What Is A Building Asset Register For Building Maintenance?

A building asset register (commonly referred to as a built asset register) provides a complete record of all assets within a building,  

At SFG20, the industry standard for building maintenance specification, it’s our mission to keep buildings safe and to help you achieve operational excellence. Our team has first-hand experience of working with built asset registers, so we’ve put together this complete beginner’s guide to explain it as clearly as possible. 

This guide will further explain what a built asset register is, what format they should be kept in, when they should be created, what they are used for, alongside the benefits that they offer to different stakeholders in the building maintenance industry. 

What Is A Built Asset Register? 

A built asset register is a comprehensive structured list which compiles all of your building’s assets, with each asset entry on the register broken down into several data fields.  

Each organisation should determine its specific data requirements in order to manage every asset across its whole lifecycle. What is contained within, and the structure of the data should be directed by the Client and not dictated by the Supply Chain. 

Building asset registers often form part of a building owner’s manual or an operation and maintenance (O&M) manual. There is no statutory requirement for this manual, but it should form a legal obligation within the contracts to construct the building. 

It's vital to keep this register up to date, with responsibility often assigned to an Asset Manager. 

Which Formats Are Built Asset Registers Kept In? 

Asset registers in the building maintenance industry can be in the form of a digital written document, spreadsheet, on paper or can be integrated with software such as BIM or Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) software. 

Where organisations use BIM, the asset information model (AIM) generated through BIM becomes the foundation of the asset register. 

BIM coordinators or data managers are then responsible for ensuring that the asset information in the model is accurate and accessible. 

When Should A Built Asset Register Be Created? 

Your asset register should be prepared during the design stage of a building project; however, it can also be created during the construction phase or through a survey of an existing, completed building.  

What Is A Built Asset Register Used For? 

Every facility can benefit from a built asset register, regardless of its size, as it provides a complete overview of essential building information. 

They serve as a record of asset information that helps building owners and facilities managers to track, manage and maintain assets throughout their lifecycles as well as to inform you when they are nearing the end of their lifecycle. 

In order to keep the asset register up to date and fully detailed, it’s important to keep an accurate log of times and dates during each entry.  

By having accurate details for each asset, this will enable you to monitor items such as the performance and status against past and present values.   

In the long term, this will support effective management, enhance operational efficiency, ensure compliance with the latest legislation and support the Golden Thread of information.  

Why Are Built Asset Registers So Important?

If you do not have a complete record of all the assets, you can’t sure that you are maintaining them properly and you can’t ensure that your organisation is compliant.  

For example, if you don’t know how many or where all of your emergency light units are, you can’t undertake the necessary compliance testing on them to ensure they are serviceable in the event of a fire or other emergencies that require property evacuation. 

Ignorance is never a legal defence in the event of significant incidents that can be prevented with an accurate built asset register and a robust compliance regime. 

What Are The Benefits Of A Well-organised Built Asset Register? 

From maintenance schedules to the actual carrying out of work, built asset registers lay the foundation for all of your asset information systems.  

Without an accurate built asset register in place, your maintenance operations will crumble, and fast. 

By maintaining an accurate and comprehensive built asset register, organisations can significantly reduce operational costs, extend asset lifespans and ensure compliance with current legislation and regulations in the building maintenance industry.  

More specifically, a good built asset register can help the below stakeholders in the following ways: 

Learn How To Create A Built Asset Register 

To recap, built asset registers serve as a complete repository for all of a building’s assets, helping to support effective maintenance management and compliance starting from how the information is stored to the actual carrying out of work. 

Now that you have solid foundational knowledge of built asset registers, it’s time to create one. 

At SFG20, our mission is to help you achieve building safety.  

Many building owners aren’t aware of their total asset count which can result in missed statutory maintenance tasks and ultimately lead to non-compliance. By having a fully comprehensive built asset register, this is a huge first step towards keeping your building safe and staying on the right side of the law. 

That’s why SFG20 are going to teach you how to build your asset register in the best possible way. Click the button below to learn more about how to create a built asset register.