Proper Commissioning (Cx) for all Building Types & Technologies

Design Engineers, Technicians, Facilities Managers, Construction Contractors, Consultants, Construction Managers, Project Managers, Architects, Specialty MEP Equipment Vendors; in addition to other professionals like Scientists, R&D researchers supporting testing and demonstration projects, and energy and climate policy makers, who all are interested in seriously enhancing their knowledge and exposure to a broad spectrum of commissioning procedures supporting a wide range of residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities and master energy and environmental plans in need of a wide range of commissioning types to achieve desired goals.

This course starts by presenting an overview of the proper commissioning (Cx) process starting with what is Cx? Presents the most known six (6) types of Cx: (1) Total Cx, (2) Continuous Cx, (3) Ongoing Cx, (4) Re-Cx, (5) Retro-Cx, & (6) Cx Light or Custom Cx). Presents the 4 proper phases of the Total Cx process. How to plan for Cx. The Cx team’s composition and their Roles & Responsibilities. Intro to the required checklists, forms and tests to conduct Cx. How to plan for & generate beneficial Cx report for existing and new buildings and systems targeting high performance.

This detailed course vastly expands and builds on the presenter’s earlier “Introduction to the Fundamentals of the Proper Commissioning (Cx) Process”. In conclusion, diverse audience will acquire multiple skills that will support them in their daily jobs with Cx of other MEP/HVAC systems and sustainable technologies, besides the technology specific biomass heating system examples that are sometimes used in this training for in-depth illustration. It will be a very busy 1-day workshop and detailed course multiple benefits and learning objectives are shown below.

Topics Covered / Learning Objectives & Valuable Takeaways:

1. Understand the well-integrated and holistic project development and Commissioning (Cx) approaches to support successful HVAC, MEP and building/process automation systems (EMS/BMS/SCADA) installations covering a wide variety of conventional, progressive and renewable heating and cooling systems and technologies in varying building types and sizes covering residential, commercial, institutional, industrial facilities (& even laboratories & mission critical facilities!). Emphasizes that Cx is part of successful IDP (Integrated Design Process).

2. Be aware of the numerous Commissioning (Cx) procedures and requirements based on major Cx references including but not limited to: U.S. DOE (Model Cx Plan - Construction Phase Cx Plan); US DOE funded BCxA (Building Commissioning Association); ACG (AABC Cx Group); Well-known and widely accepted ASHRAE Guideline 0 (The Cx Process) & ASHRAE Guideline 1 (The HVAC Cx Process); Numerous respected other resources; All coupled and illustrated by the trainer’s own in-depth expertise and experience in the field over 3 decades, domestically in the U.S. as well as internationally, supported by real life examples, some were quite painful and expensive.

3. Make a differentiation between existing and new building Cx needs; Provide an overview of suggested additional sensors to “incorporate” during the design and construction phases to support a new building Total Cx process, then Ongoing Cx moving forward, utilizing valuable built-in and well-thought of sensors for both monitoring based commissioning (MBCx) & M&V (if needed). Identify key systems within a facility that are better candidates or higher priorities for commissioning compared to other systems as sorted by their energy use, demand intensities, safety, and critical to facility operation in terms of occupant comfort, productivity, customer revenues, IEQ and safety.

4. Be aware of a few of the known barriers impeding implementation of the proper Cx process in numerous projects and know how to avoid them through good customer and project team education. Be aware of the proper Cx process from A to Z and see what happens when the proper process was not followed based on multiple real life examples. Some lessons were real painful and expensive! Over 20 lessons learned categories are presented (caused by lack of Cx in several example projects).

5. Both PFCs (Prefunctional Checklists) and FPTs (Functional Performance Tests) are exemplified by a technology specific sustainable system scenario, but can also be modified to cover several known HVAC/MEP and other progressive systems. Relevant Cx procedure details covered. Site Visit of commissioned systems (virtual slide show) enhances attendees’ understanding of all of the above.

6. Course elaborates and emphasizes the importance of Cx and illustrates the devastating impacts of lack of Cx by sharing details of numerous lessons learned from biomass heating system commercial installations pertaining to several High-Efficiency and Low-Emission Biomass Heating projects (as a Technology Specific Example). Course covers varying sizes and a wide range of installations, systems and layouts; illustrated/exemplified by several piping schematics and PIDs (Piping and Instrumentation diagram).

7. Presents how following the core 4-Phase Total Cx process would have prevented numerous problems identified during system troubleshooting ([1] Cx During Pre-Design Phase; [2] Cx During Design Phase; [3] Cx During Construction; [4] Cx During Occupancy & Operations). All presentations coupled by valuable and in-depth Cx PFC & FPT technology specific examples and shares other relevant Cx procedures and details.

8. Detailed topics presented include, but are not limited to: System component sizing. Controls & systems’ controls integration between existing oil/propane boiler plants and the new biomass heating boiler plants. Testing, Adjusting and Balancing (TAB), & Commissioning (Cx). Thermal Energy Storage (TES) & several hydronic topics. Boiler venting. Mechanical room layouts. Differences between stick-built vs. containerized boiler plant options. Project management (PM) & Construction management (CM). Project roles and responsibilities (R&R) from A to Z.

9. Promotes well-integrated and holistic project development approaches to support successful biomass heating system installations. Shares valuable conclusions, recommendations, suggested next steps, and take home messages.

10. Finally and most importantly, diverse audience will acquire multiple skills that will support them in their daily jobs with Cx of other MEP/HVAC systems and sustainable technologies, besides the technology specific biomass heating system examples that are sometimes used in this training for in-depth illustration.