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
