Short answer: a PPM schedule lists every asset on the site, the tasks for each one, how often they are done, who does them and what is recorded. Take each frequency from a named source: the law where it sets one, HSE guidance such as HSG274 for hot and cold water, the manufacturer's instructions, or the client's risk assessment. Then group the tasks into visits you can book.
Why the schedule matters
Several laws require plant to be maintained, but most do not say how often. That is the gap a PPM schedule fills.
- Workplaces: equipment, devices and systems covered by regulation 5 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 must be maintained "in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair" and, where appropriate, be "subject to a suitable system of maintenance".
- Work equipment: the employer must keep work equipment maintained in the same terms and keep any machinery maintenance log up to date (PUWER 1998, reg 5).
- Gas: every employer or self-employed person must ensure that any gas appliance, installation pipework or flue at a place of work under their control "is maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent risk of injury to any person" (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 35).
- Electrical systems: they must be maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable (Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, reg 4(2)).
- Pressure systems: the user must ensure the system "is properly maintained in good repair, so as to prevent danger" (Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, reg 12), as well as having it examined under a written scheme.
Where each frequency comes from
| Source | What it sets | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A written scheme of examination (PSSR 2000, regs 8 and 9) | The nature and frequency of statutory examinations, set by a competent person | Protective devices, pressure vessels and pipework where a defect may give rise to danger |
| HSE guidance: HSG274 Part 2 (2024), Table 2.1 | Inspection and monitoring frequencies for hot and cold water systems, adjusted by the risk assessment | Calorifier flow and return temperatures monthly; showers descaled quarterly |
| The site's Legionella risk assessment | Local frequencies, where the assessor changes the HSG274 starting point | Expansion vessel flushing anywhere from monthly to six-monthly |
| Manufacturer's instructions | Service intervals and checks for each make and model | Boilers, pumps, booster sets, pressurisation units, water heaters |
| The contract or the client's standard | Anything agreed on top, or a named library of schedules | A client that asks for visits to follow SFG20 |
Write the source next to every task. When a client asks why the shower heads are done quarterly, the answer is on the schedule.
A note on SFG20
SFG20 describes itself as "the industry standard for building maintenance". It is a paid library of maintenance schedules, and its website says the only way to access the standard is through its Facilities-iQ software. If a client's contract names SFG20, the schedules come from that subscription. We do not reproduce SFG20 content, and Field Suite has no link with it.
Pressure systems
PSSR applies to systems that contain a "relevant fluid": steam at any pressure, or a gas or certain liquids at more than 0.5 bar above atmospheric pressure (reg 2). Hot water only counts as a relevant fluid when it is hot enough to have a vapour pressure more than 0.5 bar above atmospheric, which means well above 100 °C, so an ordinary low temperature hot water heating circuit is not caught by its water alone; the gas cushion in a pressurised vessel can be. HSE's brief guide lists examples including boilers and steam heating systems, compressed air systems, heat exchangers and refrigeration plant. It says a written scheme is required for most pressure systems and "generally speaking, only very small systems are exempted". The main exemption is in Schedule 1, Part II: for systems other than steam, the written scheme and examination duties (regs 8 to 10 and 14) do not apply if, for each pressure vessel, the pressure in bar multiplied by the internal volume in litres is less than 250 bar litres. Whether a vessel on your site is in or out is for the user and the competent person to decide, not the schedule writer. It also says the examination "is not a substitute for regular and routine maintenance". So a pressure system appears twice on the schedule: the examination at the scheme's interval, and the routine maintenance at yours.
What the schedule should list
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Site and location in the building | The engineer finds the plant without a phone call |
| Asset: type, make, model, serial number | Ties the task to the right manual and the right history |
| Task | What is done, in plain words |
| Frequency | Monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, yearly, or the scheme's interval |
| Source of the frequency | Law, HSE guidance, manufacturer, risk assessment or contract |
| Who does it | Your engineer, a specialist, the competent person or site staff |
| Qualification needed | For example, an employer or self-employed person may only do work on gas fittings if they are a member of a class of persons approved by HSE (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 3(3)); HSE points to the Gas Safe Register to check an engineer |
| Record to leave | Readings, a certificate, a pass or fail, photos |
| Next due | The date the visit is booked against |
Hot and cold water tasks from HSG274
For hot and cold water systems, Table 2.1 of HSG274 Part 2 gives a checklist with "an indication of the frequency of inspection and monitoring". The risk assessment "should define the frequency" (para 2.79).
| Asset | Task | Frequency in Table 2.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Calorifiers | Check flow temperature (as close to 60 °C as practicable without going below 60 °C) and return temperature (not below 50 °C) | Monthly |
| Calorifiers | Inspect internally and clean by draining | Annually, or as indicated by the rate of fouling |
| Hot water services, circulating | Temperatures at return legs of principal loops: at least 50 °C (55 °C in healthcare premises) | Monthly |
| Cold water storage tanks | Inspect and carry out remedial work where necessary | Annually |
| Cold water services | Sentinel taps below 20 °C within two minutes of running | Monthly |
| Showers and spray taps | Dismantle, clean and descale heads, inserts and hoses | Quarterly, or as indicated by fouling or other risk factors |
| Thermostatic mixing valves | Inspect, clean, descale and disinfect strainers or filters | Annually or as the risk assessment defines, taking account of the manufacturer |
| Expansion vessels on hot and cold water systems | Where practical, flush through and purge to drain | Monthly to six-monthly, as the risk assessment indicates |
| Infrequently used outlets | Flush until the temperature stabilises and purge to drain | Weekly, or as the risk assessment indicates |
The full Legionella picture is in the HSE documents. For pumps on the same site, see booster set servicing and the pump service checklist.
Worked example: a three-storey office
The plant: two gas boilers, an indirect calorifier, a cold water storage tank feeding a twin-pump booster set, a sealed heating system with a pressurisation unit and its own expansion vessel, eight showers and four thermostatic mixing valves. The booster set and the hot water system each have a potable water expansion vessel. The client's Legionella risk assessment sets flushing of those potable vessels at six-monthly; HSG274 Part 2 covers hot and cold water systems, so its flushing task is for these potable vessels, not the closed heating circuit. The client asks you to take on the monthly temperature checks. The weekly flushing of little-used outlets stays with site staff, as the risk assessment says.
| Visit | Months | Tasks | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly water visit | Every month | Calorifier flow and return, hot water return legs, cold water sentinel taps | HSG274 Table 2.1 |
| Quarterly visit | March, June, September, December | The monthly tasks, plus showers descaled, booster set and heating pumps checked for leaks and test-run | HSG274 Table 2.1; contract |
| Six-monthly visit | June, December | The quarterly tasks, plus the potable water expansion vessels flushed and purged | Risk assessment |
| Annual visit | June | Everything above, plus calorifier inspection, cold water tank inspection, TMV service, boiler service, booster set vessel precharge and pressure settings | HSG274 Table 2.1; manufacturers' instructions |
| PSSR examination | As the written scheme says | Only for parts the competent person includes in the scheme | PSSR regs 8 and 9 |
That is 12 visits a year, with the heavy one in June, when the heating is off. Booking the boiler service then is a planning choice, not a rule. If the risk assessment changes, change the plan and note why. To cost the plan, see pricing a PPM contract. To start from a ready-made sheet, use the PPM schedule template.
Who does what
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| The client (employer, or whoever controls the premises) | Holds the maintenance duties above, owns the Legionella risk assessment and agrees the schedule |
| The PSSR user | Makes sure there is a written scheme and that examinations happen at its intervals (regs 8 and 9) |
| The competent person under PSSR | Draws up or certifies the scheme, examines the system and sends a signed, dated written report |
| Your firm | Builds the schedule, carries out the tasks, records results and reports defects with how urgent they are |
| Site staff | Tasks the risk assessment gives them, such as weekly flushing of little-used outlets |
What to record
- Each task done, the date, and who did it, with their signature or another form of authentication (L8, paras 73 and 74)
- Readings as found, such as temperatures and pressures, and results of any check or test
- Remedial work needed and done, with the completion date (L8, para 74)
- A log of contractor visits (L8, para 74)
- Defects found, with urgency and a recommendation
- For pressure systems, the competent person's last report, kept at the premises or approved premises (PSSR reg 14)
HSE's L8 says to keep Legionella monitoring, inspection, test and check records, with their dates, "for at least five years" (para 72).
Running a PPM schedule in Field Suite
- Equipment register: each asset at its site with make, model, serial number, service interval and next due date.
- Contracts: visit lines that repeat every set number of months, each with a form to fill in. Field Suite creates the job a set number of days before it is due (21 by default), and moves the due date on. Visits are set in whole months, so weekly tasks stay with site staff or a separate arrangement.
- Forms on the phone: ready-made forms include a pump service checklist. The ready-made gas safety record is the landlord's record for let homes, so for water temperatures or a commercial boiler service, add your own questions in the form builder.
- Import: bring an existing schedule in from a spreadsheet, one row per visit line. The template has the right columns.
- Faults: engineers record what they find with how urgent it is, and the office turns the faults into a quote.
See planned maintenance software, pump maintenance software and subcontractor management for specialist visits, read about sewage pumping station maintenance and what a job sheet should show, check prices, or book a demo.
Field Suite is job management software. The law, the manufacturer's instructions and the site's own risk assessments decide what is maintained and how often.
Questions
Is there a legal PPM frequency for commercial boilers?
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 35, require gas appliances at a place of work to be maintained in a safe condition, without setting an interval. Use the manufacturer's instructions and record the source.
What is the difference between a PSSR examination and a service?
The examination is a statutory check by a competent person under a written scheme. HSE says it "is not a substitute for regular and routine maintenance", so both go on the schedule.
Can the Legionella risk assessment change HSG274 frequencies?
Yes. HSG274 says the risk assessment should define the frequency of inspection and monitoring, and several rows in Table 2.1 say "or as indicated by the risk assessment".
Do I need SFG20 to write a PPM schedule?
No law requires it. Some clients name it in their contracts, and then the schedules come from an SFG20 subscription.
Sources
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, regulation 5. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/regulation/5
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 5. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/regulation/5
- HSE, Check an engineer: are they Gas Safe registered? https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/gas-safe-register-check.htm
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulations 3 and 35. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/regulation/3 and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/regulation/35
- Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 4. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/635/regulation/4
- Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, Schedule 1 (exceptions). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/schedule/1
- Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, regulations 2, 8, 9, 12 and 14. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/regulation/2, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/regulation/8, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/regulation/9, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/regulation/12 and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/128/regulation/14
- HSE, Pressure systems: A brief guide to safety, INDG261. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg261.pdf
- HSE, Legionnaires' disease: Technical guidance, HSG274 Part 2 (2024), paras 2.38 and 2.79, Info box 2.1 and Table 2.1. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg274part2.pdf
- HSE, Legionnaires' disease: The control of legionella bacteria in water systems, L8 (fourth edition), paras 72 to 74. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l8.pdf
- SFG20, home page (what SFG20 is and how it is accessed). https://www.sfg20.co.uk/
Last checked: 5 November 2026 against the sources above.
Checked in detail: HSE HSG274 Part 2, L8, INDG261 and Gas Safe Register page, PSSR 2000, Workplace Regulations 1992, PUWER 1998, Gas Safety Regulations 1998 and Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 on legislation.gov.uk.
Field Suite is job management software for UK building services firms, not a consultancy. Your own risk assessments, contracts and advisers decide what applies to your work. Spotted a mistake? Email info@fieldsuiteapp.com and we correct it.