Guidance notes for buildings that contain Specified Systems

Specified systems are those which help ensure a building is safe and healthy for people to enter, occupy or work in. In addition to a Specified System Form with the building consent application, these require a compliance schedule to ensure they continue to perform as was intended when they were installed.

Schedule 1 of the Building (Specified Systems, Change the Use, and Earthquake-prone Buildings) Regulations 2005 details the specified systems, which include the following:

SS 1  - Automatic systems for fire suppression

SS 2  - Automatic or manual emergency warning systems for fire or other dangers

SS 3 - Electromagnetic or automatic doors or windows

SS3/1 Automatic doors

SS3/2 Access controlled doors

SS3/3 Interfaced fire or smoke doors or windows

SS 4 - Emergency lighting systems

SS 5 - Escape route pressurisation systems

SS 6 - Riser mains for use by fire services

SS 7 - Automatic back-flow preventers connected to a potable water supply

SS 8 - Lifts, escalators, travelators, or other systems for moving people or goods within buildings

SS8/1 Passenger carrying lifts

SS8/2 Service lifts

SS8/3 Escalators & moving walkways

SS 9 - Mechanical ventilation or air conditioning systems

SS 10 - Building maintenance units providing access to exterior and interior walls of buildings

SS 11 - Laboratory fume cupboards

SS 12 - Audio loops or other assistive listening systems

SS12/1 Audio Loops

SS12/2 FM radio frequency systems & infrared beam transmission systems

SS 13 - Smoke control systems

SS13/1 Mechanical smoke control

SS13/2 Natural smoke control

SS13/3 Smoke curtains

SS 14 - Emergency power systems for, or signs relating to, a system or feature specified in any of SS1 to SS13

SS14/1 Emergency power systems relating to a system of feature specified in any of clauses 1-13

SS14/2 Signs relating to a system of feature specified in any of clauses 1-13

SS 15  - Other fire safety systems or features (systems for communicating information intended to facilitate evacuation, final exits, fire separations, signs, smoke separations)

SS15/1 Systems to communicate spoken information intended to facilitate evacuation

SS15/2 Final exits

SS15/3 Fire separations

SS15/4 Signs for communicating information to facilitate evacuation

SS15/5 Smoke separations

SS 16 - Cable cars (including to residential dwelling)

Location of the specified system, within or attached to the building. 

This must be shown on a fire safety floor plan. Please indicate which drawing sheet.

Identifies what standard the system is to meet in order to meet the requirements of the New Zealand Building Code.

These may be a specific approved standard, an acceptable solution or specifically designed for the feature or system in question. 

Each specified system has inspection and maintenance procedures to ensure the system is performing, and continues to perform, to the performance standards set out for that specified system.

Reporting procedures determine what records of the above are to be kept on the premises.

The inspection, maintenance, and reporting procedures need to be relevant to the performance standard, and therefore the way the system was designed, to ensure the specified system continues to perform in the way it was intended.

These are the persons who are qualified and approved to undertake the inspections required.

You can find Independently Qualified Persons (IQP's) here IQP Search.

Building Consent Application Omissions

• Commonly back-flow preventers (SS7) and ventilation systems (SS9) are overlooked.  This maybe because they are not included in the fire report, remember not all specified systems will be in this report as they are not necessarily related to fire. 
• SS4 - Often the Fire Report specifies a Performance Standard i.e. AS 2293.1:2018 that is inconsistent from that in the Emergency Lighting PS1 design and associated plans i.e. AS2293.1:2005. Note that if specifying AS 2293.1:2018 it must be noted that this is an alternative solution, and not currently cited in F6/AS1 Amendment 4, January 2017.

What are site specific Performance Standards 

Performance standards must be sufficiently specific to your site, be aware that for some performance standards it is not sufficient to nominate a standard you will need to identify the relevant sections of the standard. 

For example SS15/2 Final Exits, 

C/AS2 Part 3.15.12:2020 Panic fasteners  

C/AS2 Part 3.15.14:2020 Simple fastenings

Performance Standards must be consistant across all documentation, e.g. the plans and specifications must reflect the Fire Report.

What year should the Performance Standard include?

Alterations to exising systems e.g extensions to fire safety systems may need to refer to the original older standard.