All construction projects have deadlines for building occupancy and scheduling issues is not a new concept. Nevertheless, due to the market conditions with material and labor shortages, many construction projects are facing additional unanticipated scheduling issues. Some of which are unavoidable and impactful enough to threaten deadlines for certificate of occupancies. A common example of this has been sudden delays in obtaining critical electrical infrastructure.
Although it is the responsibility of a commissioning agent and a project manager to properly plan for commissioning activities, when a project is nearing substantial completion and planned occupancy, the necessity to compress some commissioning activities feels inevitable.
Some commissioning tasks, such as functional performance testing, the task of testing and verifying the operational performance of mechanical-electrical-plumbing systems, may not be feasible until after building occupancy. This task typically requires the installation, calibration, programming, along with the testing, adjusting and balancing of all MEP systems to be complete and is usually scheduled as one of the last tasks of the project. Deferring functional performance testing until after occupancy may be required, however this decision may have consequences on occupant satisfaction and project financials that must be considered.
Depending on the client and building operation, functional performance testing may not be permissible during normal business hours, requiring work to be performed after-hours. Conditional to project contracts, after-hours work may trigger the added cost of premium time for both the commissioning agent and contractors required to support the commissioning effort. This added cost may not be planned in project budgets, resulting in additional change orders or fee adjustments.
Performing functional performance testing, identifying and correcting deficiencies in MEP systems prior to occupancy will typically result in efficient issue resolutions and a happier occupant. Inversely, if issues are identified after occupancy, corrective actions can increase in complexity and may negatively affect the occupants and operations of the buildings.
Imagine an issue arises that requires investigation of a piece of equipment over an occupied workspace. Not only is it possible that the contractor’s working hours to address the issue be restricted to after-hours, but the contractor performing the work must also be protective of the occupant’s environment. This may require moving or covering occupant workstations and cleaning the space of any dust or debris at the end of each shift.
Depending on the issue and resolution, this may need to be repeated over multiple visits. In laboratory or healthcare buildings, for example, sensitive or heavy equipment may cause further complexity. This added difficulty to corrective actions will take additional time and slow down the process. The more disruptive the corrective action, the more unsatisfied the occupant will likely get.
Even the methods commissioning agents use to perform this functional performance testing may be affected. Depending on access to the building and the MEP system controls utilized in the project, the commissioning process may rely more heavily on building automation system trend reviews. Once verification of proper system installation, programming and calibration is complete, BAS trend reports can be utilized to observe actual performance of MEP systems. It is important to understand this method may prolong the functional performance testing process by observing equipment operation over time instead of simulating operating procedures via BAS overrides. To analyze trend reports, a duration of two weeks of data is standard. Typically, a prolonged schedule for this task isn’t an issue at this point in the project, but it is important to review and document any changes to the commissioning process with the appropriate parties.
Regardless of the cause, when maintaining project schedules and deadlines becomes challenging, it is important for a project team to work together to identify appropriate resolutions. This may require flexibility from the project team and building occupants, but maintaining quality control is critical, especially in the final phases of a construction project.
Commissioning is an important aspect of this, and with the ever-increasing complexity of MEP control systems, assuming proper operation of those systems without third-party verification can be detrimental. By including commissioning in construction projects, the likelihood of achieving an efficient building and satisfied clients can only improve.
Nathaniel Fanning, CEM, is energy & infrastructure service leader at Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates, Inc.
