Commissioning or startup of an industrial facility is more than just detailed testing of every piece of equipment. The commissioning program needs a project management-based approach to plan and implement all phases of commissioning in a proper manner. Find here how the project management-based approach to commissioning can ensure the success of every step of detailed equipment testing. For more information, click now: https://www.global-cxm.com/commissioning/

1. A Project Management-
Based Approach to
Commissioning

2. • Commissioning or startup of an industrial facility is more than just
detailed testing of every piece of equipment.
• The commissioning program needs a project management-based approach to
plan and implement all phases of commissioning in a proper manner.
• Commissioning is surely an important stage in the lifecycle of any
project.
• However, when you evaluate the regular project literature, you don’t
cover commissioning in detail.
• This can be one reason why commissioning is usually considered as an
afterthought on most of the projects, i.e., the building commissioning
firm is involved towards the end of the project in order to ensure that
the equipment function properly. But such an approach may fail to
deliver the project on time and/or within budget.
• Commissioning needs to be included in every phase of the project,
following a project management-based approach, to make sure that every
step of detailed equipment testing is successful.
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3. 1
Schedule Management
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4. • The schedule of the project is the most powerful tool for the commissioning team
that describes priorities and the effects of delays on the rest of the team.
• The in-service date is the most crucial milestone in relation to the any project
and the commissioning team is responsible to meet this date when the project
ends.
• This can be achieved only if all other teams, preceding commissioning, deliver
their part of the project when required to facilitate the commissioning sequence.
• Any delay in the design phase may impact the construction as well as
commissioning. Mechanical completions and installation that aren’t in order or
delayed may effect system commissioning negatively.
• A substantial number of small deliverables and details are required at the
appropriate time to ensure that all elements of the project are readily available
when required to make the new facilities functional.
• The commissioning schedule must to be developed (possibly using an advanced
commissioning management system) early on in the project so as to communicate
priorities to the project team.
• During the commissioning phase, it is crucial for the commissioning management
company to review the project schedule while providing periodic updates to all
the key stakeholders.
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5. 2
Cost Management
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6. • The commissioning cost is not a major fraction of the entire project’s budget.
Typically, commissioning costs are below 5% of the total project’s budget, ranging
between 2% and 3%.
• Having said that, the cost of any delays during the commissioning phase can be
substantial. For this reason, the commissioning phase must be planned to perfection.
• Commissioning costs includes the following:
 Labour Costs: The costs of hiring workers for the commissioning phase. The size of this
team is way smaller in comparison to the size of the construction workforce. The costs
involved also is just a small chunk of the entire project’s budget.
 Equipment Costs: The costs of deploying specialised equipment for testing. Some pieces
of test equipment may have high procurement costs with a long lead time. However, these
costs don’t make a significant portion of the whole project’s budget.
 Material Costs: Includes incidental costs or the costs for first-fills to start
equipment the very first time. This, again, is not a substantial fraction of the entire
project’s budget.
• As mentioned earlier, the cost of delays during the commissioning phase can be massive.
All activities prior to commissioning as well as tests that are performed during
commissioning needs to be considered during planning and implementation.
• If the commissioning phase has been poorly planned and implemented, your project-
specific costs may easily spiral out of control.
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7. 3
Stakeholder & Communication
Management
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8. • Project scrutiny is most extensive in the commissioning phase. All
stakeholders would be seeing that the end of the project is nearing and
they might be hopeful about having the new facilities in service at the
earliest.
• While construction or design activities may have been allowed to miss the
schedule, no stakeholders would ever tolerate any slip in the in-service
schedule.
• During commissioning, communication management is important to handle the
expectations of all stakeholder and also to make sure that they are
getting the necessary information on the activities that are being
performed during commissioning.
• Commissioning activities may get better if all stakeholders understand
what they should expect during the commissioning phase, what the possible
risks are, how risks are going to be mitigated, and what contingency
plans will be implemented to ensure the progress of commissioning in a
smooth manner.
• Periodic updates will ensure that stakeholders are aware of how testing
is in progress.
• Quick updates on failed tests incidents will give stakeholders peace of
mind that all problems are disclosed on time and open for discussion. 8

9. 4
Risk Management
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10. • When planning and implementing project commissioning, risk management is an
important facet to keep in mind.
• It is not just about creating a risk register and then, reviewing it on a
monthly basis. Risk management should ideally be part of your day-to-day work
schedules and decisions.
• All project-specific decisions should balance schedule, scope and budget, to
ensure that the risk remains low at all times.
• A risk register is usually prepared during the design phase of the project.
The risk register consists of all the risks known that can be discovered as
the project progresses.
• It is reviewed on a monthly basis along with the addition of new risks,
assessment of current risks to determine their severity and impact, and
addressal of those risks that are transforming into problems.
• The commissioning management services company must be involved in the initial
stages of the project to identify and analyse potential risks to
commissioning while assisting the project team in creating risk mitigation
plans for the success of commissioning.
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11. 5
Scope Management
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12. • The scope of any given project is defined at the start of the project.
• There will be ongoing modifications to the scope of work with the
identification of new challenges.
• Any changes to schedule, budget or scope must follow the contractual change
management process.
• However, project commissioning is not the right time to execute changes to
the work.
• Nevertheless, there may be a few changes that are needed to fix problems.
• But, scope creep is a commissioning-specific risk that needs to be monitored
closely to ensure no delay to the work.
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13. 6
Quality Management
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14. • Commissioning can be referred to as a specialised quality assurance
process for third-party inspection of installation and design.
• The commissioning phase verifies that the technical requirements as well
as quality of the contract are fulfilled before handover to the project
owner – and the role of the commissioning team is crucial in all the
project quality processes.
• Interstingly, the construction-specific QA/QC process is quite different
from commissioning.
• In fact, both quality processes need to remain separate and be handled by
different teams.
• Construction quality is a critical factor that determines the
commissioning success.
• Without the implementation of a solid quality management system (QMS) by
the construction team, any risks due to inappropriately installed
equipment are postponed to commissioning.
• When problems are discovered, each will consume time to be fixed, which
may cause delays to the in-service date.
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15. 7
Resource Management
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16. • Prior to the commissioning phase, the commissioning manager find out the
workforce requirements so as to implement every phase of commissioning.
• This is done during the initial stages of the project to involve staffing-
related estimations in the budget of the project.
• It is to be noted that specialised skill sets may be required to perform
several roles within the team of the commissioning services and management
company involved in the project.
• Hands-on commissioning experience is a superb opportunity to learn.
• Senior members of the commissioning team may guide their juniors through the
various phases of commissioning, gradually allowing them to become the
experienced members of the team.
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17. 8
Procurement Management
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18. • Procurement of the required test equipment in the commissioning phase is
quite straightforward.
• The test equipment is identified beforehand and bought with ample lead time
to make sure that it reaches the site when required.
• Procurement of the major plant equipment is even more important, and UK-based
commissioning management company involved in the project commissioning team
can assist with this.
• During the project’s procurement phase, site test requirements need to be
outlined within every procurement contract.
• Procurement contracts describe the technical requirements for every piece of
equipment and also outline the testing to be done at the facility before the
equipment reaches there.
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19. 9
Integration Management
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20. • Integration management is an important facet of every project, particularly
because it is related to commissioning.
• Sadly, the project management documents do not cover this important topic at
length.
• It is basically about setting up the project, which includes project plan,
project charters, project schedule, and so on.
• A seasoned project manager understands that the project initiation process to
create schedule, budget and scope are just the initial steps.
• But, these are as important as the implementation of the plan in order to
keep the project within the budget, schedule, and scope.
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21. Final Words
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22. • The scope of commissioning extends beyond performing equipment tests at the
end of the project.
• For the commissioning phase to be successful, you require a solid project
management approach to commissioning that addresses all the topics discussed
above.
• With appropriate planning and mindset to eliminate potential risk early on in
the project, you can successfully complete commissioning on time and within
budget.
• Never aim to leave commissioning for the end of the project and make sure to
have an integrated approach to commissioning across all stages of your
project.
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23. WORK WITH US
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24. FOLLOW US
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l-commissioning-management-software-
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25. Thanks!
ANY QUESTIONS?
You can find me at:
oliviawilson202163@gmail.com
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