Commissioning from the Owner’s Perspective

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The session you are viewing was recorded live on August 3, 2020.

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Description

Do commissioning providers really know what an owner wants? Are you sure your work products meet their expectations and are producing outcomes that will give you repeat business?

In 2018 Kaiser Permanente (KP) had 116 projects that required commissioning. Of these on 41% submitted Final Cx Reports. Of these 69 reports, only 13% were acceptable. We have projects with overly complicated 100+ page functional performance tests that didn’t result in large systems performance. Other problems were systems that were not tuned, despite extensive functional testing.

Systems were only tested to verify the sequence of control, but were not optimized or verified to actually work properly to meet KP’s needs. CxPs were quick to point out problems, but left the solution up to others and didn’t examine the root causes of the failures. KP engineers often felt they had to step in to help manage the Cx Process. Cx Plans and Final Cx Reports seemed to be boilerplate forms and reports that weren’t customized for the project.

Great commissioning providers think outside the box and provide constructive, implementable solutions that go beyond the punch list. When faced with a poor sequence of operation, good commissioning providers will be at the top of their game and suggest solutions, rather than deferring to the design engineer (who may not know how to write a good control sequence). When CxPs suggest solutions, these will come out of deep knowledge of the client’s preferences because they’ve listened to and captured their goals throughout Cx implementation.

Attend this session to learn tips and tricks from a building owner and former CxP for making your work yield effective, long lasting results, happy owners, and repeat business.

Contributors

Sandy Renshaw, PE, CCP, CEM, LEED AP

Sandy Renshaw has over 25 years of engineering experience in the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of equipment and systems. Mr. Renshaw is a registered professional engineer in Missouri and California. He is also a Certified Commissioning Professional through the Building Commissioning Association and a LEED Accredited Professional. Sandy joined Kaiser Permanente in July 2019 and serves as a Principal Mechanical Engineer with National Facilities Services, Facilities Strategy Planning and Design. A graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy Mr. Renshaw utilized his engineering education and training to operate and maintain the power plants on large merchant ships, including a tour of duty during Operation Desert Shield and Storm. He also has experience in facility inspections and assessments with Factory Mutual.