The document outlines the importance and process of building commissioning in construction projects, emphasizing the need for quality assurance to meet owner project requirements. It describes the roles of various stakeholders, including the commissioning authority, owners, and contractors, in achieving energy efficiency and operational performance. The document also highlights the benefits of thorough commissioning, including cost savings and improved indoor environmental quality.

1. BUILDING COMMISSIONING:
The Value of Commissioning
CaGBC Building Advisor Program
John Kokko, P.Eng., CCP, LEED AP Doron Weiss, P. Eng. M. Sc
kokkoJ@mmm.ca weissd@mmm.ca
519-743-8777 x2424 905-882-4211 x 3026

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 What is building
commissioning
 What are the steps required by
LEED
 Why is it important
 What results can we expect

3. NEW BUILDING CX
LEED Credits
EAp1 – Fundamental Cx (Prerequisite)
 Deals mainly with construction and getting the building operating before
hand-over
EAc3 - Enhanced Cx (Credit)
 Deals with design and post occupancy operation

4. WHAT IS NEW BUILD COMMISSIONING
• A quality-focused process for enhancing the delivery of a project. The
process focuses upon verifying and documenting that the facility and all of
its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested,
operated and maintained to meet the Owner’s Project Requirements.
Hands over a
building that gives the
owner what he paid for.

5. EPPUR SI MUOVE - And yet it moves
Despite its 30-year history in the United States, and
hundreds of millions of square feet of floor area
commissioned, most mainstream industry professionals
would be hard-pressed to define building
commissioning. A vanishingly small fraction of
building owners/managers know what it is. Even
efforts to explain it can leave many listener mystified.

6. .

9. NAME FROM SHIP BUILDING
 A commissioned ship is one deemed ready for service.
 Must pass several milestones.
 Equipment is installed and tested, problems are identified and
corrected, and staff are extensively trained.
 A commissioned ship is one whose materials, systems, and staff have
successfully completed a thorough quality assurance process.
 Commissioned ship is one ready to sail safely and reliably

10. VISION OF COMMISSIONING
Take the owner’s needs and wants
► Ensure requirements properly articulated
Through the minds of the consultants
► Ensure designs properly reflect OPR
Through the hands of suppliers and contractors
► Ensure building is properly built
Deliver a properly performing building
► Ensure all systems operate as intended

11. Expectations
Owner
Is receiving the best project that money spent can buy
Complete the project on time and on budget
Consultant
Construction documents are comprehensible and easy to build
Contractor
Complete the project efficiently and with no call-backs
Commissioning Authority
To get the support and cooperation needed from all stakeholders
for a successful project
O&M Personnel
To get the training and documentation needed to easily and
effectively operate and maintain the building

12. WHY IS COMMISSIONING NEEDED
 Don’t the design and construction teams already
do this?
 Everyone wants to do a good job.
 But two constrains:
1. Scope included with fees
2. Knowledge of the state-of-the-art
 Low price generally gets the job
 Designers responsible for code
 Site review for conformance to
drawings and specs
 Not performance beyond obvious
faults and complaints after the fact

13. UP-TO-DATE KNOWLEDGE
 Innovation moving extremely fast
 Innovative equipment and
systems are relatively unfamiliar
to designers, contractors,
operators and even
manufacturers agents
 Energy efficiency, integrated
systems, imported design
concepts and computerization
have multiplied levels of
complexity

14. WHAT IS INNOVATION
MULTIPLE MARRIED TECHNOLOGIES

15. ADDED COMPLICATIONS
 Radiant heating
 Radiant cooling
 Condensing boiler
 Water-side economizer
 Building automation systems

16. INNOVATION INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY
Direct and indirect evaporative cooling
Optimum start
Cascading PID loops
Stratified thermal storage
Day lighting control
Integration
And on and on and on ….

17. CONVENTIONAL COMMISSIONING
• Start-up and basic check out of equipment
• Testing, Adjusting and Balancing (TAB)
• Begins after systems in and ready for
start-up
• Verify individual components function as
components
• Performed by installing contractor or
manufacturers rep

18. TOTAL COMMISSIONING (LEED™)
A systematic quality assurance program
Starts at concept design and concludes at end of
warranty
Includes all phases concept design, detailed design,
construction, start-up, 1 year operation
Commissioning verifies energy performance and
comfort maintenance

19. TOTAL COMMISSIONING (LEED™)
 Includes reviews
 through all stages
 Includes participation
 of consultants, trades,
O&M staff
 Includes detailed reviews
 design, shop draw, install
 Expanded installation
 verification and start-up checks
 O&M documentation more centralized
 Whole system performance vs. component checks

20. VALUE OF Cx
 Largest study to date
 Evan Mills, Ph.D LBNL July 2009
 http://cx.lbl.gov/2009-assessment.html
 643 buildings, 26 US states
 561 existing and 82 new buildings
 37 Cx firms
 99 M ft2, $2.2 B construct
 90.4 M ft2 existing, 8.8 M ft2 new construction
 $43 M Cx costs
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

21. NEW BUILDING Cx MEDIANS
 Cx cost, $1.16/ft2 or 0.4% of overall construct cost
($290/ft2) (Range $0.60 - $2.15)
 Number of deficiencies identified, 3,528
(about 1/3 of projects reported deficiencies)
 Energy savings 13% (Range 9% - 29%)
 Payback time, 4.2 years (Range 1.7 to 11.4 yrs)

22. AREAS OF BENEFIT
 Construction Cost Savings
 Equipment downsizing and trade-offs
 Energy Savings - $0.05 to $0.45/ft2
 Peak demand reductions
 Maintenance and replacement costs reduced
 Increased productivity and reduced liability
 Indoor environmental quality maintenance

23. COMMISSIONING PROCESS OVERVIEW

24. LEED Cx OUTLINE
Design and Construction Phases EAp1 – Fundamental Cx EAc3 – Enhanced Cx
Design Owner documents OPR Before 50% CD Owner designates
CxA
Construction Documents Designers incorporate Cx specs into
Construction Docs
CxA presents Cx Plan
50% CD CxA conducts 50% design review
Post Contract Award Owner designates CxA
CxA presents Cx Plan
CxA reviews shop drawings
Installation CxA performs/oversees installation
verification
Start-up CxA performs/oversees functional
testing
CxA reviews O&M Manuals
CxA oversees staff training
Substantial Completion CxA prepares Draft Final Report CxA prepares Systems Manual
Post Construction CxA performs/oversees defered
testing
Occupancy CxA delivers Final Report CxA provides Warranty and
occupant concerns review

25. OWNER & DESIGN TEAM DOCUMENTATION
Owners Project Requirements (OPR)
► Owner and User requirements
► Environmental sustainability goals
► Energy efficiency goals
► Indoor environmental quality requirements
► Equipment and systems expectations
► Building occupant & O&M personnel requirements
Basis of Design (BoD)
► Primary design assumptions
► Standards
► Narrative descriptions

26. Cx DURING DESIGN
 Work with design team to define measurable energy and
indoor environmental quality goals
 Discuss alternatives to traditional design solutions
 Provide support for unfamiliar technologies
 Review to verify design meets objectives and technologies
properly implemented
 Review to verify equipment specified meets goals and
objectives

27. COMMON DESIGN ISSUES
 No design target for energy use
 Lighting power density not identified
 No heat recovery
 Condensing boilers not considered
 Variable speed pumps and fans
not incorporated
 20°F rather than 40°F design
temp drop design used
 Undersized piping and
ductwork

28. Cx PLAN
 Overview of Cx Process
 List of equipment and systems to be Cx
 Cx Team and responsibilities
 Management, Communication and Reporting Overview
 Cx Process Overview (Outline above)
 List of deliverables
 Milestones

29. Cx MEMBERS & RESPONSIBILITIES
COMMISSIONING AGENT
 Owner’s rep leading commissioning
 Reviews and produces most paperwork
 Directs testing
 Ensures LEED™ requirements are met
OWNER
 Provide support as required to ensure Cx
proceeds smoothly
 FM Staff?
Consultants
 Provide documentation as required for review
 Attend commissioning meetings as required

30. GENERAL CONTRACTOR
► Ensures contractors meet commissioning
requirements
M&E CONTRACTORS
► Completes start-up, installation verification lists
► Operates equipment for Performance Testing
► Produces O&M manuals, Provides owner training
CONTROLS CONTRACTOR
► Operate controls for Performance Testing, produce
O&M materials for controls
Cx MEMBERS & RESPONSIBILITIES

31. Cx SPECIFICATIONS
 Contractor responsibilities
 Submittal review process
 Meetings
 IVC process
 Start-up process
 Balancing reviews
 FPT process
 O&M manuals requirements
 Training requirements
 Warranty review

32. Cx DURING CONSTRUCTION
 Verify equipment installed per drawings and
specs, manuf’rs requirements and proper
industry practice and standards
 Verify equipment is, set-up, adjusted,
balanced, controlled and operated to provide
expected comfort and energy performance
 Provide owner complete systems O&M docs
 Provide owner’s operating personnel
adequate training to understand, operate and
maintain equipment

33. COMMON INSTALLATION ISSUES
 Coils piped backward
 Maintenance access not
provided
 Pumps with shaft oriented
improperly
 Thermostats located adjacent
to heating/cooling diffusers
 Insulation missing
 Sensors improperly located

34. COMMON FUNCTIONAL TESTING ISSUES
 Controls functions not
matching sequence
 VFDs do not modulate
 Outdoor damper minimum
position
 Control valve action reversed

35. TRAINING TOPICS
 General purpose of system
 Use of O&M manuals
 Operation of systems under all conditions
 Interaction with other systems
 Adjustments and optimization for efficiency
 Health and safety
 Special maintenance and replacement resources
 Occupant interaction
 Controls training

36. SYSTEMS MANUAL
 Final BoD
 System single line diagrams
 As-Built sequences, set-points, etc.
 System operating instructions
 Maintenance schedule
 Retesting schedule

37. Cx AFTER OCCUPANCY
 Follow trends on BAS to ensure ongoing operation
 Completion of deficiencies remaining after
construction
 Follow-up on warranty issues arising
 Follow up on occupant concerns during warranty
and first year occupancy
 Verify that issues are cleaned up by the end of
warranty

38. FINAL REPORT
 OPR
 Design and shops review summary
 Cx specifications
 IVC results
 FPT results
 O&M evaluation
 Value achieved through Cx
 Outstanding issues

39. MMM Group Limited
100 Commerce Valley Drive West
Thornhill, ON Canada L3T 0A1
t: 905.882.1100 | f: 905.882.0055
e: mmm@mmm.ca