Commissioning

Approach & Methodology

Commissioning involves a number of key phases:

• Pre-Design/Design

• Construction

• Acceptance

• Post-Acceptance

Pre-Design/Construction Phases

Kick-off Meeting.  This is an initial meeting with the commissioning team (e.g., owner, construction manager, various MEP trades) to discuss the commissioning process, team member roles/responsibilities, commissioning schedule, and coordination requirements

Review of OPR/BOD Docs.  These will have already been prepared by the construction phase, but if not, they will need to be prepared and supplied to the CxA.  These are reviewed to determine the underlying requirements of the project and used to prepare the commissioning plan. Preparation and review of OPR and BOD documents is a critical component within LEED commissioning.

Review of Design Docs.  The CxA needs to go through the details of the design to determine which pieces of equipment require various levels of inspection, testing, and performance verification.  Large equipment such as boilers will have start-up requirements that will be witnessed.  Other smaller repetitive systems might only require sample testing.  The review will also look at how controls are integrated throughout the design to determine an approach to functional testing.

Review of Sequence of Operations.  Done as part of the review of design documentation, review of the sequences of operation is critical to establishing a functional test requirement.  Systems such as boilers will need to be demonstrated not only for basic start-up requirements but to meet the sequences.  Simpler or standalone equipment not tied to controls such as a vacuum tank may not have a SOR requirement since its controls are mechanical. BMS controls, which require some discussion and clarification, would be tested at the end.

Review of Construction Schedule.  The CxA review of the schedule is to determine when start-ups happen and to propose an approach to functional testing.  Commissioning can be done once at the end or incrementally.  For sites where the central plant is ready for integration, testing at the end could be more advantageous.  The specific approach will be defined in the commissioning plan.

Prepare and Update the Cx Plan.  The plan will be prepared to include all required equipment and systems, discuss roles/responsibilities, sampling, and overall planning and implementation requirements.  This Cx Plan gets updated as necessary if the design gets changed or scopes are adjusted. Where LEED certification is required, the minimum building systems and components required for LEED and any further systems that the owner would like to have commissioned are included in the Commissioning Plan.

Review of Submittals.  At this point, submittals may already have been submitted and approved by the engineer of record.  If so, these are reviewed to determine what products must be researched to develop system verification checklists, which are sometimes referred to as pre-functional forms.  As CxA, these checklists are developed and provided to the various contractors for completion prior to functional testing. They are also used as the basis of CxA construction inspections. If submittals have not been approved yet, the CxA reviews the submittals concurrently with the engineer of record.  The CxA review is to evaluate conformance to the OPR and BOD requirements.

Preparation of System Verification Checklists.  Checklists will be performed for equipment and systems identified in the Cx Plan.  These will include the boilers, domestic hot water heaters, feedwater tank and pumps, and vacuum and condensate tanks.  Checklists will be developed from design documents, manufacturer IOM docs, local Code, and industry best practice.  The forms will be submitted to the contractors for completion and used for CxA inspections.

Preparation of Tracking Forms.  Open issues will be tracked and resolved using a commissioning log.  This form will be updated prior to and/or after each commissioning team meeting.

Witness Start-ups and TAB.  The CxA witnesses start-ups of major equipment by contractors and authorized factory representatives.  The CxA reviews the pencil copy of the forms, if provided, and the final start-up forms. The CxA also witnesses any equipment that requires test, adjust, and balance. 

Preparation of Functional Test Forms.  Once all the pre-functional inspections, start-ups, and TAB work are done the functional tests are performed.  A test form is prepared and typically shared with the contractors so they may do some preparation before functionally testing with the CxA.  Contractors work with the CxA to work the various equipment through sequences of operation to verify the system is working as designed.

Site Observations.  Inspections are performed during construction by the CxA to verify requirements such as valves and instrumentation ports before insulation is installed, to verify equipment locations and maintenance service areas are maintained, and to ensure all equipment complies with approved submittals, design documents, manufacturer IOM requirements, etc.  Discrepancies are included in the commissioning log.

Participation in Commissioning Team Meetings.  Commissioning Team meetings are typically hosted at the end of regular construction trades meetings but can also be held as part of regular OAC meetings if key trades are included in the latter.  The CxA typically ties the commissioning meetings as part of its inspections and these meetings only start in earnest once MEP work has begun. 

Acceptance Phase

Review BAS Point-to-Point and Graphics.  During this work, the CxA confirms that BAS point-to-point checks have been done, usually consistent with a completed checklist form and sample checks against the control software and graphics.  The graphics are reviewed against owner requirements for consistency and that points are showing up as required.

TAB witness & review.  Any required air or water flows are verified, where required, against the design schedules; any discrepancies greater than those indicated in engineering specification are flagged for resolution. TAB is witnessed to ensure the methods are industry standard and to independently verify a sample of measurements.

Review Electrical Test Report.  The CxA confirms that all equipment is accounted for in report, acceptance criteria and industry standards have been clearly defined, that any deficiencies are added to the commissioning log for resolution.

Functional Performance Tests.  These tests are conducted to verify equipment is operating as intended.  Where necessary, tests may include seasonal tests to ensure equipment can operate at full capacity. The functional test forms are completed by the CxA and may be provided to the MEP and controls contractors to facilitate their system checks before calling for functional testing.

O&M Training and Documentation.  Training agendas are reviewed for inclusion of all equipment required as per the OPR and commissioning plan.  Trainers should be qualified training staff, not sales personnel.  O&M manuals are reviewed to include useable maintenance documents, parts lists, starting and shutdown procedures, diagnostics & emergency procedures, recommended maintenance intervals, and related data as required.  Documents should be properly indexed and provided prior to training with any additional support documents provided with training.

Prepare Commissioning Report.  The Cx report compiles all commissioning documentation into a single document and includes the commissioning plan, pre-functional forms, testing procedures, testing results, and completed commissioning log.

Project File. The project file compiles the O&M documentation, commissioning report, warranties, redlined drawings, and other final project information for the record.

Post Acceptance Phase

This phase is used to correct unresolved deficiencies, conduct any required re-tests, carry out required off-season testing, perform post-acceptance/warranty stage monitoring of the system, review any system operation or use changes, and update commissioning documentation if required. If any changes are made to controls or operations, these are incorporated into revised documentation and Project File. For LEED projects, the commissioning agent uploads the necessary files under its responsibility into the USGBC portal for review and acceptance.