Maintenance · Checklist
Annual voice alarm service: what you should see done
Prevents: a clean annual certificate with nothing on file to show that the loudspeaker circuits, the batteries or the zones were actually tested.
Type: read-do. Read each line, check it, tick it, move on.
Who: the building owner or facilities manager responsible for the voice alarm system.
The British Standard for voice alarm systems, BS 5839-8:2023, recommends servicing at least every six months (Clause 40.1) and a longer list of activities at least once a year (Clause 40.2). The annual visit is the one that carries the year's evidence. Lines marked (K) are the killer items: if one is missing, the visit cannot show the system works.
Pause point 1: Before the visit is booked
- Logbook: on site, with every weekly test and fault since the last visit entered (Clauses 39.6 and 43.1)
- (K) Last year's loudspeaker circuit readings: available to the technician; in the first year, the installation readings instead (Clause 40.2 i); Clause 33.4 a))
- (K) Fire alarm maintainer: told the date and booked to attend, so every fire alarm input can be operated during the visit (Clause 40.2 a), Note 3)
- Access: agreed for every loudspeaker zone, including plant rooms, stores and locked areas (Clause 40.2 c) and d))
- Building changes since the last visit: listed for the technician, such as new partitions, a change of use, louder plant or an extension (Clause 40.1 b))
- Maintainer's name and 24 hour telephone number: displayed at the main voice alarm control equipment (Clause 41.2 a) and b))
Pause point 2: Before the technician leaves site
- (K) Every automatic fire alarm input: operated, with the correct message heard in the correct zones (Clause 40.2 a))
- Every manual input for recorded messages: operated, with the correct result (Clause 40.2 b))
- (K) Every loudspeaker: heard working during the alarm test, and listened to individually wherever access permits (Clause 40.2 c); individual listening is ProAudium practice)
- (K) Every loudspeaker zone: listening test for intelligibility, recorded as "intelligible" or "not intelligible" for each zone (Clause 40.2 j))
- (K) Every loudspeaker circuit: impedance measured and written beside last year's figure, with any change investigated (Clause 40.2 i))
- (K) Standby batteries: capacity tested under load, not judged by voltage alone, and installation date checked against the supplier's recommended life (Clause 40.1 l) and m); the capacity test is ProAudium practice)
- Mains supply: disconnected, with the system running from its standby supply at full alarm load (Clause 40.1 n))
- Every emergency microphone: examined, with a live announcement heard in the selected areas (Clause 40.1 g))
- Fault indication: checked by simulating faults or by reviewing the configuration (Clause 40.1 p))
Pause point 3: Before you sign for the visit
- Visit report: names each lettered activity in Clauses 40.1 and 40.2 that was done (Clauses 40.1 and 40.2)
- (K) Anything not done: named in the report with the reason and the date it will be done; the annual work may be spread over more than one visit (Clause 40.2, Note 1)
- Results written down: an impedance figure for every circuit, an intelligibility result for every zone, and the battery test result, not "checked OK" (Clause 40.2 i) and j))
- (K) Outstanding defects: listed in writing for you, each with what it affects (Clause 40.3)
- Building changes found: reported to you in writing; any corrective work is by an organisation competent in voice alarm design (Clause 40.1 c) and d))
- Logbook: this visit entered, with the date and the type of work (Clause 43.1 g))
- Inspection and servicing certificate: issued for this visit and consistent with the report (Clause 40.4)
Not on this list, and why
- The weekly test. That one is yours, by premises management, every week (Clause 39.1). The logbook line in pause point 1 is where it shows.
- Sound level and STIPA (Speech Transmission Index for Public Address) measurements. Neither is a routine servicing activity. The code suggests measuring sound levels where there is reason to suspect they have changed (Clause 40.2, Note 2). Where a measurement is needed, it is quoted separately.
- A design review. Routine servicing confirms the existing system works; it is not a fresh review of the design (commentary to Clause 40).
Use with: Two services and 52 tests: what a year of voice alarm maintenance should contain.
Issued by ProAudium, October 2026. Checked against BS 5839-8:2023.
Where this comes from
Every requirement this page relies on, with its clause, our explanation in our own words, and the official source to check it against. We paraphrase the standards; we do not reproduce their text.
| What the checklist says | Source | In our words | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Servicing at least every six months; further activities at least once a year | BS 5839-8:2023, Clauses 40.1, 40.2 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Weekly test by premises management, recorded in the logbook | Clauses 39.1, 39.6 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Logbook kept, and each visit entered with its date and type of work | Clause 43.1, 43.1 g) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Loudspeaker circuit impedances measured and compared with the previous figure | Clause 40.2 i) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Installation readings as the first-year baseline | Clause 33.4 a) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Every automatic fire alarm input operated; fire alarm maintainer's attendance | Clause 40.2 a) and Note 3 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Every manual input for recorded messages operated | Clause 40.2 b) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Every loudspeaker checked as working, and for damage | Clause 40.2 c), d) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Listening test for intelligibility in every loudspeaker zone | Clause 40.2 j) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Annual work may be spread over more than one visit | Clause 40.2, Note 1 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Sound levels measured only where there is reason to suspect a change | Clause 40.2, Note 2 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Building changes looked for; reported, with corrective work by an organisation competent in voice alarm design | Clause 40.1 b), c), d) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Emergency microphones examined, with a live announcement | Clause 40.1 g) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Batteries and connections examined; replaced within the supplier's recommended life | Clause 40.1 l), m) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Mains disconnected, standby supply under full alarm load | Clause 40.1 n) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Fault indication checked by simulation or configuration review | Clause 40.1 p) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Outstanding defects reported; servicing certificate issued | Clauses 40.3, 40.4 | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Maintainer's name and 24 hour telephone number displayed at the control equipment | Clause 41.2 a), b) | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |
| Routine servicing is not a design review | Clause 40, commentary | Our explanation | BSI: BS 5839-8 |