Covid-19 Update. BWOFs During Emergency Level 4

To assist you as a building owner or building manager during the Covid-19 emergency, here are some answers to your questions about your building’s BWOF, and what is documentation is required to comply with the Acts and the essential  services directive from the Government during this lock down.

Essential buildings and essential services has been designated on the Ministry of Business and Covid-19 web sites.

Compliance Schedules detailing the inspection, maintenance and reporting requirements for Specified Systems in a building also state the frequency of the testing and by whom. Annually a BWOF is issued. For example, a fire alarm is tested monthly, the air conditioning system is tested 3 monthly and some systems annually.

If a building service is considered an essential service (e.g. Supermarket) then the building will be occupied by staff, tenants and the public. Under this level 4 emergency the systems are not required to be tested to the Compliance Schedule requirements, but SHOULD A SYSTEM BE ACTIVATED OR GO INTO FAULT then the owner or tenant must call out the normal testing person or company to reset the system so it functions.

The Owner or tenant should phone the contractor then email a letter to the contractor with instructions of their requirement to attend the site and that they are considered an essential person to attend a system at the address of the essential building. This is the document the police will be looking for. 

For the BWOF to be issued on due date, the contractor is required by the Building Act 2004 to issue a Form 12A (a prescribed form) for the previous 12 months the system has complied with the Compliace Schedule. Section 110 also requires the owner to collect the Annual Report (a non prescibed form) for that system. If the contractor is unable to issue the Form 12A, they must issue an Annual Report to the owner or owners agent.