Your questions answered

SFG20 is the standard maintenance specification for building engineering services. It is recognised as the industry standard and is an essential tool for planned maintenance. It is the benchmark for working standards; providing building owners, managers, contractors, consultants and end users with the tools to keep buildings properly maintained and compliant. SFG20 is made available through a dynamic web-based service which is updated in real-time.

SFG stands for the Services and Facilities Group and the origin of the number 20 is derived from our parent organisation - BESA - who assign numbers to the different standards that they develop. In 1988, BESA launched TR19 which is a standard for the maintenance of duct and kitchen extract cleaning systems. Following that, SFG20 was born and has grown to be the industry standard for building maintenance specification.

SFG20 is a growing library, providing over 2000 industry maintenance task schedules covering all principal types of heating, cooling and ventilation, installation and plant, and electrical services complete with technical updates and legislative references.

A BESA technical team are responsible for developing and updating technical content. The team regularly review SFG20 maintenance task schedules to continually assess the effects of new legislation, equipment and changes to best practice. A dedicated BESA Service and Facilities executive committee comprising of Directors, Heads of Groups, Senior Management and representatives of other leading practitioners are responsible for ratifying new and updated technical content. All updates are communicated to subscribers by way of technical bulletins and schedule updates, keeping our subscribers informed with regards to latest legislation and best practice – keeping you compliant.

SFG20’s technical consultants continually monitor and review all legislation and best practice to ensure our library of maintenance tasks are up-to-date. Subscribers receive automatic change notifications via email.

The rationale behind the RICS New Rules of Measurement (NRM 3) was to be able to integrate the construction cost management with renewals and operation and maintenance, through to end of life. Therefore updating the CIBSE Guide M table is really important to provide the common data classification for overcoming the capital and revenue divide, along with having a massive impact on how buildings can be handed over to be operated and maintained. Also to structure and standardise future condition surveying and inform the forward asset renewal programmes of work. The CIBSE table update 2018, is essential to help future construction projects to be more robustly lifecycle costed (5D and 6D) – by providing the common data classification for enabling effective handover of asset information post construction, and to then effectively operate, maintain and sustain. Based on cross industry collaboration between SFG20, RICS NRM 3 and CIBSE technical teams have updated the economic life expectancy table in CIBSE Guide M (1st edition 2014). The update fully aligns CIBSE reference service life data with SFG20 maintenance codes and to NRM 1 and 3 asset descriptions and coding for building assets and also incorporates additional new SFG20 maintenance task schedules and SFG20 codes from 2014 to 2018.

SFG20 is available on an on-going subscription basis. To purchase, please visit our Contact page and enter your details to submit a purchase enquiry.

The subscription fees vary according to size of business and level of the product purchased. To discuss your requirements further, simply complete a contact us form  and one of our account managers will be in touch.

Yes, BESA members get a 30% discount off the subscription cost. A 10% discount is also offered to BESA Affiliate members.

Following completion of the necessary paperwork, you will be granted immediate access to SFG20.

If you use Microsoft Edge as your browser, you may be aware that currently this does not support the download of xml files. If you wish to carry out an SFG20 xml download, that you can still do this by using an alternative browser such as Google Chrome etc. 

A colour-coded rating system enables users to visualise the prioritisation of tasks to optimise maintenance. SFG20 task maintenance schedules display the recommended rating based on Legislation, Regulations and Industry Best Practice. Users can customise these schedules according to the ratings within their particular sector/organisation. Red – Statutory/Legal (To ensure legal compliance) Pink – Mandatory - Business Critical (To ensure sector/organisation compliance) Amber – Optimal - (Function Critical and Industry Best Practice) Green – Discretionary (Non-Critical Maintenance) For a full detailed summary for each colour coded criticality rating, please download the document here.

Yes. Within by purchasing an Unlimited xml download option, subscribers can download data in xml format for integration into a CAFM system. We also now have a number of SFG20 Approved Providers which can be found on our 3rd Party Software Integration page.

Service Model Administration allows you to create bespoke models and structure them according to your own company requirements. As a subscriber, you can select the schedules you wish to use for your Service and Maintenance Manuals for particular buildings or sets of assets.

Generic ‘Service Timings’ are displayed against each frequency where a frequency applies. These are estimated and could vary dependent on the size, age and/or location of the equipment/building. They are visible to all SFG20 subscribers. At the Service Model level of the product ‘Service Timings’ can be customised according to individual circumstances.

Each schedule has a UoM assigned to it which will be one of the following:

• System - an entire system e.g. 23-05 Gas Extinguishing Systems or 87-27 testing/sampling chilled water
• Nr (Number) - individual items e.g. 29-01 Heat Exchangers
• M²(metre squared) - areas e.g. 35-01 Thermal Insulation – Sheet
• Metre e.g. 35-02 Thermal Insulation – Pipe

The UoM helps you identify whether the service timings on the schedules are applicable per system, per item, per square metre or per linear metre

They also assist you in entering the correct quantities in our Resource Modeller product

Yes, skill sets are included on schedules to provide guidelines as to the recommended skill set to carry out a task.

SFG20 SKILL SET DEFINITIONS - PDF

Yes, providing the user has an access level above read only, subscribers can create their own unique Custom schedules. Elements such as technical content, frequencies of tasks and skill sets can be added and/or amended on custom schedules. Criticality ratings can also be assigned depending on the product subscription: Core Plus – Pink Service Model – Red, Pink, Amber and Green

SFG20 is a web application provided via a connection to the internet and a suitable browser. This document sets out the minimum requirements needed to access the SFG20 application.

Click here for more details on the SFG20 application requirements.

It is likely a caching issue. Caching is controlled on the local computer you are using, not by SFG20 servers or code, so as a user you MUST clear the cache yourselves. If you are unsure as to how to do this then please contact your internal IT support team or search online for instruction on clearing cache.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) is the UK’s leading professional body for building and engineering services contractors. BESA represents the interests of firms active in the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration products and equipment. The association is leading the sector’s efforts to deliver a more sustainable built environment through technical guidance, training and supporting new ways of working.

BESA membership is open to UK firms engaged in the design, installation, commissioning and/or maintenance of heating, ventilating, refrigeration, air conditioning, ductwork, plumbing, facilities services and energy management systems.

Any company applying for BESA membership must participate in an independent competence assessment prior to being accepted for membership. The BESA membership page gives more details of the joining process and full contact details should you wish to make an enquiry  https://www.thebesa.com/join-us/