Description

One of the most important relationships in the commissioning process is between the commissioning agent, the owner and the engineer of record (EOR). A relationship that requires ongoing coordination with common goals defined at the beginning of the project. But what happens during design-build projects when the relationship between the EOR and contractors may result in different goals and can cause a conflict of interest? As an increasing number of projects move towards a design-build approach, the role of an independent commissioning agent grows to unbiased representative of the owner with the project best interest in mind.

For the life of a project the commissioning agent’s role can be more difficult and important when a project follows a design-build approach due to many factors including:

• An ongoing and sometimes unmonitored design process
• Value engineering with more focus on cost than owner’s needs
• Design documents that match what’s been installed instead of the other way around.

Due to the nature of this process, the key to a successful commissioning project is early involvement of the commissioning agent during the document development, and clearly outlined commissioning process. The result is a successful project within the boundaries of the basis of design, on schedule and on budget.

The intent of this article will be to provide a resource for all commissioning agents participating in a design-build project, and to offer guidelines to effectively navigate from design to construction and through occupancy. This article will compare and contrast the commissioning process under traditional design and design-build. It will provide an outline of means and methods for navigating the commissioning process with a design-build project allowing commissioning to be efficient and effective in meeting project energy goals and schedule.

Citation: 2017 Annual Conference, Long Beach, CA, Conference Papers

Product Details

Published:

2017

Number of Pages:

8

Units of Measure:

Dual

File Size:

1 file , 790 KB

Product Code(s):

D-LB-17-C042