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Why Static Davits and Fall Arrest Systems Are Not SS10

Why Static Davits and Fall Arrest Systems Are Not SS10

28/07/2026

If a council RFI or compliance schedule request asks for SS10 information for a static davit, roof anchor, or fall-arrest system, this page explains what SS10 actually covers, why most of those systems do not belong on a Building Act compliance schedule — and what maintenance duties still apply under workplace health and safety law.

The short answer:

SS10 applies to Building Maintenance Units (BMUs); powered gantries, façade lifts and similar equipment used to access building walls that are mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic in nature. A static davit or fall-arrest anchor without that kind of mechanism is not a BMU under the Regulations and Compliance Schedule Handbook test, so it does not need SS10 compliance-schedule or BWoF information.

It still needs ongoing inspection and maintenance under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; typically annual competent-person inspection and re-certification of permanent systems under AS/NZS 1891.4 and WorkSafe height-safety guidance.

Where SS10 comes from in the law

SS10 is not a freestanding label invented by councils. It sits in a clear chain from the Building Act down through regulations and guidance.

1. Building Act 2004 — the duty

Section 7 of the Building Act 2004 defines a “specified system” as a system or feature that:

  • is contained in, or attached to, a building; and
  • contributes to the proper functioning of the building (for example, an automatic sprinkler system); and
  • is declared by the Governor-General, by Order in Council, to be a specified system for the purposes of the Act.

Cable cars are also included. The Act does not itself list BMUs — it creates the concept and points to secondary legislation to declare what counts.

Section 100 then requires a compliance schedule for a building (other than one used wholly as a single household unit) if the building has a specified system. The schedule must cover each specified system present. Household units only need a compliance schedule for a cable car, if they have one.

Related owner duties follow from that schedule:

  • section 101 — owner must obtain a compliance schedule where one is required
  • section 105 — keep each specified system performing to its performance standards; display the compliance schedule statement for the first 12 months; make the schedule available for inspection
  • section 108 — supply an annual building warrant of fitness (BWoF) to the territorial authority, confirming inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures were complied with
  • section 110 — obtain and keep annual written reports from independently qualified persons (IQPs)

In short: the Act creates the compliance-schedule / BWoF regime for specified systems. What those systems are is left to regulations.

2. The 2005 Regulations — the list (including SS10)

The Order in Council that declares the systems is the Building (Specified Systems, Change the Use, and Earthquake-prone Buildings) Regulations 2005 (SR 2005/32).

Regulation 4 and Schedule 1 list the specified systems. Item 10 is:

Building maintenance units providing access to exterior and interior walls of buildings.

That one-line statutory description is the legal origin of “SS10”. The regulations do not define “building maintenance unit” in more detail, and they do not say that every roof anchor, davit or fall-arrest point is a BMU.

Those compliance schedule / BWoF provisions of the Building Act 2004, and these Regulations, came into force in March 2005 when the 1991 Act regime was replaced.

3. Compliance Schedule Handbook — how MBIE reads SS10

MBIE’s Compliance Schedule Handbook (First edition, Amendment 3) is guidance for building officials, owners and practitioners on how to apply the Act and Regulations in practice. It is not itself the Act or the Regulations, but it is the standard reference used when deciding whether a particular installation must appear on a compliance schedule as SS10.

For SS10, the Handbook states that a building maintenance unit is required to be listed where the unit:

  • A.1 provides access to exterior or interior walls of a building; and
  • A.2 is installed as part of the building; and
  • A.3 is mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic in nature.

The Handbook’s example is a gantry hung over the side of a building, secured by a track, and positioned with a wheeled trolley — i.e. powered / mechanical access equipment, not a static davit.

It also points to performance / inspection standards typically used for genuine BMUs (for example BS 6037.1 for suspended access equipment and BS 6037.2 for travelling ladders and gantries).

4. How the pathway fits together

  • Act (ss 7, 100–110) — creates “specified system” + compliance schedule + BWoF duties
  • Regulations 2005, Schedule 1 item 10 — declares BMUs as a specified system (“SS10”)
  • Compliance Schedule Handbook — clarifies when a BMU must be listed (especially the mechanical / electrical / hydraulic limb)

So when a consent RFI asks for “SS10 information” for static height-safety hardware, the correct legal question is not “is there something on the roof?” It is: is this a building maintenance unit within Schedule 1 item 10, as applied through the Handbook’s three-limb test — and in particular, is it mechanical, electrical or hydraulic in nature?

Sources

What is SS10 - Building Maintenance Units?

Specified System 10 (SS10) sits in New Zealand’s compliance schedule regime. Compliance schedules list life-safety and other specified systems that must be inspected and maintained after the building is occupied — things like fire alarms, lifts, and escalators.

SS10 is the specified system for Building Maintenance Units: installations that give people access to exterior or interior walls of a building for cleaning or maintenance.

Think of the classic powered BMU on a high-rise façade — not a fixed steel davit arm used with rope access.

Examples of Building Maintenance Units (what SS10 covers):

When does a BMU need to be listed?

The Compliance Schedule Handbook sets out when a building maintenance unit must appear on a compliance schedule. In substance, the unit must:

  1. provide access to exterior or interior walls of a building, and
  2. be installed as part of the building, and
  3. be mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic in nature.

That third limb is the one that usually settles the question for height-safety hardware. If the system is not mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic, it does not meet the SS10 listing test.

Source: Compliance Schedule Handbook (Amendment 3) — see the SS10 / BMU guidance (at page 41).

What about static davits and fall arrest?

Static davits, roof anchors, and fall-arrest systems are common on commercial roofs for rope access and height safety. They are structural / restraint hardware. They are not Building Maintenance Units in the SS10 sense.

They typically:

  • do not provide powered wall-access travel like a BMU, and
  • are not mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic systems that need the same ongoing compliance-schedule regime as lifts or fire alarms.

Examples of fall arrest equipment:

   

So where the installed equipment is a static davit (or similar non-powered fall-arrest / access hardware), SS10 compliance-schedule information is not required.

That does not mean they have no ongoing maintenance obligations. Static davits and fall-arrest systems sit under workplace health and safety law — not the Building Act compliance-schedule / BWoF regime.

Workplace health and safety requirements

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons. That duty covers plant and structures used for work at height — including permanently installed anchors, davits, lifelines and related fall-arrest equipment on a building.

WorkSafe has specifically warned that many PCBUs with influence over buildings that have these systems are not aware of the post-installation inspection and re-certification requirements. Its May 2023 safety alert on permanent anchorage systems advises that permanently installed anchorages and lifeline systems should:

  • be inspected and re-certified at least annually by a competent person
  • form part of the building’s overall maintenance and inspection programme
  • be inspected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or the relevant sections of AS/NZS 1891.4:2009 (Industrial fall-arrest systems and devices — Selection, use and maintenance)
  • have Chartered Professional Engineer design / approval documentation available to the person inspecting and re-certifying

People using those systems (for example maintenance workers, window washers and service contractors) should:

  • ensure any anchor point or lifeline has been re-certified within the last year before use, and
  • inspect the anchor or system before use for signs of damage or wear

WorkSafe’s Best practice guidelines for working at height in New Zealand similarly expect permanent fall-arrest and abseil anchors to be uniquely identified so installation, testing and maintenance can be tracked, and to be tagged and recertified annually to remain aligned with AS/NZS 1891.4. The Industrial Rope Access in New Zealand best practice guidelines point to the same annual inspection / testing expectation for permanently installed anchors, with a log of testing and verification for each point.

Portable fall-arrest PPE — harnesses, lanyards, connectors and fall-arrest devices — is also covered by HSWA duties (including PPE maintenance under the general risk and workplace management regulations). In practice that means:

  • operator checks before and after each use
  • formal periodic inspections by a competent person (often six-monthly, or as the manufacturer requires — more often in harsh conditions)
  • documented inspections (except routine before/after-use checks)
  • removal from service after a fall arrest, and inspection before any return to use

Bottom line: saying equipment is “not SS10” is not saying it needs no maintenance. For static davits and fall arrest, the ongoing duty is workplace health and safety — typically annual competent-person inspection and re-certification of permanent systems under AS/NZS 1891.4 and WorkSafe height / rope-access guidance — not a Building Act compliance schedule entry.

Why this keeps coming up

Council RFIs on building consents sometimes ask for “SS10” details whenever height-access or façade-maintenance hardware appears on drawings. That is understandable — SS10 is the nearest named specified system — but it is often a category mismatch.

A useful reply is:

  • confirm what was installed (e.g. static davit / fall arrest, not a powered BMU);
  • point to the Compliance Schedule Handbook test (especially “mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic”);
  • state that SS10 listing and associated compliance-schedule information do not apply.

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