The document discusses various factors that are important for effective project commissioning. It outlines that commissioning ensures projects meet regulatory requirements and design specifications through functional testing. Key commissioning factors discussed include having a thorough planning process, implementing factory acceptance testing, properly managing mechanical completions, ensuring construction quality, and effective schedule management. The document also recommends using advanced commissioning software to help streamline the commissioning process.

1. BEST PRACTICE
COMMISSIONING FACTORS
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2. In project management, commissioning is a crucial phase. For the
stakeholders involved as well as the entire project team, project
commissioning is the only way to ensure that the project is in
accordance with the regulatory requirements and the design
document. During the commissioning phase, functional testing
procedures are performed, interoperability problems are
resolved, and energy usage is optimised for enhanced
performance and efficiency.
In a construction setting, building commissioning firms need to
ensure that all facets of the project are appropriately installed,
designed, maintained and tested. The tasks of a commissioning
engineer entail tracking progress, troubleshooting potential
issues, carrying out tests, helping with financial improvements,
conducting audits and preparing reports while being a dedicated
supporter of the owner of the project throughout the entire
construction phase. During the project commissioning phase, a
single wrong step can lead to regulatory and legal issues as well as
client losses.
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3. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
Planning: Construction projects are highly dynamic and
comprise several moving components. The commissioning
management must stay on top of everything, and hence it is
utterly important to have a foolproof commissioning plan in
place.
Preferably, the owners of the project should involve a building
commissioning firm prior to the design phase and the operation
phase. This will allow the commissioning engineer to act as an
intermediary between the contracting and design team to ensure
complete adherence to the owner's project requirements (OPR).
Such an early engagement ensures that commissioning is part of
the entire project delivery plan. Planning also includes defining
the commissioning schedule, scope and budget as well as
bringing in an efficient commissioning team.
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4. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
In the planning phase, the commissioning team should also agree on
the distribution format, the system and the documentation of
problems. The best way to do this is by having a cloud-
based commissioning management system. A design initiation
meeting with the whole project team will ensure that everyone
involved is on the same page while being fully aware of the
commissioning and design plan requirements.
The commissioning plan should consist of a contingency plan to
handle unanticipated situations like adverse weather conditions or
equipment failure that can delay the commissioning phase. Hence, it
is important to develop project commissioning checklists and
procedures well before the commissioning activities.
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5. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT): Factory Acceptance Testing
(FAT) assesses pre-functional equipment as well as checks if it is
in accordance with the design specifications. Being an important
part of the commissioning phase, it should be performed soon
after purchase and also regularly once the use of equipment
starts.
Any failure to implement FAT appropriately put off issues that can
later prove to be very costly to resolve and can leave a more
devastating impact. For instance, poorly implemented FAT for
automation like failure to involve the PLC logic design may lead to
a giant problem towards the completion of the project. For HVAC
systems, a test and balance procedure is carried out as part of
FAT.
FAT should ideally be part of the entire project testing strategy. It
is therefore recommended to follow a proactive approach to
Factory Acceptance Testing and resolve issues and fix errors
before it is too late.
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6. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
Mechanical Completions: In general, every mechanical completion appears as simple as a subsystem. But, things may
turn complex as soon as you throw in a couple of systems with delivery sequences and milestones. Complex
handovers and missed milestones can affect the successful delivery of the project. You should have appropriate
mechanical completions to smooth out the handover process. Here is how you can achieve this:
Define every mechanical completion beforehand: Put out the expectations at the beginning of the project while
mentioning when mechanical completions are supposed to align with the commissioning activities.
Define the boundary: Commissioning and construction activities usually overlap to enhance the schedule of the
project. Mechanical completion documentation outlines the areas that are under construction (under the custody and
control of the construction team) and also the areas that are under testing (under the custody and control of the
commissioning team).
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7. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
Construction Quality: The system quality obtained from the
construction team decides the success of the commissioning phase.
The construction team should execute a quality management system
(QMS).
The QMS describes the quality control (QC) role and quality assurance
(QA) role of the construction team and the project owner,
respectively. Inspection test plans (ITPs) outlines details of quality
control. The QA further makes sure that the contractor adheres to the
QC and ITP plans.
Below par installations that can’t be assessed and are needed to be
handed over to the construction team signify a faulty QMS with poor
QC and QA. Moreover, test procedures created at the start of the
project are a sure-fire way to smooth out the commissioning process
and boost construction quality.
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8. COMMISSIONING FACTORS :
Schedule Management: The schedule changes constantly and requires regular update. Hence, schedule
management is critical to successful commissioning.
To avoid turning schedule management into a task, the schedule should just include block activities
representing an outcome. For instance, if there is just a week for loop checks to be carried out on an
automated system, mark it as just one-week activity. It’s not necessary to involve minute details of every
panel being assessed, given that all are assessed within a week.
Accurate schedule management is important for mechanical completions. The project team monitors
progress while sharing regular feedback to the commissioning team on meeting-specific milestones.
Productivity is said to be achieved if the progress is satisfactory with respect to predefined timelines. If it is
not achieved, remedial measures should be taken or the impact of commissioning control sequence should
be determined.
The project team should never be notified of the probability of a missed important milestone when it is due
– schedule management lets such an event to be apparent well before time for the development of a
recovery plan and figuring out possible options.
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9. A Better Way to Oversee the Commissioning Phase
Many commissioning engineers find it challenging to handle the commissioning process because they often rely on
obsolete methods. Paper and spreadsheets might have been the only options available several years ago, but today, there
are far better ways to managing commissioning. Project commissioning best practices recommend using advanced
commissioning software to oversee the whole process.
Using a cloud-based commissioning management system helps streamline and enhance the commissioning process, so
you could get it right the very first time. With a powerful commissioning tool, it becomes easier to perform
commissioning-related activities, like following pre-commissioning checklist, recording data by filling up test record, and
having your test scripts automatically created by uploading your asset list. An advanced project commissioning software
solution therefore, ensures clear tracking, traceability and accountability for every step of the commissioning process for
all your assets and systems.
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