User guides, usually aimed at tenants, are the domestic equivalent of the O&M manual. They are usually produced for blocks of flats, where a commerical-grade O&M manual covers the landlord services only up to the front door of each flat. The tenants' user guide covers the services within each flat.
A tenant user guide is a much simpler document
than an O&M manual. It is made up of:
The format of each tenants' user guide depends on the extent of the installed services, and whether the dwellings are basic flats or luxury apartments.
The formats are:
Basic - a single double-sided laminated A4 sheet. Descriptions and plant schedules are concisely defined, literature is issued alongside the guide, with certificates and drawings not usually required. The only circumstances where a Basic format is considered acceptable is when the tenant's services are minimal and are fed from the landlord's supplies.
Standard - presented in a project folder. Descriptions are usually 1 or 2 paragraphs long, equating to approximately 1-2 pages for both the mechanical and electrical services. Equipment scheudles are confined to the manufacturers' name and model number, together with a schedule of addresses for each company. Only key items of literature are provided. Certification and drawing information provided by the client.
Executive - presented in a ring binder with the 5 main sections of information (description, schedules, literature, certification and drawings) separated with numbered tabs, title pages and contents pages. Descriptions are similar to those of the Standard format, but have additional detail, as do the equipment schedules. The literature section is also expanded to include a wider range of items. Certification and drawing information provided by the client.
There are two parts to the cost of a tenants' user guide.
The first part is the setup fee for producing the template. The second part is the duplication fee for providing each individual dwelling with a copy.
The setup fee is linked directly to the level of document being produced, with an element to reflect the extent of the services. This can start from as little as £100 for a single discipline (mechanical, electrical OR fabric) with basic content up to £500 for all three with complex content.
The duplication fee relates not only to the level of docment, but also to the extent of the services and how much difference there is between one dwelling and the next. This can start from as little as £5 for a simple single discipline with minimal personalisation (front cover only) and no binding, to £50 for a complex triple discipline guide with full personalisation and a sectionalised ring bound document.