1 July 1994

Part 5 of the Building Act 1993 (the Act) sets out the requirements for occupation of buildings and places of public entertainment.  Among other things this Part specifically details when occupancy permits are required and the form and effect of those permits.  This Part also details the decision-making responsibilities of the Relevant Building Surveyor (RBS). Most importantly Section 40 of the Act requires that a person must not occupy a building in contravention of the occupancy permit. This also includes any conditions, such as the requirements of maintenance, that occupation may be subject to. There are substantial penalties which may be applied, such as 100 penalty units for a person and 500 penalty units for a body corporate, where contravention of the Building Act 1992 occurs.  The current regulations have made it mandatory for the RBS to list the required essential safety measures on the occupancy permit. The level of performance to which the service is to be maintained must also be specified on the occupancy permit. In the case of an essential safety measure being provided where no occupancy permit is required, the RBS must determine the level of performance which must be specified in writing and given to the owner. The Regulations require that the owner:–

1. Display in an approved location a copy of an occupancy permit including any conditions required under regulation 1008;
2. Prepare an annual essential safety measures report in accordance with regulation 1209 before each anniversary of the date of occupancy permit or determination made under regulation 1204; and
3. Keep all annual essential safety measures reports and records of maintenance checks, service and repair work on the premises for inspection by the municipal building surveyor or chief officer at any time on request.

The carrying out of maintenance procedures is dependent on the complexity of the service and the experience of the person carrying out the inspection. Systems may be maintained where appropriate by the owner, service installer, maintenance contractor or internal maintenance personnel. Where the owner appoints a person to undertake the maintenance they must ensure that the person is appropriately qualified and competent to undertake the work.  An example of an essential safety measures report is included in Appendix A of the Essential Safety Measures Maintenance Manual.

Buildings built before 1 July 1994

The Regulations require the maintenance of safety equipment, safety fittings and safety measures within existing buildings built prior to 1 July 1994. These items are defined as essential safety measures, similar to those requirements for buildings built (issued with occupancy permits) on and after 1 July 1994.  The owner is responsible for ensuring that the safety equipment, safety fittings and safety measures are maintained in a state that enables them to fulfil their purpose.  The safety equipment, safety fittings and safety measures that are to be maintained are the items installed or constructed in the building that were required by the Regulations at the time of construction. These will typically be similar to those listed as essential safety measures.  The Regulations require that the owner of a building built prior to 1 July 1994:–

1. Prepare an annual essential safety measures report in accordance with regulation 1209 before each anniversary of the date of occupancy permit or determination made under regulation 1215; and
2. Keep all annual essential safety measures reports and records of maintenance checks, service and repair work on the premises for inspection by the municipal building surveyor or chief officer at any time on request.

Maintenance of exits

Occupiers are also responsible for the maintenance of exits and paths of travel to exits. The exit paths must be “...maintained in an efficient condition and kept readily accessible, functional and clear of obstruction so that egress from the building or place is maintained”; that is, to ensure proper housekeeping of the paths of travel to exits and keep exit doors and door hardware functioning.

Maintenance and inspection records

The Regulations do not specify a level of documentation to be kept by the owner. It is recommended that records of maintenance should be completed and made available to the building owner or agent at the time of conducting the system and equipment maintenance.  It is recommended that records should contain the following information:

1. Record reference.
2. Name of building or site.
3. Address of building or site.
4. Date of maintenance/inspection.
5. System or equipment identification and location (Possibly a location plan).
6. Frequency of maintenance activity undertaken.
7. Defects identified.
8. Name of property owner or the agent.
9. Name and signature of the service person.
10. Date the record was completed.

Form of records

If a person, such as a building surveyor, has been used to inspect and nominate essential safety measures, that person should provide advice as to the level of record-keeping required to satisfy the level and frequency of maintenance, but as a minimum should include the information provided above.  Maintenance records may be electronically based. Hard copy records should be kept on site and be available at all times.  Technology in regard to the preparation of maintenance records has advanced considerably in recent years with the advent of purpose-designed software, such as FM Innovations - WSMenterprise. As a minimum, hard copy of records of maintenance are to be made available to organisations such as regulators, fire authorities, insurance surveyors, fire auditors, etc. at all times. However, the hard copy records required may be prepared utilising WSM as such technology is designed to deliver an accurate, accountable, consistent and timely level of service.  Maintenance records can be in the form of maintenance record tags (in the case of hydrant landing valves, hose reels, portable and wheeled fire extinguishers and fire blankets), or log books (in the case of sprinkler, pumpset, fire hydrant, detection, smoke and heat alarm, fire alarm monitoring, sound, intercom, gaseous, aerosol, water mist, passive fire and smoke and HVAC and evacuation systems).  The use of maintenance record tags or labels shall not preclude the need for a separate maintenance record system.

Where log books are used they shall have sequentially numbered pages in triplicate. Provision shall be made for the signatures of the building owner, occupier or agent, and the service person. The required distribution of copies shall be printed on each page as follows:–
a) Original ................................................................................... owner/occupier/agent
b) Duplicate ............................................................................................. service person
c) Triplicate..................................................................................................retain in book

What happens if an owner doesn’t comply?

Non-compliance may result in an infringement notice issued by Council or the Fire Brigade up to $1,000 and furthermore, non compliance may result in prosecution in which a fine may be imposed of $10,000 for an individual or $50,000 for companies for each breach of the Regulations. More importantly, non-compliance could place not only building occupants at risk but also those of passers-by and the occupants of adjoining buildings.   

The Regulations prescribe penalties for non-compliance for each breach of the Regulations and this enforcement can be undertaken by the Commissioner, municipal building surveyor or chief officer of the relevant fire brigade (Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) or the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and may issue a building infringement notice (onthe- spot-fine). This applies under Division 5 of Part 13 of the Act and Part 17 of the Regulations for an offence against:–

• Subdivision 1, regulations 1205, 1207, 1208, 1211; and
• Subdivision 2, regulations 1214, 1216 and 1217; and
• Subdivision 3, regulation 1218.

Where it is suspected that essential safety measures are not being maintained in accordance with the Act or the Regulations, an inspection may be carried out under Section 227E of the Act.  A building infringement notice may be issued as a consequence of this inspection. A building infringement notice must be issued in the form of a Form 8 for the purposes of Section 225(2) of the Act. The notice sets out the prescribed penalty to be paid and must also indicate the steps required, if any, to rectify the offence.

Offences under subdivision 1:

Inspections of the essential safety measures provided by the building or place of public entertainment may be carried out by the chief officer and the municipal building surveyor either jointly or separately under Section 227E of the Act to determine whether they are being maintained in accordance with subdivision 1 of Part 12. Failure to maintain an essential safety measure to the required standard is an offence under Section 40 of the Act and Part 12 of the Regulations.
Failing to complete the required documentation constitutes an offence under regulations 1205, 1207, 1208, 1209, 1211.
This may include:–
• Failure to comply with a maintenance determination.
• Failure to make a maintenance schedule or determination available for inspection.
• Failure to complete an annual essential safety measures report (in accordance with regulation 1208) before each anniversary of the occupancy permit or relevant building surveyor’s determination.
• Failure to keep all essential safety measure reports and records on the premises for inspection purposes.

Offences under subdivision 2:

Failure to maintain any safety equipment, safety fitting or essential safety measure in a state that allows it to fulfil its purpose constitutes an offence under regulations 1214, 1216 and 1217. Removal of any safety equipment, safety fitting or essential safety measure from its approved location unless for maintenance purposes in accordance with the Regulations constitutes an offence under regulations 1214, 1216 and 1217.

Offences under subdivision 3

Failure to ensure that exits and paths of travel are maintained in an efficient condition and kept readily accessible, functional and clear of obstruction so that egress from the building is maintained constitutes an offence under regulation 1218.
An infringement notice issued under this subdivision is issued to occupier; however, it does not prevent infringement notices being issued on the owner for similar issues under subdivision 1 or 2.  However, the greatest concern for building owners is that if essential safety measures and other safety items are not maintained, then the risk of failure of the item when it is needed (i.e. in an emergency) increases significantly. 

Use of alternative solutions and their associated maintenance requirements

The performance-based BCA significantly changed the way building regulations were expressed and applied, by introducing a mandatory performance compliance level.  Two processes can be used to achieve compliance: the traditional prescribed requirements i.e. deemed-to-satisfy provisions; or secondly, alternative solutions.  Where it is chosen to use an alternative solution, verification of compliance with the performance requirements is satisfied by appropriate use of assessment methods. This verification of compliance with the performance requirements also includes ensuring the appropriate level of maintenance and frequency of maintenance is nominated. 

The performance-based system

The structure of the BCA comprises the following:

1. The Objectives.
2. The Functional Statements.
3. The Performance Requirements to which all building solutions must comply.
4. The Building Solutions.

The Objectives and the Functional Statements may be used as an aid to interpretation. These are informative only to aid in the interpretation and the intent of the Performance Requirements and the deemed-to-satisfy provisions. The Objectives set out the community expectations and the Functional Statements describe how it is proposed that the building will be designed and constructed to meet those expectations.  A performance-based approach defines the way of achieving a specified outcome, without prescribing a particular method.

Alternative solutions

In the BCA, any means of achieving compliance with the Performance Requirements that is not included in, or differs in any way from, a deemed-to-satisfy provision, is referred to as an ‘alternative solution’. Designers, when formulating an alternative solution, may include the use of references such as:–

• The International Fire Engineering Guidelines published by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).
• The Fire Brigade Intervention Model (FBIM) developed by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC).
• An appropriate international standard or code.

When using an alternative solution, it is important to ensure that it complies with all relevant Performance Requirements in the BCA. No BCA provision can be considered in isolation. Any departure from the deemed-to-satisfy provisions for an alternative solution needs to be assessed against the relevant Performance Requirements within the relevant section of the BCA. Additionally, the proposed alternative solution may also impact on other Performance Requirements in other BCA sections. Therefore these additional Performance Requirements, including those for maintenance, need to be considered in relation to alternative solutions. It is important that a holistic approach is used when determining the appropriate Performance Requirements.

For more information on how we can help you please contact FM Innovations.  

For more information on the Essential Safety Measures laws please see

http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/www/html/296-essential-safety-measures.asp

*  Information provided here is true and correct at the time of publishing, it is intended as a first point of reference and should not be relied on a substitute for organisational specific professional advice.