BUILD Q2 2019

BUILD Q2 2019 62 Mar19218 he M3T Commissioning Family would like to say thank you to BUILD magazine for being announced as the winners of the 2019 Design and Build Award, Most Outstanding Small Construction Business – Texas, USA. In a continuing effort to promote building com- missioning as industry, we would like to use this opportunity to discuss the types of commissioning and there uses. In the January 2019, BUILD Magazine article ‘3rd Party Commissioning as Risk Management for Commercial Con- struction’, we discussed how 3rd party commissioning can aid in mitigating risk during the Commercial Construction process. The focus of the article demonstrate how commissioning, when is engaged early in the Design Phase of a commercial construc- tion project, follows the ISO-3100 Risk Management Process. For those readers that are not familiar with the building commis- sioning, we defined commissioning as the systematic process of vetting design intent in a construction process. The origin of modern-day commissioning is a naval-coined term referring to the study, testing, training and qualifying of military technology, and the organized and systematic process in which this vetting is completed. Over the years, commissioning has been adapted for commercial, infrastructure, industrial, mission-critical and specialty uses with healthcare and research leading the way in the commercial sector usage. Commissioning is also a require- ment for certification by the USGBC LEED Certification Program, which has aided in awareness of commissioning in the USA. There are two major types of commissioning, Technical Commissioning and Process Commissioning. Both types are acceptable granted they are implemented correctly. Technical Commissioning is when a commissioning plan is site specific, and forensic in nature when evaluating whether the commercial installation accomplishes an operational goal and works in con- junction surrounding and overall goals. Process Commissioning is often quickly implemented, generic in the nature of how the test and verification are performed. Process Commissioning is often expressed in Check box form. As previously stated, Technical Commissioning is site specific and forensic in nature. This is because the construction docu- ments are used to create a custom-tailored test plan for your Technical Commissioning vs Process Commissioning and Their Applications M3T Cx Authorities LLC’s CEO/President, Monica Mack provides us with an overview of the types of commissioning and there uses. T commercial construction site. Special sequences, custom acces- sories, equipment upgrades, organizational needs and integra- tion in systems are just some of the considerations that go into the creation of the commissioning plan and the test scripts that will be used to verify the functional and operation of the commis- sioned equipment. Technical Commissioning often takes longer to prepare and implement; however, it is an exemplary tool in establishing O&M processes, and predicting system response once the installed equipment has been placed into operation. Conversely, Process Commissioning is quickly implemented and focuses on standard usage. Process commissioning is comparable to an installation checklist were standard proce- dures are tracked and checked off. However, keep in mind the process commissioning will be full of general goal and function- ality objective that can be easily observed, and typically ask that the equipment/system be verified to operate within a target range. Process commissioning test script are often easily iden- tifiable by the checkbox and easy-to-interpret reporting. Equip- ment evaluated this way are typically commercial “off-the-shelf” equipment/system that often don’t have special considerations. Process commissioning is great for evaluating equipment and systems that will be replaced in kind, or/and expanding produc- tivity by adding more of the same components. Often, both the technical and process commissioning are used during a commissioning project, but they are not interchangea- ble, so, understanding when and how they should be imple- mented is very important. Technical commissioning is slower to implement and requires a lot more planning. Therefore, it should be contracted as early as possible in the construc- tion process, such as in the Planning or Design Phase of the construction project. Technical commissioning may not be ap- propriate for very simple pieces of equipment do not have many outside parameter to consider during operation. Just as, it may not be necessary for project where you are adding equipment or swapping equipment with like piece of equipment. In that cases, process commissioning may be most effective because a baseline may have already been established and processes implemented. Process commissioning is not appropriate for custom equipment, major pieces of equipment, new construc- tion, substantial upgrades and were processes, and special operation has not been defined or considered prior.