Why October matters
The first cold week brings the same calls every year: no heating, a burst pipe in a roof void, a leak under a blocked gutter, a car park in the dark. Engineers and parts are hardest to get in that week. Anything you book now is done before it turns into a P1.
The checks below turn up on most UK commercial buildings. They are a starting point, not a substitute for your own risk assessments, your insurer’s conditions or the manufacturer’s guidance.
Heating and boilers
- Boiler service. Every gas boiler serviced and safety checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer before the heating goes on full time. If it was done in spring, check the record is on file.
- System pressure and radiators. Check pressure on sealed systems, bleed radiators, and look for valves that have seized over the summer.
- Pumps and controls. Run the pumps, check the thermostats and timeclocks, and make sure the BMS schedules match how each site is used this winter.
- Flues and ventilation. Check flues and air vents on gas appliances are clear. Test carbon monoxide alarms where they are fitted.
- The clocks. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October. Check every heating and lighting timeclock the week after, and the BMS if it does not change itself.
Hot water and pipework
- Lagging. Walk exposed pipes in roof voids, plant rooms, car parks and outside walls. Replace lagging that is missing, wet or crushed.
- Trace heating. Test it before the first frost, not after the first burst.
- External taps. Isolate and drain outside taps and any pipework that is not needed over winter.
- Stopcocks. Know where every stopcock is, label it, and make sure it turns. The out-of-hours engineer needs this at 2am.
- Water hygiene. Keep the legionella regime going. Little-used outlets still need flushing, and temperature checks still need doing, when a building quietens down.
Gutters, roofs and drainage
- Gutters and outlets. Clear gutters, downpipes and roof outlets once the leaves are down. A blocked outlet on a flat roof becomes a leak into the ceiling below.
- Roof coverings. Look for slipped tiles, split felt and lifted flashings before the winter storms find them.
- Gullies and drains. Clear gullies and check drains run freely, especially at the bottom of slopes and ramps.
- Safe access. Book roof work with the right access and a method statement. Winter is the worst time to be on a roof in a hurry.
External lighting and grounds
- Car park and path lighting. Test every external light, photocell and timer. The darker evenings arrive with the clock change.
- Emergency lighting. Keep the monthly functional tests on schedule. Faults show up more in winter, when more people are in the building after dark.
- Gritting. Agree the gritting plan, who triggers it and at what temperature. Fill grit bins before they are needed.
- Leaves and slip hazards. Book leaf clearance for paths, steps and entrances, and check matting at the doors.
Frost protection and plant
- Frost thermostats. Test frost thermostats on boilers, air handling units and plant rooms, and check the set points.
- Closed systems. Check the antifreeze concentration in systems that rely on it.
- Sprinklers and tanks. Make sure sprinkler valve rooms, pipework in unheated areas and water tanks are kept above freezing.
- Generators. Test run standby generators, check the fuel, and check any heaters that keep them ready to start in the cold.
Empty and part-used buildings
- Heating to frost protection. Set empty sites to frost protection, not off. A drained-down building is cheaper than a flooded one.
- Inspections. Check what your insurer requires for unoccupied buildings. Many policies set a minimum inspection frequency. Book the visits and record each one.
- Keyholders. Check the keyholder list is current, and that alarm monitoring calls someone who answers.
- Water. Plan flushing for outlets that will sit unused, and who does it.
Book it once
A winter list only works if it comes round again next October. In docket, each of these checks is a PPM task on the planner and calendar, against the site and the asset. When the engineer photographs the service sheet or certificate, docket reads it and files it against both, so next winter starts with a record instead of a guess.
Planning the year, not just the winter? Start with the free PPM schedule template.