After fire protection work: your handover checklist

After fire stopping or fire door work, the building team needs a clear account of what was completed, where it was completed and what remains outstanding. Agree the required handover information when the work is commissioned, then check the delivered records against that agreement.

The precise documents depend on the service and scope. A survey-only appointment, a maintenance repair and a new installation will not produce identical records. The checklist below helps organise the review without assuming that every document applies to every job.

Reconcile the work with the original schedule

Start with the agreed scope and approved changes. Match each completed item to the building, floor and location, retaining the original survey or asset reference where possible.

Record any change in the work that was necessary after conditions were established. The handover should allow the property team to understand the final position without relying on the memory of the person who attended the site meetings.

Keep inaccessible, excluded and partially completed items separate from completed work. If another trade must finish before an item can be addressed, record that dependency and who will arrange the next step.

Check the agreed evidence

Depending on the package, information to review may include:

• A schedule of completed work linked to location references.
• Relevant installation or maintenance records and dated photographs.
• Product or system information for the work actually carried out.
• Applicable certification or other evidence specified in the agreement.
• Drawing mark-ups, labels or registers needed to locate the work.
• Relevant care and maintenance information.
• An outstanding-items list with agreed next actions.

Check that photographs and documents can be matched to the right item. A folder of unnamed images may be difficult to use when a different person manages the building later. If you need records imported into an asset system, confirm the agreed format and required identifiers.

Resolve questions before closing the project record

Ask for clarification where references, quantities or document versions do not agree. Record the response and any follow-up rather than silently changing the contractor's report.

If there are items requiring another visit, identify an owner and an agreed next step. A handover for one package should not be treated as confirmation that every fire safety issue in the building has been resolved. Read the scope alongside the evidence.

Share the right information with the building team

Provide the relevant records to those managing the property, maintenance and future alterations. Store them where authorised colleagues can find them, with sensible file names and version dates. Preserve the link to the original survey report and approved scope.

The government's fire safety responsibilities guidance explains that appropriate fire safety measures must be maintained. Handover therefore supports ongoing management; it is not the end of the building's maintenance responsibilities.

Plan for future work and changes

Before later cable, pipe or building work affects a protected element, make the existing records available to the team planning that work. Agree how affected items will be checked, reinstated where necessary and recorded. Avoid allowing an alteration to disappear from the maintenance history simply because it formed part of a different contract.

For doors, retain the relevant maintenance information and a route for reporting damage or changes in operation. Discuss the appropriate inspection and maintenance arrangements with the people responsible for the building.

If you are planning follow-on fire stopping or fire door maintenance, contact Interseal with the item references, current records and the reason for the new enquiry.