PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES & COMMISSIONING

PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES & COMMISSIONING Quality control at every step delivers superior results

PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES Scope of Work Construction Schedule and Coordination Acceptance of Completed Work Payment Schedule Maintenance M&V Requirements

SCOPE OF WORK Base designs on accurate existing conditions data Design projects to minimize life cycle costs Simplify equipment and materials inventory requirements by standardizing design choices Consider long term operations and maintenance

SCOPE OF WORK Pay careful attention to sizing equipment correctly Consider interactions between equipment to maximize system performance and efficiency Is the scope of work clear and detailed enough? Don’t think that vagueness favors you

CONSTRUCTION COORDINATION Who is the owner’s representative? Scope of their authority Access issues Need guides or escorts? Costs? Security considerations Safety considerations

CONSTRUCTION COORDINATION Focus on the review and approval process Coordinate early with other construction projects to avoid confusion and delays Keep WRITTEN records of scope changes Monitor construction progress regularly Spot check installations to catch quality issues

COMPLETED WORK Who is the owner’s representative? Different from schedule coordinator? Project acceptance procedure Timing Signatories Role of Outside Consultants Dispute resolution procedure Clearly defining specific project performance standards is the best way to avoid disputes

PAYMENT SCHEDULE Identify who approves payments Establish a clear invoicing procedure Develop a schedule of values Pay for identified percentage of completion Schedule lease draws Interest during Construction Identify retainage or other holdbacks

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES Allocate tasks based on cost and capability Item-by-item listing Does the responsible party have the required resources? Money in the project budget and/or third party contracts Comprehensive training on new equipment is critical Demand high quality O&M manuals

M&V REQUIREMENTS Who is the owner’s representative? Qualified enough for the job? Is the M&V methodology clear? Who understands and validates it? Does it account for facility changes? Maintain a good data management system for tracking utility data and other building system data

PROJECT COMMISSIONING • What is Commissioning? • Benefits of Commissioning • Typical Problems Discovered • Commissioning Process • Commissioning Costs

WHAT IS PROJECT COMMISSIONING? A systematic process to document, test and verify that the project design, installation, operating and maintenance procedures meet the owner’s needs

QUESTIONS THAT COMMISSIONING ANSWERS • Is the project design adequate for the required task? • Was the specified equipment installed properly? • Does the control system operate as intended? • Are sensors and other control hardware properly calibrated? • Are control set-points appropriate for the zone? • Does equipment respond to control signals properly?

HOW OWNERS’ PRIORITIES CHANGE OVER TIME

BENEFITS OF COMMISSIONING • Helps ESCOs and owners achieve guaranteed savings • Extends equipment life • Contributes to a healthy building by improving indoor air quality

BENEFITS OF COMMISSIONING • Results in proper quantities of air and water delivered to heating and cooling equipment for optimum savings, operation, control and comfort • Verifies controls calibration and measures accuracy so that individual system components will work together as a “tuned” system to maximize savings

BENEFITS OF COMMISSIONING • Ensures complete and orderly systems documentation, by recording the correct start-up, shut-down, seasonal change over, and adjustment procedures • Identifies aspects of a system’s design or installation that cause unsatisfactory savings performance

BENEFITS OF COMMISSIONING • Helps train building operators to understand system capabilities, limitations, operating characteristics and procedures • Provides the documentation for a self-sustaining training program for new personnel, thus reducing the savings risks that result from staff turnover

FREQUENCY OF COMMISSIONING BENEFITS Improve system performance 95% Avoid future capital costs 90% Reduce operating costs 80%

PROBLEMS DISCOVERED DURING COMMISSIONING • General Problems • Excess energy consumption of 10% to 35% due to minor control and HVAC equipment problems • Poor documentation of building changes • Energy Management Control Systems (EMS) • EMS disabled and serves only as “time clock” • EMS incorrectly reports system performance • EMS sensors badly located and calibrated • EMS sensors malfunctioning

PROBLEMS DISCOVERED DURING COMMISSIONING • Air flow problems • Outside air louvers are covered (debris, dirt, leaves) • Dirty filters reduce air flow and impair air quality • Dirty coils reduce heating and cooling efficiency • VAV system delivering excess or insufficient air flow

OVERVIEW OF COMMISSIONING PROCESS • Develop a commissioning plan • Identify equipment that requires commissioning • Identify specific test procedures • Develop pre-commissioning checklists • Conduct functional performance testing • Report commissioning results

PROJECT COMMISSIONING TIME ALLOCATION 10% Design review 20% Installation inspection 35% Performance verification 25% Validating appropriateness of corrective actions 10% Operation and maintenance training

ELEMENTS OF A COMMISSIONING PLAN • Scope or level of commissioning • Commissioning schedule • Team member responsibilities • Communication, reporting and management protocols

ELEMENTS OF A COMMISSIONING PLAN • Documentation requirements • Detailed scope of testing • Detailed scope of monitoring • Recommended training format

TECHNOLOGIES THAT REQUIRE COMMISSIONING • Lighting control (daylighting, occupancy sensors) • Energy management control systems/strategies • Pneumatic equipment • HVAC equipment • Variable air volume/variable frequency drives

PROJECT COMMISSIONINGIDEAL VS AVERAGE

PROJECT COMMISSIONING IDEAL VS AVERAGE

COMMISSIONINGCOSTS AND BENEFITS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES & COMMISSIONING