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As demonstrated with manual winterization requirements last month (Winterization and Commissioning, January 2019), systems manuals should include more than a regurgitation of the BAS as-built documents. Not everything in a [...]

Although the commissioning professional will almost never influence a project's delivery method or the owner's contractual relationships with the contractors, the project delivery method and contract relationships greatly influence the [...]

Commissioning is far from being 'business as usual' in the design and construction world. I was reminded of this fact recently when a building owner expressed the expectation that the [...]

Whether one calls it a commissioning action list, a master issues log, a deficiency list, a corrective action list, etc., every commissioning project includes a matrix of items needing attention [...]

* Last month, I addressed the challenge faced by new construction project teams to build faster and cheaper. In the normal project delivery process, this responsibility falls on the construction [...]

* I can't believe it has been more than a year since I wrote my last column about the difficulties associated with commissioning systems with both on-board equipment controllers and [...]

I closed last month's column (August 2008) with a recommendation that the general contractor on any project, but especially on complex projects, invest time at the beginning of construction to [...]

The article offers information about the two new construction commissioning projects with similar challenges and as-yet unwritten endings. The first project is one in which the commissioning professional was engaged before the schematic design phase, and the project is currently early in construction. The design engineers did not develop a detailed set of control sequences during the design phase.

The article offers information regarding the functional performance test procedures which should be included in the contract documents along with the design drawings and specifications. It mentions that controls integration is invaluable for confirming that all responsible parties are on the same page regarding communications between engineered systems. It presents information on the need for contractors to go through the commissioning process.

The article discusses the control submittal review and controls integration process in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Topics covered include the focus of the process on confirming that the controls of the system are effectively integrated with on-board controllers. Also mentioned is the need for controls contractors to be deeply knowledgeable with this process.

The article explores the reason why commissioning action lists (CALs) are difficult to control as well as examines what should commissioning professional do about it. It outlines the goal of the commissioning process to have the time to understand the owner's system performance requirements and the intentions of designers how the systems will achieve those requirements. The need for the contractors to review the test procedures and agree or disagree with the acceptance criteria is also tackled.

The article provides information on sample field testing similar systems in functional performance testing (FPT). It states that the commissioning professional need to choose the systems to be tested and the systems should stay unknown to the contractor until the testing day. It mentions that the challenging part of sampling is identifying what to do if sampled systems never pass the initial tests, even though it is easy to identify a sample size.

The article offers the author's insights on how building owners can provide training to their intended service contractors. The author says that owners should provide system-level training to the first service contractor at the end of construction. She notes that the key elements of system training should be compiled into a Systems Manual including as-built construction drawings, schematic diagrams of each system, and control system sequences of operation.

The article discusses the need for service contractors to undergo training to sustain the benefits of the commissioning process. It mentions that a commissioning process can help facilitate the transition from design to occupancy. It mentions that without some level of training, contractors cannot be expected to understand the design intent and system configurations. It also emphasizes that the installation contractor and design engineer contracts should include provisions to deliver training.

The author discusses aspects of building commissioning in relation to timely control system design. She states that the control contractor's design should be finished at the same time with the mechanical contractor's design. She stresses that it is vital for building owners' project managers to estimate project delivery method during the procurement of design engineering services.

The article discusses the importance of getting a commissioning professional for a project in the design phase. It notes that there are people such as building owners, designers, and contractors who are not well informed about commissioning as a valuable aspect in the process during the design phase. The commissioning professional will facilitate the development of a document focused solely on defining the owner's performance expectations for the new building systems.

The article focuses on the importance of roles and responsibilities matrix for the general contractor in the construction industry. The development of the matrix will help contractors and their team to have time savings and schedule adherence. It will also enhance the end-of-construction commissioning process and identify the subcontractor needed in the occurrence of troubleshooting.

The article focuses on the amount of time the commissioning professional is expected to be on-site during construction. There is a point of diminishing return when being on site too much can lead to three possible outcomes. First, there is a risk of doing the contractors' work for them. Next is the potential for the commissioning professional to become too friendly with the contractors. Third, there is temptation on the contractor's part to take a casual approach to scheduling commissioning activities.

The article discusses some of the unique aspects of commissioning existing systems that are affected by partial building renovations. It cites the need to determine the scope of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning commissioning when defining a commissioning program for the partial renovation of an existing building. The issue should be discussed with the building owners, designers and contractors during the commissioning planning process.

The article presents the author's opinions regarding the importance of building commissioning. The design and construction industry is facing problems in delivering standard, uncomplicated buildings that function properly. The industry does not have a good record in delivering facilities with complex systems, such as an integrated heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; life safety controls; etc. Building systems commissioning has an important role to play in the construction of new buildings. Contractors should implement the building commissioning process as they are responsible for delivering a building that meets the contract document requirements.

The article focuses on the importance of commissioning in construction and engineering projects. One of the primary benefits of the commissioning process is to ease the pain that most noncommissioned projects experience at the end of construction. Commissioning may be seen as "piling on" with functional performance issues that also need to be addressed before the owner is satisfied. In the long run, it is best for everyone involved in the project to have these issues identified and corrected under the umbrella of a focused commissioning process. On many projects, when the owner takes "beneficial occupancy" of a building, the contractors feel less pressure to resolve outstanding issues.

Focuses on some of the decisions facility owners need to make when procuring professional commissioning services. Responsibility of construction manager and general contractor for both the budget and the schedule; Importance of the owner's support to the success of commissioning; Identification of the conflict of interest that needs to be addressed.

In this article the author outlines the importance of a facility owner defining the scope of commissioning to prospective provider firms in order to obtain apples-to-apples fee proposals from which to select a commissioning firm for each project. According to the author, the commissioning provider is an owner's technical representative to the project, and it is important that the owner feel comfortable with the team he is selecting to provide that representation. That all-important "chemistry" between the owner and his consultants needs to be a part of the commissioning provider selection. Interviews are required in order lo understand how people present themselves, to explore their approaches to conflict resolution, and to judge comfort and support for the owner's philosophies. Another important benefit of commissioning a project is the opportunity to involve the future system operators in the process as early as possible.

Presents several question and answer advisory on ways to determine the scope of various projects. Awareness on the total operational costs; Need for the client to understand the benefits of confirming that all equipment and system warranties were delivered as required by project specifications; Details on the responsibilities of the contractors.

Focuses on the factors that influence the success of commissioning projects in engineering. Facility owners' hiring of commissioning consultants to solve problems related to the project; Forms of influence that owners can exert over designers and contractors; Assignment of award fees as a positive approach to encourage contractors.