What are Specified Systems?

Specified Systems help ensure a building is safe and healthy for people to enter, occupy or work in.

Buildings that contain certain safety and essential systems, known as Specified Systems, need a Compliance Schedule.

They require ongoing inspection, maintenance and reporting based on procedures to ensure they function as required. If they fail to operate properly, they have the potential to affect health or life safety.

What is a Compliance Schedule?

A Compliance Schedule is formal document required by the Building Act 2004, which lists:

• A building’s Specified Systems, and
• The inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures needed to keep them in good order.

All buildings, other than single residential buildings, require a Compliance Schedule and annual Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF), if they contain:

• Automatic systems for fire suppression (for example, sprinkler systems)
• Automatic or manual emergency warning systems for fire or other dangers
• Electromagnetic or automatic doors or windows (for example, ones that close on fire alarm activation)
• Emergency lighting systems
• Escape route pressurisation systems
• Riser mains for use by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ)
• Automatic backflow preventers connected to a potable water supply
• Lifts, escalators, travelators or other systems for moving people or goods within buildings
• Mechanical ventilation or air-conditioning systems
• Building maintenance units providing access to exterior and interior walls of buildings
• Laboratory fume cupboards
• Audio loops or other assistive listening systems
• Smoke control systems
• Emergency power systems for, or signs relating to, a system or feature specified for any of the above systems or features
• Any or all of the following features:
• All buildings that have a cable car, including single residential buildings, must also have a compliance schedule.

• Systems for communicating spoken information intended to help evacuation
• Final exits (as defined by clause A2 of the building code)
• Fire separations
• Signs for communicating information intended to facilitate evacuation
• Smoke separations

 

Applications for Compliance Schedules related to a building consent

Complete Form 27 Application for Compliance Schedule with your building consent application for new, altered, added to or removed specified systems.  Identify each specified system by ticking appropriate boxes these have default design and installation standards which will populate default reporting and maintenance procedures on the compliance schedule, a full list of these can be viewed on our IS SS Information Sheet for Specified Systems.  If you intend to use other design, installation, reporting and maintenance procedures please complete a SS Form.

The QLDC building control authority will issue the building consent listing specified systems to be included or altered on the compliance schedule. 

At the time of Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) application we will prepare a compliance schedule for issue with the with the CCC.

 

Amendments to Compliance Schedules related to a building consent

Amendments are required where specified systems are installed or removed.  Where systems are altered we will assess the extent of the changes to the installation, inspection and maintenance performances, generally if the performance standards remain unchanged an amendment will not be required.  For example where the only building work related to a specified system is the relocation of a couple of sprinkler heads and the performance standard of the system remains the same the code of compliance certificate can be issued without an amended compliance schedule.

 

Applications for Compliance Schedules not related to a building consent

Complete Form 11 Application for Compliance Schedule where the compliance schedule is requires an amending outside of a building consent (e.g. as a result of an audit by QLDC Territorial Authority).

 

Issuing a Compliance Schedule

At the time of issuing the Code Compliance Certificate QLDC issues the Compliance Schedule confirming the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures to be followed to keep these specified systems in good working order.

In addition to the CCC the owner will get:

• A copy of the Compliance Schedule
• A Compliance Schedule Statement (which is the document to be displayed in a public place within the building for the first 12 months, after which it is to be replaced by a Building Warrant of Fitness - BWOF)
• A letter providing information about the anniversary date by which the BWOF is to be supplied each subsequent year, and details about the requirement to engage a suitably authorised Independent Qualified Person (IQP) to certify the ongoing performance of the Compliance Schedule features.