LEARNING And Discerning.

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.