SFG20 – What is SFG20 and Should You Be Using It?

November 24th, 2022

Last updated: January 18th, 2023

SFG20 is an amazing tool when it comes to PPM, and ensuring your business meets its compliance responsibilities. If you’ve visited the Robinsons Facilities Services blog before, you’ll know that we are advocates of planned preventative maintenance.

Servicing your business assets makes all the difference, whether you’re looking to expand the lifespan of your gas boiler or just make sure your air conditioning unit is running at its full potential.

When you run a large business, operating out of large premises then servicing can quickly become complex. You will need a regular servicing schedule for many different assets within. You may start out with a spreadsheet or reminders on a calendar but this can really quickly start to become complex, and it is easy to miss something. That’s where software solutions come in, such as SFG20.

What is SFG20?

SFG20 is effectively a database and management system for your building maintenance schedules. It was first created in the 1990s and is recognised across the industry as the standard when it comes to maintenance specifications. It has information about a huge amount of different assets, which means that you don’t have to keep checking your manuals to see when maintenance is required.

The software was created by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and is still maintained by the organisation today.

Of course, SFG20 has changed significantly from the early days. Now, the building maintenance management software runs as a planning tool in its own right, with a library of over 2000 maintenance schedules for facilities and assets such as boilers, fire safety equipment, and more.

According to the SFG20 site, the schedules include:

• Air Conditioning/Handling Units
• Boilers, Burners and Heat Generators
• Chillers, Cold Rooms and Food Storage
• Ducting, Fans and Filters
• Fire Alarm Systems
• Heat Emitters, Exchangers and Rejection Systems
• Hot and Cold Water Services and Pipe Work
• Power Generators, Supplies and Pumps
• Vacuum Systems, Valves and Ventilation

If you’re still not sure they offer the schedules you need, check the full list here.

The software is suitable for a variety of different businesses and premises, and is flexible to suit the needs of your specific space. It can generate maintenance plans for a variety of different buildings, each with its own unique needs and setup. You can run the program online, and it has some powerful tools for facilities management.

As their website explains, “SFG20’s solution provides asset maintenance requirements in a simple and easily-digestible format, with a host of specialist tools available to support the application to assets as well as projective cost modelling.”

SFG Colour Coding

One of the things that this software has become known for is its inventive use of colour coding, which can be very useful for tracking the health and compliance of your facilities and the different assets within.

The colour-coding system shows the different levels of urgency relating to the different assets you need to manage. Some things are simply best practice in order to stay operating at full potential, but others may be business critical or a legal responsibility. For instance, performing regular checks of fire extinguishers.

The colour code works as follows within the SFG system:

• Red – This means that the activity is required to ensure legal compliance.
• Pink – This indicates something that is business critical for sector compliance or to ensure the operation of your business continues at its optimum level.
• Amber – This indicates optimal best-practices for your business, and things that you should really address, even if they aren’t a pressing legal issue.
• Green – This indicates discretionary maintenance including optional or just non-critical activities.

The colour-coding is a popular way to oversee when something critical is required, such as fire safety checks, and when less urgent issues (that should still be addressed) crop up, like maintaining your ventilation system.

What You Can Do With SFG20

For a start, SFG20 integrates with other CAFM tools. However, it functions as its own standalone programme, so you don’t need to connect the SFG20 database to anything else for it to function.

PPM Management

SFG20’s preventative maintenance software runs online and allows access to over 2000 maintenance schedules. From air conditioners to more specialist equipment such as PAT testing or even lift maintenance, you can tailor it to your own premises. It updates dynamically, too, to provide you with the latest information and industry guidance.

Asset Mapping

This is another great tool that can help you to get to grips with what maintenance is required, and when. The data mapping tool lets you assign your staff and work out the urgency of maintenance in different parts of your business. It helps to allocate resources and staff to maintenance tasks and to get a solid picture of your business and its requirements. It also allows you to prioritise. You will probably decide that your ventilation system, for instance, is more crucial than your window cleaning efforts.

Resource Modelling

This is another tool that can help you with estimating your costs when it comes to maintenance and staffing. Whether you are working with external companies for facilities services or handling it in-house. It is also a great way to budget for the period ahead and work out whether external help or internal employment is a better option for handling your maintenance.

Using SFG20 with CAFMs

CAFM software and systems are common in the industry. Fortunately, facilities managers are able to link SFG20 and its databases easily. You can choose which schedules need to be linked to your CAFM and updated, so that you aren’t constantly wasting resources on facilities that aren’t relevant.

There are many CAFMs that can easily be configured to link with SFG20 and when BESA makes changes, the SFG20 standards are updated and current. It can even be automated so that the current legislation and legal advice is constantly linked to your CAFM software.

If you are uncertain of whether the CAFM you are using can be integrated with SFG20, it is easy to check their software integrations on the SFG20 site.

Summary – Benefits of SFG20

SFG20 is seen as the industry standard for a reason, and if you have to consider compliance and a multitude of different assets and appliances in your building then it is one of the best ways to keep on top of your responsibilities.

At Robinsons Facilities Services we are happy to provide you with planned preventative maintenance as well as reactive callouts. Our team can help you to keep a record of what needs to be completed and even prove your compliance when it comes to life safety systems in your business.