ATLANTA – A newly published standard focused on the commissioning process will help ensure a fully functional, fine-tuned facility.
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 202, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems, identifies the minimum acceptable commissioning process for buildings and systems as described in ASHRAE’s Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process. Standard 202 is ASHRAE’s first standard focused on the commissioning process. The commissioning process as detailed in Standard 202 applies to all construction projects and systems and is an industry consensus document.
“Given the integration and interdependency of facility systems, a performance deficiency in one system can result in less than optimal performance by other systems,” Gerald Kettler, P.E., chair of the committee that wrote the standard, said. “Implementing the Commissioning Process is intended to reduce the project capital cost through the warranty period and also reduce the life-cycle cost of the facility. Using this integrated process results in a fully functional, fine-tuned facility, with complete documentation of its systems and assemblies and trained operations and maintenance personnel.”
The commissioning process assumes that owners, programmers, designers, contractors and operations and maintenance entities are fully accountable for the quality of their work. The process begins at project inception and continues for the life of a facility.
The process includes specific tasks to be conducted to verify that design, construction, verification, testing, documentation and training meet the owner’s project requirements, according to Kettler.
The standard defines the commissioning process through 13 functional steps, each of which contains deliverables. The commissioning activities and deliverable are as follows:
-
Initiate the Commissioning Process, including defining roles and responsibilities
-
Define the project requirements, which results in the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) document
-
Develop commissioning plan – produces a written Commissioning Process Plan
-
Plan design approach to Owners Project Requirements – defines the basis of design
-
Set contractor commissioning requirement, which are included in the commissioning specifications
-
Design review by the commissioning authority provides feedback and a design review report
-
Submittals review verifies compliance with the OPR in a submittal review report
-
Observation & Testing verifies system performance with results documented in construction checklists and reports
-
Issues resolution coordination is done with an issues and resolution log
-
Systems manual assembly results in a systems manual for building operation
-
Conduct training for building operations with training plans and records
-
Post occupancy operation commissioning provides an end of warranty commissioning report
-
Assembly of a commissioning report captures all the project commissioning documentation
Other commissioning guidance from ASHRAE includes Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process;Guideline 1.1-2007, HVAC&R Technical Requirements for the Commissioning Process; and Guideline 1.5-2012, The Commissioning Process for Smoke Control Systems.
ASHRAE also is working on several other guidelines related to commissioning: Guideline 0.2P, The Commissioning Process for Existing Systems and Assemblies; Guideline 1.2P, The Commissioning Process for Existing HVAC&R Systems; Guideline 1.3P, Building Operation and Maintenance Training for the HVAC&R Commissioning Process; and Guideline 1.4P, Procedures for Preparing Facility Systems Manuals.
The cost of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 202-2013, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems, is $72 ($61, ASHRAE members). To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 678-539-2129, or visitwww.ashrae.org/bookstore.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found atwww.ashrae.org/news.
Related Stories
| Sep 7, 2014
Hybrid healthcare: Revamping inefficient inpatient units to revenue-producing outpatient care
It's happening at community hospitals all over America: leadership teams are looking for ways to maintain margins by managing underutilized and non-revenue producing space. GS&P's David Magner explores nontraditional healthcare models.
| Sep 7, 2014
USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building
In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top military sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Balfour Beatty, Fluor, and HDR top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 4, 2014
Ranked: Top courthouse sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fentress Architects, Tutor Perini, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from courthouse facilities, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 4, 2014
Hospital CEOs, architects sound off on state of healthcare design
Healthcare construction will continue to feel the effects of radical changes in the delivery of care, according to healthcare leaders attending the annual Summer Leadership Summit of the American College of Healthcare Architects and the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health.
| Sep 4, 2014
Best of education design: 11 projects win AIA CAE architecture awards [slideshow]
The CAE Design Excellence Award honors educational facilities that the jury believes should serve as an example of a superb place in which to learn. Projects range from a design school in Maryland to an elementary school in Washington.
Sponsored | | Sep 4, 2014
Learning by design: Steel curtain wall system blends two school campuses
In this the new facility, middle school and high school classroom wings flank either side of the auditorium and media center. A sleek, glass-and-steel curtain wall joins them together, creating an efficient, shared space. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Sep 4, 2014
Strong industry growth could be slowed by skilled labor shortage, says Gilbane report
While construction spending for 2014 will finish the year 5.5% higher than 2013 and the unemployment rate in construction is down to 7.5%, the industry has been losing workers for more than five years, according to a new Gilbane report.
