THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS -AN OWNER'S PERSPECTIVE

Jim Waldrep, CBCP - MBP

Kimball Ferguson, PE, CHFM - MBP

Jim Opdenbrouw, Project Manager - Wake

Technical Community College

THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS

•Request for Cx Services

•Program Phase - Cx Plan

•Design Phase

•Construction Phase

•Acceptance Phase

•Post Acceptance Cx and

Recommissioning

COMMISSIONING PROCESS

• Commissioning is a process

• Fully functional, fine tuned MEP systems

• Emphasis on proper transfer of ideas

• Properly trained O & M staff using effective system

documentation

• Use a relatively new professional, the Commissioning

Authority, from pre-design through operations for

one or more years

COMMISSIONING SCOPE

•Describe the process to ensure ALL systems

perform in conformity with design intent

COMMISSIONING SCOPE

•Owners need to add commissioning to the RFP

process for the project

•Starts early at pre-design, continues through final

acceptance and post occupancy

COMMISSIONING SCOPE

•Provide procedures for preparing and

documenting:

• Owners assumptions

• Design Intent, Basis of Design and expected

performance

• Verification and functional performance testing

• Operation and maintenance criteria

• Includes program for training owners and

maintenance personnel

COMMISSIONING PLAN

• Implementation success depends on detailed

documentation of owner’s requirements and

how your building is designed, built, and

occupied

•Provides implementation procedures regardless

of how project is scheduled or when the process

is begun

DEFINITIONS

•ASHRAE

•NIBS

•SMACNA

•AABC

•Definitions not included in the above references

are defined in Cx section of the commissioning

plan

PROGRAM PHASE

•Begins as close to project inception as possible

• Objectives

• Document owner’s requirements

• Select commissioning authority

• Identify and assign responsibilities

• Document the initial design intent

• Begin developing commissioning plan

• Define Cx process intent and needs

PROGRAM PHASE PROCEDURE

•Owner’s program - outline

owner’s overall vision for

the facility and its use

• Known goals and objectives

• Important times and criteria

• Cost and other limitations

PROGRAM PHASE

•Selecting design team

• Involving O & M staff

•Developing initial design intent, its importance

and content

•Discussion of the commissioning plan

•Using design intent to develop Basis of Design

•ALL systems design concepts are documented

•Planning for systems manual and training

CLARIFYING ELEMENTS OF THE CX PLAN

•Clarification

• Design intent

• Basis of Design

• Verification test

• Functional performance test

• Project close out

• Post acceptance testing and

visits

WHY WRITTEN DESIGN DOCUMENTATION IS NEEDED

•Enables design/construction team to better

understand owner’s needs

•To better define design, construction, and

operating responsibilities

•Provides basis for future building and system

changes

•Specifications are only an answer on how to put

the building together not how to operate it

OBJECTIVE OF DESIGN INTENT & BASIS OF DESIGN

• Provides all parties at

each stage of design

and construction a

complete understanding

of your building systems

• Provides information

based on owner’s

expectations

DIFFERS FROM TRADITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS

•Narrative descriptions of systems or issues

•Provides useful and understandable background

information to all parties.

•Specs tell what is to be done on component level

•Design documentation tells why it is done and, in

general terms, how design operating objectives

will be accomplished

•Lets contractors know how building is to operate

SUMMARY-WRITTENDOCUMENTATION

•Provides useful information to all parties

•Used to develop training and systems manual

material

•Knowledge passed to those who need it at all

stages of your project

•Not stored in someone’s head or personal file

Design Intent & Basis of Design are part of Construction Documents

issued to bidders

“A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE IDEAS,

CONCEPTS, AND CRITERIA THAT ARE DEFINED TO BE

IMPORTANT BY THE OWNER”

• Most critical aspect of the

Cx process

• Conveys owner’s

requirements in non-

technical terms

• Defines benchmark for

determining success

DESIGN INTENT

BASIS OF DESIGN

“All information necessary to accomplish the design intent, including

weather data, interior environmental criteria, other pertinent design

assumptions, cost goals, and references to applicable codes,

standards, regulation guidelines.”

• The technical data goes here

• Must be consistent

• Updated as design intent

changes

• Provides record of design

changes

DESIGN PHASE

•Begins with schematic design documents

• Objectives:

• Document evolving design intent

• Continue commissioning plan development

• Prepare commissioning specifications

• Develop contract document, clearly defining

commissioning tasks and deliverables

• Review and accept contract documents for

compliance with Design Intent and coordination with

other systems

CX SPECIFICATIONS

•Absolutely critical to include with contract

documents

•Helps bidders know what is coming

•Some designers have simply made statement

that systems are to be commissioned

• In this case, how would bidders know how to price?

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

•System installation & start-up

• Objectives:

• Review submittals

• Finalize details of the Cx plan

• Conduct periodic Cx team meetings

• Observe construction, installation, start-up, testing,

adjusting and balancing

• Conduct operations and maintenance training

CONSTRUCTION OBSERVATION

•Observe equipment

installation

•Update plan to ensure

compliance with

manufacturer’s

installation instructions

•Communicate issues to

owner and contractor

CONDUCT PERIODIC CXMEETINGS

•Schedule Cx Team meetings regularly

•Purpose:

• Site coordination

• Communicate Cx issues

• Resolve conflicts

• Identify urgent work to avoid conflict

• Report on progress

• Identify Cx deficiencies and decide how to correct

them.

REVIEW SUBMITTALS

•Review prior to construction

• Include normally required information

• Test procedures

• Requirements for performance and testing

TESTING

•Functional performance test (FPT)

• Contractors complete verification data forms

when they install systems

• CxA does component level checking

• Use sampling

• Critical to accomplish test as systems are

installed

• Subs must address all A/E punch list items to

date, TAB discrepancies and problems before

FPT

TESTING

•Functional Performance Testing

• The process of determining the

ability of ALL systems to deliver

services in accordance with the

final design intent

• Focuses on how well systems meet

the owners expectations

• Includes testing how systems

interact with other systems

EXAMPLES OF FPT

•Start-up (Scheduled)

•Shut down

•Morning warm-up/cool-down

•Cooling operation

•Heating operation

•Economizers

•Power loss

EXAMPLES OF FPT

•Smoke control/exhaust

•Transfer switches operate as designed

•Generators operate as designed

•Lighting and daylighting systems

•Emergency power

•Medical gas

DOCUMENTATION

•Develop verification and FPT documentation

•Complete and assemble final as-built records

• Verify they are being kept current as building goes up

NEEDED INFORMATION

•As-built drawings and

other records

•Final updated operations

& maintenance manuals

•Systems manual

(electronic format)

•Training documents or

videos

FINAL CX REPORT

•Design intent

•Cx plan

•Verified and approved TAB report

•List of deficiencies

•Corrective modifications

•Accepted performance variance

documentation

•Pre-start-up checklists

FINAL CX REPORT

•Completed FPT checklists

•List of off-season FPT’s not

performed and a schedule

for completion

•Contact information for the

Cx team

POST-ACCEPTANCE PHASE

•Continued adjustment of controls

•Maintain high level of performance

•Scope of modification and occupancy changes

•Update documentation

•Start from basis of existing Cx documentation

LAST & MOST IMPORTANT STEP

•Develop a lessons

learned section for

the final Cx Report

•Discuss with owner

•Do it better the next

time

•Communicate with

all parties

THANK YOU AND WE WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS IN YOUR

COMMISSIONING PROJECTS