What is commissioning management? And how valuable is it to a construction project? You’ve  probably heard the term before, but unless you understand it well, you may not fully grasp its importance.

Today, you’ll learn what Commissioning Management is, its benefits, and how it can help your project by making your buildings safer, less resource and cost-intensive, and less prone to change orders.

What is a Commissioning process?

Commissioning is all about ensuring that a building meets the client’s requirements. Commissioning is carried out by a third party, the Commissioning Manager.

And what does a commissioning manager do? Commissioning Management is defined as a systematic process of managing the overall development and engineering of a building from the design concept to the handover, through to building operation. This process usually comprises planning, management, evaluation and execution of building services systems.

It also takes into account critical areas such as review of design documents for commissionability, installation progress, maintainability, documentation and training procedures, performing functional testing/verification of systems, and ensuring a proper building envelope. Additionally, it aims to achieve full system integration and make sure systems perform interactively in accordance with the design intent.

But what is the importance of commissioning? That’s what we’ll look at next.

Commissioning Management is key to well-executed projects

Commissioning Management is key for any well-executed construction project. It ensures that your project is delivered on time, within budget, and according to plan. Besides cost-savings and securing of profits, Commissioning Management offers a range of advantages, both in terms of the operation of a building and for capturing data that will help clients in their digital transformation, through the Industry 4.0 era.

Proper ongoing Commissioning Management also guarantees that buildings retain their value over the long term and that your clients are kept fully satisfied. To summarize it properly, Commissioning Management is a process that prevents serious and potentially dangerous problems and makes certain that a building is constructed to its optimum condition.

Your construction project could face countless risks, including not getting a certificate of occupancy, which would delay your ability to generate revenue for your asset and cause you to spend more time on the construction stage because of change orders.

Even worse, if your building is not commissioned properly and the fire safety system is not integrated the way it needs to be, this can lead to a loss of life. If you’re not integrating complex systems from the start, your fire safety systems, the mechanical systems, lighting, and so forth, don’t necessarily work together during an emergency. Commissioning Management makes sure that your systems operate at all times.

Commissioning Management takes into account the building envelope and all building systems including, but not limited to:

• Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration
• Public Health System
• Fire Protection and Life Safety System
• Security System
• ELV System
• ICT System
• Building Management System and System Integration
• Lighting and Lighting Control System
• Renewable Energy Systems

In addition, Commissioning Management sees to it that your data is captured, stored, and managed in the right way. This data is crucial for potential litigation processes. Buildings are getting increasingly complex. Your building management system (BMS) is capturing a lot of data from building sensors and running all the building equipment and systems.

The problem is that while these sensors and systems are a big investment, they may not be calibrated properly. The building is then not optimized to properly use the technology and benefit from it. Proper Commissioning Management helps ensure that calibration is done correctly.

Commissioning Management also helps make sure that the building consumes less energy and other resources. Your building will be built to meet standards such as ASHRAE and be optimized for human comfort and health.

Ultimately, Commissioning Management makes sense because the costs of it will pay themselves back many times over. A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows that new construction building commissioning costs are 0.4% of the overall construction costs. These projects result in a 13% median whole-building energy savings. The costs are amortized on average 4.2 years after completion of the project.

What are the concrete benefits of Commissioning Management? Let’s take a look at some of the results we have been able to offer our clients.

Examples of the benefits of Commissioning Management

Here are some examples of savings we have achieved with our superior Commissioning services:

• Reduced a hospital’s air conditioning system electricity bill by 20% (a big saving considering that 60% of the electrical power supply costs are due to air conditioning).
• Saved water and reduced two hospitals’ water usage costs by AED 1,015,000/year (US$276,342).
• Reduced the cost for the Reverse Osmosis (RO) system and saved AED 1,054,466 AED/year for six hospitals (US$ 287,090).
• Saved costs on chilled water system design at four hospitals and saved AED 984,720/year (US$ 270,000).

Over the years, the cost and resource savings will only continue to grow. Not only are the clients able to offer the best facilities for their patients, they also reduce their environmental footprint and are able to run their organizations more profitably.

Our approach to Commissioning is as follows:

“When it comes to Commissioning Management, we leave no stone unturned. We take a preventive approach and work to create a well-executed project right from the start.

With our innovative technology and in-house experts who understand complex building systems, we make sure that all your building technology and systems work together to benefit your profitability and building occupants. We also use our customized commissioning software to deliver these results. In the end, we can pretty much guarantee that your project will be delivered on time, cost-effectively, and in absolute optimum condition,” says Rami Ghanem, Senior Manager, Technical Operation, Alpin ME.

It is well known that despite the best planning efforts, there are always unforeseen issues that may arise, particularly during the testing and commissioning phase. A professional commissioning management team, with practical experience in solving a plethora of challenges could really bring great value in such situations and enhance the quality of the project.

Now you know the answer to the question, “what is Commissioning Management?” and what the commissioning procedure looks like. The benefits of Commissioning Management are clear. You ensure that your building operates optimally now, and in the future. In addition, Commissioning Management also keeps the process on track so that the building can be handed over on time and allow you to start generating revenue.

Have an upcoming project in need of commissioning services? Learn more about our Commissioning services.

We have years of experience in the field and are the leading Commissioning experts in the Middle East with some of our past projects including major infrastructure, governmental, and commercial projects.

Written by Suhail Muhammad and Loukia Papadopoulos