The commissioning process establishes and documents the "Owner's Project Requirements (OPR)" criteria for system function, performance expectations, maintainability; verify and document compliance with these criteria throughout all phases of the project (design, manufacturing, installation, construction, startup, testing, and operations).
The guide provides a process for including building commissioning in the planning, design, construction and post-construction phases of a project.
Equipment is installed and tested, problems are identified and corrected, and the prospective crew is extensively trained.
A commissioned ship is one whose materials, systems, and staff have successfully completed a thorough quality assurance process.
When a building is initially commissioned it undergoes an intensive quality assurance process that begins during design and continues through construction, occupancy, and operations.
The decision to recommission may be triggered by a change in building use or ownership, the onset of operational problems, or some other need.
The Commissioning process inherently, and through design, improves the quality of the project from initial planning/design through construction and occupancy.
While the service method can vary from owner to owner and project to project, the basic formula for a successful building commissioning process involves a synergy team from pre-design to develop the owner's project requirements (OPR), commissioning scope, and plan including benchmarks for success, review of design documents and checklists for achieving the OPR, development of checklists and verifying a sample of construction checklists and submittals, developing training needs and evaluating training delivered by the contractors, witnessing and verifying construction phase tests, and periodic site observations during the construction phase, and performing commissioning functional testing as the project nears completion.
It is important that the CxP clearly identifies the communication processes/streams, the project goals and expectations (from the OPR), and the team member responsibilities.
The functional performance test procedures are typically developed by the CxP with assistance of the trade contractors, vendors, and manufacturers based on the design engineer's contract documents.
Of utmost importance, often neglected by contractors, are the equipment / systems "installation and operations manuals" (IOM or IO&M) "specific to the project" (not generic).
The IOM's along with complete, and very detailed, sequence of operations (SOO) and control drawings/documents submittal "specific to the project" (not generic) are of utmost importance to the CxP to perform the review and develop proper testing procedures.
The commissioning team, led by the CxP, has a primary objective of verifying proper installation, operation, and performance based on the project design (BOD) and the OPR.
These typically include heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R), electrical power, lighting, fire suppression and alarm, and security systems, etc.
The greater control provides the ability to improve a buildings performance, environmental impact, and the user / occupant's environment.
The functional performance test procedures are typically developed by the CxP with assistance of the trade contractors, vendors, and manufacturers, reviewed by same, and the design engineer.
The systems, equipment, items, processes, modes, and sequences of operations to be tested by the CxP (contractors or others) should be detailed and identified in the design engineer's construction documents (drawings and specifications), the construction request for proposal (RFP), the contractors' bid submission, and the commissioning specifications and commissioning plan.
It is estimated by Texas A&M researchers that as much as 20%[6] of the energy used in an average commercial building is waste associated with poorly operated systems.
Often the installations for fire safety, lighting controls, plumbing, electrical distribution, and of more recent years, the building enclosure, may also be included within the scope of the commissioning process.
The payback time for the commissioning process is based on many factors including saved/minimized energy usage, better design and fewer errors.