SFG20 is the maintenance specification standard most UK building operators use to define planned maintenance. It provides task lists and frequencies for thousands of asset types, kept current with legislation and guidance, and lets organizations tailor schedules to their own risk. See condition-based maintenance.

Is SFG20 a legal requirement?

No. SFG20 is a specification, but its red tasks reflect legal duties, so skipping them can leave a building owner out of compliance. Many contracts also write SFG20 into the scope, which makes it binding between client and contractor.

Can an SFG20 subscriber change a task's criticality?

Yes, for non-statutory tasks on the higher Facilities-iQ subscriptions. Statutory tasks stay fixed. Changing criticality or frequency should be backed by evidence, such as asset condition data, so the decision stands up in an audit or a contract dispute.

How does SFG20 relate to a CMMS?

SFG20 supplies the task content and frequencies. The CMMS raises the work orders and records completion. Many CMMS products import SFG20 schedules directly, so the library and the work order system stay aligned when tasks change.

Glossary

Government and public sector

What is SFG20?

Definition

SFG20 is the UK industry standard library of planned maintenance schedules for building engineering services, published by BESA, defining what to maintain, how often, and how critical each task is.

Who relies on it

UK facilities managers, FM contractors and estates teams use SFG20 to write maintenance specifications and tender scopes, usually through its Facilities-iQ software. The standard has been in place since 1990, according to SFG20.

How tasks are classified

Each task carries a criticality colour, per SFG20:

Red: statutory or legal, a legal requirement
Pink: business critical, contractual or operational, added when a schedule is tailored to a sector or organization
Amber: optimal, function critical or industry best practice
Green: discretionary, non-critical

Evidence for changing an interval

Tailoring a schedule is where measured data helps. Aqueduct holds run hours, alarm history and readings from linked sensors per asset, such as differential pressure ahead of a filter, which gives a documented reason to stretch or shorten an amber or green interval. Red tasks keep their legal frequency whatever the data shows.

What is SFG20?

Who relies on it

How tasks are classified

Evidence for changing an interval

SFG20: common questions

See Aqueduct on your own facility.