commissioning Solutions

The Commissioning Process is a quality-oriented process for achieving, evaluating, and documenting that the performance of buildings, equipment, and systems meet defined objectives and criteria. The Commissioning Process assumes that owners, architects, design engineers, contractors, and operations and maintenance entities are fully accountable for the quality of their work. The Commissioning Team uses methods and tools to evaluate that the project is achieving the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) throughout the delivery of the project. The Commissioning Process begins at project inception (during the Pre-Design Phase) and continues for the life of the facility (through the Occupancy and Operations). 

The Commissioning Process includes specific tasks to be conducted to evaluate if the design, construction, testing, documentation, and training meet the Owner’s Project Requirements. It is not an additional layer of construction or project management. In fact, its purpose is to reduce the cost of delivering construction projects and increase value to owners, occupants, and users. 

Implementation of the Commissioning Process is intended to reduce the project capital cost through the warranty period and also reduce the life-cycle cost of the facility. Using this integrated process results in a fully functional, fine-tuned facility, with complete documentation of its equipment and systems and trained operating and maintenance personnel.

The NYC Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) section C408 contains the Cx requirements, and the following systems require commissioning:

• Heating, cooling, air handling and distribution,      ventilation and exhaust systems
• Air, water and other energy recovery systems
• Manual or automatic controls on energy using systems (e.g., temperature controls)
• Plumbing
• Mechanical heating systems
• Service water heating systems
• Refrigeration systems
• Renewable energy and energy storage systems

Systems that fall under the following thresholds for total mechanical equipment capacity are exempt from the commissioning requirements:

• Less than 480,000 Btu/h cooling capacity
• Less than 600,000 Btu/h heating capacity

INCEPTION / PRE-DESIGN   PHASE ACTIVITIES

Owner’s Project Requirements

• Initiate Commissioning process, meeting with Ownership
• Development of Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR)

DESIGN PHASE ACTIVITIES

Design Intent

• Review of Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) / Basis of Design (BOD)
• Review of the Schematic Drawings and Specifications

Commissioning Plan

• Develop Cx Plan
• Updating Cx Plan (as new team members and information is added to project)

Commissioning Specification

• Develop Cx Specifications
• Generate contractor requirements (for testing, functionality verification)

Design Reviews

• Conduct review of drawings and Specifications and provide comments
• Attending design review meetings or conference calls
• Back-check design review comments responses from the architect/engineer

CONSTRUCTION   PHASE ACTIVITIES

Submittal / Shop Drawing Review

• Reviewing and commenting on submittals (within Cx scope – Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, fire alarm, security, call systems, etc.)

Checklists

• Developing and Updating Checklists with data from drawings, specifications, operating & maintenance manuals and approved submittals
• Functional testing script writing (from controls sequence of operation)

Construction Commissioning

• Phase integration meeting with project team to review Cx Plan
• Equipment model data, installation/pre-functional and functional testing
• Testing, adjusting and balancing verification
• Creation and updating of Deficiency Log
• Documenting construction progress/items with Field Observation Reports

Operating &Maintenance Manuals (O&M’s)

• O&M Manual review and comments
• Field verification of As-Built drawings

Training

• Review / create training syllabus
• Attending / witnessing training sessions

Project Management

• Developing and updating the Cx Equipment Log
• Coordinating RFI’s and drawing updates
• Weekly and/or Monthly Reports

Meetings

• Client meetings (LEED, Cx, Construction, Owner)
• Specialty meetings (Coordination, phase integration, controls, turnover)

Deficiency Management

• Continuous updating of deficiency list and scheduling of re-inspections
• Cost analysis of deficiencies found throughout the construction phase

ACCEPTANCE / TURNOVER   PHASES

Seasonal Testing

• Scheduling seasonal testing (coordinate with construction schedule)
• Executing seasonal testing (weather and load dependent)
• Completion of report and open items

Specialty System and Equipment Testing

• Emergency Power System Verification and testing (E-Generator to end use loads and lighting)
• Fire Alarm and/or emergency call system testing
• Security system testing and verification

Building Automation System (BAS) Verification

• “Point to point” verification of BAS sensors, hardware and control points
• Verification of centralized facility engineer workstation graphics

Warranty Period

• Review equipment warranties and compare to specification requirements
• Establish a walk through on the 10th month with the appropriate trades to document the warranty period (prior to typical 1 year warranty date) 

System Trending

• Verification system set points can be maintained for extended periods of time (7-14 days) or through varying seasonal conditions 

Systems Manual

• Compile as-built and turnover information for systems manual
• Document all set points and operating parameters
• Establish preventative maintenance documentation (frequency and checklist)

Final Report

• Final updates and completion of construction checklists and field reports
• Development of narratives and recommendations
• Meeting with ownership to review report

LEED Documentation

• Uploading of LEED required documentation on the USGBC website

Meetings

• Lessons Learned
• Project Close out meeting with project team and/or owner