At a glance
| Part | Put in it, and who usually supplies it | Check before you accept it |
|---|---|---|
| 01 As-built drawings and fixings | Drawings as fitted, with each fitting’s declared weight, fixing and canopy. From: maker; installer. | Tags match the schedule. |
| 02 Conformity papers | Declaration of conformity and test reports for each fitting, driver and light source; the installer’s certificates kept beside them. From: manufacturer; electrician. | Each names its fitting, dated. |
| 03 Lamps, drivers and controls | A schedule by fitting tag: light source, driver, control, driver access, replaceability statement. From: maker; designer. | Every tag has a row. |
| 04 Settings as left | Circuit or address, scenes and levels, dimming range, fade times, who set them. From: commissioning engineer. | A scene can be recalled. |
| 05 Care and cleaning | A sheet for each glass, metal and shade type: method, what never to use, how often. From: maker, by material. | Names the glass and finish used. |
| 06 Re-lamping and repair | Numbered steps for each type of fitting, and who may do them. From: maker; operator signs off. | Walk through one fitting. |
| 07 Spares and re-ordering | Spare lamps, drivers, strip, glass: reference, quantity, batch, where kept. From: maker; installer. | Counted and labelled. |
| 08 Winch and access records | Where a fitting hangs from a winch: equipment details, examination reports, access. From: installer; competent person. | Reports in date. |
| 09 Warranty documents | Whatever was agreed in writing, as written, with its start date. From: maker, under the contract. | Dated and signed. |
| 10 Contacts and call-out | Who to call for care, repair or re-order; what matches each fitting. From: maker; designer. | Roles, not only names. |
Practice written by us: no standard sets the contents. Part 00 is the cover sheet and index; the drawing on the web page shows all eleven.
What the pack is for, and which rules reach it
Decorative fittings fail in small, avoidable ways: a lamp of the wrong type, a driver nobody can find, a scene that cannot be recalled after a power cut, a glass arm cleaned with the wrong product. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance Lighting at work (HSG38, 1997) says lamps and luminaires need to be kept clean and replaced because light output declines with age, that how often depends on the type and the environment, that there should be safe and easy access to luminaires that need cleaning, repairing or replacing, that a replacement lamp must be electrically and physically compatible with the fitting and its control gear, and that planned, regular maintenance is good practice (paragraphs 76 to 80). The handover pack is where those answers are written down for each fitting.
No standard we found sets the contents of a lighting pack, so the ten parts in the table above are practice. The general idea, and the nine-part pack for furniture and joinery, are on the handover and O&M pack sheet; this one adds what lighting needs. Four rules touch it:
| Rule | What it asks for | What it means for the pack |
|---|---|---|
| Building Regulations 2010, regulation 40 (England), with Approved Document L Vol 2 | Where Part L applies to building work, the person carrying it out gives the owner, within five days of completion, enough information about the building, the fixed building services and their maintenance for efficient operation. The 2021 edition (paragraphs 9.1 to 9.3) asks for a building log book of operating and maintenance instructions, following CIBSE TM31, with the commissioning records. The 2026 edition (Section 8, in effect from 24 March 2027 for most work) keeps the log book and drops the TM31 reference. | ‘Fixed building services’ include fixed lighting but not emergency escape lighting or specialist process lighting (regulation 2(1)), and the Approved Document names chandeliers as specialist process lighting. So the duty may reach fixed wall lights and pendants and, as written, does not obviously reach a chandelier. A pack for a chandelier is good practice, not that duty. |
| Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 9 and Schedule 1 paragraph 1(c) | Equipment placed on the market must come with instructions and safety information that are clear, legible and in easily understandable English. The safety objectives assume it is used for its intended applications and is adequately maintained. | Care and re-lamping instructions are part of the product’s paper trail, not an extra. See luminaire conformity. |
| SI 2021/1095, regulation 6(4) to (6) and Schedule 8 paragraph 3 | Information on whether light sources and control gear can be replaced, dismantling instructions on a public website, and a statement of the contained light source’s energy class in the user manual. | Goes in part 03. See UK Ecodesign rules for lighting products. |
| Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulations 9 to 11 | An employer using lifting equipment must have it examined by a competent person: before first use and after installation where safety depends on it, and then, where it is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to be dangerous, at least every 12 months (6 months for equipment for lifting persons or an accessory for lifting) or to an examination scheme. Reports are written and kept. | If a fitting is raised and lowered on a winch, part 08 holds the equipment details and the reports. Whether a chandelier winch is lifting equipment at a given workplace is for a competent person to say. |
The lamp, driver and settings sheets
Parts 03 and 04 are the two a facilities team uses most, and they are the two that are most often missing. Part 03 is a schedule with one row for each fitting tag, built from the lighting schedule and the luminaire data sheet fields so the codes carry over unchanged. The replaceability statement is the one regulation 6 asks for (see the ecodesign sheet).
| Field | What to write | Example (replace) |
|---|---|---|
| Fitting tag and drawing | The tag from the lighting schedule, and the as-built drawing number and revision. | [L-04, drawing LTG-104 rev C] |
| Where and what | Room, position and a plain description. | [Bar: three pendants over the counter] |
| Light source | Type, cap, power, luminous flux, colour temperature, colour rendering index, beam angle, and whether dimmable and with what. | [LED lamp, E14, 4 W, 470 lm, 2,700 K, dimmable on trailing-edge] |
| Quantity and spares | The number in the fitting and the spare reference. | [5 per fitting; spare S-04] |
| Driver or transformer | Type, output, where it is and how it is reached. | [24 V constant voltage, in the plinth behind hatch H-2] |
| Control | Circuit or channel, dimming method, controller address. | [Channel 6, trailing-edge dimmer] |
| Replaceability | The regulation 6 statement: tools, steps, who may do it, or the technical justification. | [Lamp by hand; driver with a cross-head screwdriver through the hatch] |
| Papers | The references of the declaration of conformity and test reports in part 02. | [DoC 04-L; test report T-04] |
Part 04 records what was set when the lighting was commissioned, so that a replaced driver or a reset controller can be put back to how the designer left it. It is a record of settings, not a description of the control protocol: see dimming protocols for compatibility. Ask for it as a spreadsheet by channel or address, signed and dated by whoever commissioned the system.
| Field | What to write | Example (replace) |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit or channel | The number on the controller and the fittings it feeds. | [Channel 6: L-04, L-05] |
| Controller address or group | For addressable controls. | [Group 3] |
| Scenes | The name and the level of each channel in each scene. | [Evening: channel 6 at 30 per cent] |
| Dimming range | The lowest and highest level set, and the curve. | [Minimum 5 per cent; highest 100 per cent; curve linear] |
| Timings | Fade times and any schedule. | [Fade 3 s; off at 01:00] |
| Set by, and when | Who set it, the date and the revision of the settings. | [Commissioning engineer, date, rev B] |
| Where the programme is kept | The file, and who can restore it. | [Controls engineer; copy on the operator’s system] |
Care, cleaning and re-lamping instructions
Write care instructions for the material, not the fitting, and name it by reference so one sheet covers every fitting that shares a glass or a finish. The maker writes the entries; the designer checks them against the fitting. Use these fields, one sheet for each material:
| Care sheet field | What to write | Example (replace) |
|---|---|---|
| Fittings covered | The tags this sheet applies to. | [L-01 to L-06] |
| Parts and materials | The glass elements by type, the metal finish by code, the shades and fabrics. | [Hand-blown glass arms; brass, finish F-07] |
| Before you start | Isolate, label and let the lamps cool; who may isolate. | [Switch off at isolator I-3; wait until cool] |
| Access | The equipment, who may use it, and any two-person lift. | [Steps or tower as named; two people for glass] |
| Cleaning glass | The maker’s method and product type, in order, and what never to use. | [Maker to state] |
| Cleaning metal | The finish’s care method, pointing to its care sheet. | [See finish sheet F-07] |
| Re-lamping | The lamp type on the label, never above the marked maximum, the same dimming type; the steps. | [Type as schedule row L-04] |
| Replacing a driver or strip | Who may do it, which hatch, and what to reconnect. | [Electrician; hatch H-2] |
| How often | Set with the operator and the maker. | [ ] |
| Stop and ask | Chips, cracks, loose elements, flicker, heat or a burning smell: stop using the fitting and call. | [Contacts in part 10] |
This sheet gives no cleaning product, method or interval, because none was verified for decorative glass or finishes. Conservation literature on glass chandeliers exists, and a conservators’ discussion in 2023 describes parts of an older article as out of date, so the instructions must come from the maker for the glass and finish supplied. For metal, cleaning and maintaining metal finishes and metal finishes for luminaires give the care points and a handover table. For packing and the glass-dressing step, see packing, shipping and installing glass chandeliers.
The re-lamping sheet should read as a short numbered sequence. The order below is practice, and three points in it come from HSG38 (safety procedures, safe access, a compatible lamp):
Maintenance table, and when to ask for it
A maintenance schedule belongs in the pack, and the table shows its shape. The intervals are blank on purpose: no source we read gives them for decorative fittings, and HSG38 says how often depends on the type of lamp or luminaire and the conditions. The maker and the operator set them together.
| Task | Who | Interval | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean glass elements | Operator, trained | [ ] | Date and initials |
| Clean metal and shades | Operator | [ ] | Date and initials |
| Look over canopy, fixings and chain, wire or rod | Competent person | [ ] | Defects noted |
| Replace failed lamps | Operator | When they fail | Tag and lamp batch |
| Test dimming and scenes against part 04 | Electrician or controls engineer | [ ] | Pass or fail |
| Check driver compartment, hatch and ventilation | Electrician | [ ] | Date and notes |
| Examine the winch or hoist, if fitted | Competent person | [ ] (see LOLER) | Written report |
Ask for the pack in the specification, and put the dates in the programme. A workable pattern, which is practice and not a standard, is a contents list at order, a draft about four weeks before practical completion so the operator can comment while the installers are still on site, and the final pack after commissioning and the as-built drawings. Where regulation 40 applies, the information for fixed building services is due within five days of completion, so the draft is the safer route. The maker supplies the care, lamp, driver and spares information; the electrician and controls engineer supply the settings and certificates; the designer holds the schedule and pulls it together. The pack states no warranty terms: part 09 holds whatever was agreed, as written.
Before you sign for the pack, run five checks:
- Every tag has a row. Count the fittings on the lighting schedule against part 03.
- The schedule matches the room. Pick one fitting of each type and compare the lamp, driver and hatch with its row.
- Part 04 recalls a scene. Someone who was not there sets one scene from the sheet and checks the result.
- Care sheets name what was used. Each names the glass and finish by reference, not generally.
- Spares are counted and labelled with tag, reference and batch, and the sheet says where they are kept.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
[Supplier] is to provide lighting operation and maintenance information for [package] at [project, address]: contents list by [date]; draft not later than [4] weeks before practical completion; final within [ ] days of commissioning and of issue of the as-built drawings, as [PDF with bookmarks and a spreadsheet schedule]. Parts 00 to 10 as in [the handover list agreed at order]: cover and index, as-built drawings, conformity papers, lamps drivers and controls, settings as left, care and cleaning, re-lamping and repair, spares, winch and access records [where fitted], warranty documents, contacts. [Designer] will review it against schedule [ ] and return comments within [ ] days; it is not complete until they are cleared.
Part 03 is to list every fitting by the tag on the lighting schedule: light source (type, cap, power, luminous flux, colour temperature, colour rendering index, dimmable and with what), driver (type, output, location, access route), control (channel or address), the replaceability statement and the references of the declaration of conformity and test reports. The lamp and driver types listed are to match those installed and are to be checked against one fitting of each type at handover. Part 04 is to record the settings as left by [commissioning engineer]: circuit or address, scene names and levels, dimming range, fade times, date and revision, signed.
Care and re-lamping sheets are to be provided for each glass, metal and shade type, by reference, written or approved by the maker, covering the fittings covered, materials, isolation and access, cleaning, re-lamping, replacing a driver or strip, how often [set with the operator], and when to stop and call. Spares: [10] per cent spare lamps of each type from the same batch, [1] spare driver of each type and [ ] spare glass elements of each type, labelled with tag, reference and batch. Winch or hoist records are to be included where fitted. Warranty and guarantee documents are to be included exactly as agreed in [contract reference], with the start date and any condition on care or use, and are not to be restated or summarised.
Terms used on this page
- O&M manual
- The document pack handed over at completion telling the owner what was installed and how to look after it: care instructions, finishes, spares, certificates and contacts. For FF&E it often includes as-built drawings and warranties.
- Building log book
- The operating and maintenance instructions that Approved Document L asks to be given to the owner of a building, with the commissioning records, where building work meets Part L. The 2021 edition says it should follow CIBSE TM31.
- Settings sheet
- A record, by circuit or address, of the scenes, levels, dimming range and fade times set when the lighting was commissioned, signed and dated, so that they can be restored after a repair or a reset.
Standards and sources
- HSE: Lighting at work (HSG38, 2nd edition, 1997, web version): paragraphs 76 to 80; read 5 Nov 2026.
- Building Regulations 2010, regulation 40; Approved Document L Vol 2: 2021 edition, Section 9; 2026 edition, Section 8.
- LOLER 1998, regs 9 to 11; Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, reg 9: read 5 Nov 2026.
- No standard applies: we found none that sets the contents of a decorative lighting pack.
Questions we are asked
What goes into an O&M manual for decorative lighting?
A cover sheet and index, as-built drawings and fixings, conformity papers, a schedule of lamps, drivers and controls by fitting tag, the dimming and scene settings as left, care and cleaning sheets, re-lamping and repair steps, spares, winch and access records where fitted, warranty documents as agreed, and contacts. The ten parts here are practice, as no standard sets them.
Does Building Regulations regulation 40 require an O&M pack for chandeliers?
Regulation 40 asks for information about the building, the fixed building services and their maintenance where Part L applies to the work. Fixed building services include fixed lighting but not specialist process lighting, and Approved Document L names chandeliers as an example of that. As written it does not obviously reach a chandelier, though it may reach fixed wall lights and pendants. Building control or the person doing the work can say for a given project.
Who writes the lighting O&M information?
The maker supplies the care, lamp, driver and spares information for what it supplies; the electrician and controls engineer supply the certificates and settings; the designer holds the schedule and pulls the pack together. Ask for a contents list at order so everyone knows their part.
How often should a chandelier or glass fitting be cleaned and re-lamped?
No source we read gives an interval for decorative fittings. The Health and Safety Executive says how often depends on the type of lamp or luminaire and the environment. The maker and the operator should set the intervals and write them on the care sheet.
What is a settings sheet and why keep one?
A record of the scenes, levels, dimming range and fade times set at commissioning, by circuit or address, signed and dated. After a driver is replaced or a controller reset, it lets someone put the lighting back as the designer left it.
Does the pack include the warranty?
It includes the warranty and guarantee documents as agreed and as written. This sheet states no terms and the pack should not restate them: the contract and the signed documents are the record.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the ten parts of a decorative lighting handover pack, the pack drawing and clause wording to paste into your specification.