ServiceM8 form
ServiceM8 fire alarm system test form: panel, zones and detectors
This ServiceM8 Form records an AS 1851 routine service of a fire detection and alarm system the way the system is built: panel checks first, then brigade signalling and standby batteries, then one block of questions per alarm zone with detectors tested, faults and isolations. Skip Question If conditions hide the zone blocks the panel does not have.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Free form ยท AS 1851:2012
Fire detection and alarm system routine test form for fire services
One PDF per panel service in the job diary, with a summary of panel, brigade and battery results and a zone by zone table of devices tested, failed and isolated.
The form: 25 questions
| Section | Question | Type | Req. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panel | Panel location and ID | Text | Yes | |
| Panel | Panel make and model | Text | Yes | |
| Panel | Routine | Choice Monthly / Six monthly / Yearly / Other | Yes | Match the frequency in the building's maintenance requirements. |
| Panel | Panel on arrival | Multiple choice Normal / Fault indicated / Alarm indicated / Isolate indicated / Supervisory indicated | Yes | |
| Panel | Log and event history reviewed | Choice Yes / No / Not available | Yes | |
| Panel | Indicators and buzzer tested | Choice Pass / Fail | Yes | |
| Panel | Number of zones on this panel | Number | Yes | Drives which zone blocks appear below. |
| Brigade and power | Alarm signalling equipment (brigade) test | Choice Signal received and confirmed / Failed / Not connected / Not tested this visit | Yes | |
| Brigade and power | Monitoring provider notified before and after test | Choice Yes / No / Not applicable | Yes | |
| Brigade and power | Standby battery voltage (V) | Number | Yes | |
| Brigade and power | Battery load or discharge test | Choice Pass / Fail / Not due | Yes | |
| Brigade and power | Battery date code | Text | ||
| Occupant warning | Alert and evacuation tones operate | Choice Pass / Fail / Not tested this visit | Yes | |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 description | Text | Yes | For example Level 2 east corridor. For zone N blocks, skip when Number of zones is less than N. |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 devices tested | Number | Yes | |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 devices failed | Number | Yes | |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 failed device addresses and faults | Text | Skip when Zone 1 devices failed equals 0. | |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 manual call point tested | Choice Pass / Fail / None in zone / Not tested this visit | Yes | |
| Zone 1 (repeat block for zones 2 to 16) | Zone 1 left isolated | Choice No / Yes (see comments) | Yes | |
| Result | System restored to normal | Choice Yes / No (see comments) | Yes | |
| Result | Critical defect found | Choice Yes / No | Yes | A defect that could stop the system working in a fire. Tell the occupier before leaving site. |
| Result | Photo of panel on departure | Photo | Yes | |
| Result | Comments and recommendations | Text | ||
| Sign off | Technician name and licence number | Text | Yes | |
| Sign off | Technician signature | Signature | Yes |
Set it up in ServiceM8
- Build the panel, brigade, occupant warning and result sections once in Settings > Forms > Add Form.
- Build the Zone 1 block, then add the Zone 2 to Zone 16 blocks with the zone number in each question name so the template field codes stay unique.
- On every question in the Zone N block, add Skip Question If: Number of zones on this panel is less than N.
- On each Failed device addresses question, add Skip Question If: that zone's devices failed equals 0.
- Download the sample template, put the panel, brigade and battery answers in a summary box on page one, and lay the zone answers out as a table with one row per zone.
- For panels with more zones than the form holds, make a copy of the form and extend the blocks rather than asking technicians to use comments.
- Run it once on a small panel and once on your largest panel before rolling it out.
Organise the form the way the panel is organised
An extinguisher or a fire door is a single item, so its form repeats per item. A fire detection and alarm system is different: one fire indicator panel (FIP) serves many zones, and each zone holds many detectors and manual call points. The technician works top down. Panel and power first, then the signal to the brigade, then zone by zone through the building. A form that asks the same twenty questions for every smoke detector would be slow on site and unreadable in the report.
So this form has three layers. The panel section runs once. The brigade and battery section runs once. The zone section is a block of about six questions that repeats for zone 1, zone 2 and so on, recording how many devices were tested in that zone, how many failed, and what was left isolated. Individual detector failures go in the zone's defect list with their device address, which is what the next technician needs.
Repeating zones without a repeat button
ServiceM8 Forms have no repeating section, so you build the zone blocks in advance and hide the ones you do not need. Ask Number of zones on this panel near the top. Then, on every question in the zone 5 block, add a Skip Question If condition: skip when Number of zones is less than 5. ServiceM8 supports Less than and Greater than conditions on Number answers, so a four zone panel shows four blocks and an eight zone panel shows eight. Build as many blocks as your largest regular panel needs, and copy the form for bigger sites.
The same approach suits sites where you only test part of the system on a visit. Published summaries of AS 1851 describe monthly panel and brigade checks and a yearly test of every detector, so a monthly visit can answer Zones tested this visit with a lower number and skip the rest. Long tests can be paused: swipe down from the form name and it waits in the job checklist until you come back to it.
What the report needs to show
Whoever relies on the report (an occupier signing a Queensland occupier's statement, a Victorian owner signing an annual essential safety measures report, or an auditor) needs to see that the brigade signal worked, the batteries held, every zone was tested at the frequency required, and nothing was left isolated. Put those four answers in a summary box at the top of the Word template so they read before the zone detail.
What this form will not do
- ServiceM8 Forms have no repeating sections, so the number of zones is fixed by how many blocks you build.
- Every zone block adds six questions to the form editor, so the form gets harder to maintain as blocks are added. Very large systems are better recorded per loop or per panel with the panel's own test report attached.
- Frequencies in the notes come from published summaries of AS 1851:2012. Check them against the standard and the building's own maintenance requirements.
- The form does not replace the panel's event log or the monitoring provider's test confirmation. Attach those to the job as well.
Sources
- ServiceM8 Skip Question If conditions can skip a question when an earlier answer is equal to, not equal to, greater than or less than a value, or contains or does not contain text, and can combine several conditions with ALL or ANY. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- A ServiceM8 Form can be paused part way by swiping down from the form name; the incomplete form stays in the job checklist and resumes where it stopped. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Published summaries of AS 1851:2012 describe monthly testing of the fire indicator panel and its battery backup with a sample of manual call points, and a yearly test of every detector with simulated smoke or heat plus checks of the alert and evacuation tones. Complete Pumps and Fire Protection, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Fire detection and alarm systems are a prescribed fire safety installation on the Queensland occupier's statement (QDC MP 6.1, Schedule 2). Queensland Development Code MP 6.1 (publication date 6 May 2014), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Smoke and heat detection systems and occupant warning systems are essential safety measures in Victoria (Building Regulations 2018, Schedule 8, Parts 7 and 8). Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), version 031, checked 25 Sep 2026.