BEST PRACTICE COMMISSIONING FACTORS

In project management, commissioning is a crucial phase. For the stakeholders involved as well as the entire project team, project commissioning is the only way to ensure that the project is in accordance with the regulatory requirements and the design document. During the commissioning phase, functional testing procedures are performed, interoperability problems are resolved, and energy usage is optimised for enhanced performance and efficiency.

In a construction setting, building commissioning software need to ensure that all facets of the project are appropriately installed, designed, maintained and tested. The tasks of a commissioning engineer entail tracking progress, troubleshooting potential issues, carrying out tests, helping with financial improvements, conducting audits and preparing reports while being a dedicated supporter of the owner of the project throughout the entire construction phase. During the project commissioning phase, a single wrong step can lead to regulatory and legal issues as well as client losses.

By and large, the effectiveness of the commissioning phase relies heavily on the expertise and experience of the building commissioning firm and also on how well the process is implemented. Here are five project commissioning best practices for you to consider.

1. Planning: Construction projects are highly dynamic and comprise several moving components. The commissioning management must stay on top of everything, and hence it is utterly important to have a foolproof commissioning plan in place.
   
   Preferably, the owners of the project should involve a building commissioning firm prior to the design phase and the operation phase. This will allow the commissioning engineer to act as an intermediary between the contracting and design team to ensure complete adherence to the owner's project requirements (OPR).
   
   Such an early engagement ensures that commissioning is part of the entire project delivery plan. Planning also includes defining the commissioning schedule, scope and budget as well as bringing in an efficient commissioning team.
   
   In the planning phase, the commissioning team should also agree on the distribution format, the system and the documentation of problems. The best way to do this is by having a cloud-based commissioning management system. A design initiation meeting with the whole project team will ensure that everyone involved is on the same page while being fully aware of the commissioning and design plan requirements.
   
   The commissioning plan should consist of a contingency plan to handle unanticipated situations like adverse weather conditions or equipment failure that can delay the commissioning phase. Hence, it is important to develop project commissioning checklists and procedures well before the commissioning activities.
   
   
2. Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT): Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) assesses pre-functional equipment as well as checks if it is in accordance with the design specifications. Being an important part of the commissioning phase, it should be performed soon after purchase and also regularly once the use of equipment starts.
   
   Any failure to implement FAT appropriately put off issues that can later prove to be very costly to resolve and can leave a more devastating impact. For instance, poorly implemented FAT for automation like failure to involve the PLC logic design may lead to a giant problem towards the completion of the project. For HVAC systems, a test and balance procedure is carried out as part of FAT.
   
   FAT should ideally be part of the entire project testing strategy. It is therefore recommended to follow a proactive approach to Factory Acceptance Testing and resolve issues and fix errors before it is too late.
   
   
3. Mechanical Completions: In general, every mechanical completion appears as simple as a subsystem. But, things may turn complex as soon as you throw in a couple of systems with delivery sequences and milestones. Complex handovers and missed milestones can affect the successful delivery of the project. You should have appropriate mechanical completions to smooth out the handover process. Here is how you can achieve this:
   
   
• Define every mechanical completion beforehand: Put out the expectations at the beginning of the project while mentioning when mechanical completions are supposed to align with the commissioning activities.
  
  
• Define the boundary: Commissioning and construction activities usually overlap to enhance the schedule of the project. Mechanical completion documentation outlines the areas that are under construction (under the custody and control of the construction team) and also the areas that are under testing (under the custody and control of the commissioning team).
  
  
4. Construction Quality: The system quality obtained from the construction team decides the success of the commissioning phase. The construction team should execute a quality management system (QMS).
   
   The QMS describes the quality control (QC) role and quality assurance (QA) role of the construction team and the project owner, respectively. Inspection test plans (ITPs) outlines details of quality control. The QA further makes sure that the contractor adheres to the QC and ITP plans.
   
   Below par installations that can’t be assessed and are needed to be handed over to the construction team signify a faulty QMS with poor QC and QA. Moreover, test procedures created at the start of the project are a sure-fire way to smooth out the commissioning process and boost construction quality.

                                                                         

5.  Schedule Management: The schedule changes constantly and requires regular update. Hence, schedule management is critical to successful commissioning.To avoid turning schedule management into a task, the schedule should just include block activities representing an outcome. For instance, if there is just a week for loop checks to be carried out on an automated system, mark it as just one-week activity. It’s not necessary to involve minute details of every panel being assessed, given that all are assessed within a week.

1. Accurate schedule management is important for mechanical completions. The project team monitors progress while sharing regular feedback to the commissioning team on meeting-specific milestones. Productivity is said to be achieved if the progress is satisfactory with respect to predefined timelines. If it is not achieved, remedial measures should be taken or the impact of commissioning control sequence should be determined.
   
   The project team should never be notified of the probability of a missed important milestone when it is due – schedule management lets such an event to be apparent well before time for the development of a recovery plan and figuring out possible options.

A Better Way to Oversee the Commissioning Phase

Many commissioning engineers find it challenging to handle the commissioning process because they often rely on obsolete methods. Paper and spreadsheets might have been the only options available several years ago, but today, there are far better ways to managing commissioning and get permit to work management. Project commissioning best practices recommend using advanced commissioning software to oversee the whole process.

Using a cloud-based commissioning management system helps streamline and enhance the commissioning process, so you could get it right the very first time. With a powerful commissioning tool, it becomes easier to perform commissioning-related activities, like following pre-commissioning checklist, recording data by filling up test record, and having your test scripts automatically created by uploading your asset list. An advanced project commissioning software solution therefore, ensures clear tracking, traceability and accountability for every step of the commissioning process for all your assets and systems.