Commissioning (Cx) of a new building or renovation project provides a high level of quality control throughout the planning, design, construction, start-up, testing, and operation process.  While most Cx projects focus on HVAC and controls, lighting and daylighting controls, domestic water heating systems, and renewable energy systems, we also provide Cx of the fire protection and fire alarm systems, additional plumbing, electrical systems, and the building envelope when the job calls for it. 

 

Many Owners are actually not aware that hiring a Commissioning Authority (CxA) that is independent of the design and construction management team for projects 50,000 gross square feet or larger is a pre-requisite part of any U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification they want to pursue.  Also, the CxA cannot be an employee of the design/construction team for any size facility that wants to pursue the Enhanced Commissioning credits.  Fortunately, LEED knowledge and sophistication are rapidly evolving in the design and construction industry, and we are seeing fewer projects where we are called in after construction has already started.  Cx can bring the most value to an Owner when it begins early in the planning or design process. 

 

BK Commissioning becomes your Commissioning Authority, or "CxA".  If hired during planning, we can assist in developing the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR) and the Engineer's Basis of Design (BOD), and help ensure the BOD meets the requirements of the OPR.  Once the design is developed adequately, we develop the Cx Plan which is a full description of how our Cx process will work and which is updated and evolves throughout the project.  We also develop our Cx specifications, and follow-up to make sure they are correctly included in the contract documents.  Please note we also develop and provide our client a customized Systems Manual as part of our Enhanced Cx work.  We have learned many CxA's put this scope item on the Contractor!

 

During design we review the design submittals thoroughly, as only licensed professional engineers (PE) and certified energy managers (CEM) with over 80 years of cumulative design review experience and years of LEED consulting experience can.  Our level of design review services sets us apart from other providers.  We review the design plans and specifications not only for compliance with the Cx requirements, but also check energy efficiency, HVAC system/equipment capacities, ventilation air volumes, air filtration, controls equipment and sequences, water use efficiency, test and balance specifications, piping and duct work leakage testing specifications, equipment accessibility and clearances for maintenance, training requirements, FAS/FPS code compliance, and other sustainable building features.  While a design review is a requirement of Enhanced Cx by the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for Schools, New Construction (NC), Core & Shell Construction (CS), and Commercial Interiors (CI), our clients can verify that we go far above and beyond that requirement. 

 

We also perform the same valuable function when we are hired as CxA during the design phase of non-LEED projects.  After the design review, we hold discussions with the design team and Owner as necessary to answer our review questions, then we make a "back-check" of the next design submittal and record, in the same report, whether the agreed upon changes and clarifications were made or not.  While one review is mandatory, we have performed up to (3) detailed design reviews for some projects.

 

During the construction phase, the main purpose of Cx is to help ensure the project is built AND OPERATES in accordance with the design intent, and to help ensure the Owner receives a fully tested and functioning facility with a minimum of problems.  We don't want to give away our entire customized process, so here are just the highlights of how we do this:

 

 

Bob Krout's experience as a controls engineer for a controls contractor, together with working with many, many other controls contractors and many manufacturers and models of building automation systems (BASs), enables BK Commissioning to do a superior job with the crucial Functional Performance Test development, execution, and follow-up to ensure problem resolution for the Owner or Tenant's benefit.  Richard Klinker's 40+ years of experience as a Fire Protection Engineer and Commissioning Authority also enables us to fully comission your Fire Protection and Fire Alarm Systems with excellence.

 

The facilities we have fully commissioned have had significantly fewer MEP Systems problems and significantly fewer contractor warranty call-backs.

 

Many older (and some relatively new) facilities benefit greatly from having their existing HVAC and controls (and in some cases other Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) and Envelope systems), evaluated and renovated to return them to the original design intent, or to re-configure them due to changes in floor plans, higher plug loads, etc.  We have 30 years of experience with diagnosing existing facility problems, and developing and implementing solutions to those problems.  This also includes a vast amount of experience with evaluating energy supplies, energy use, energy systems, and developing energy saving solutions which in many cases, also solve problems with hot/cold spots, IAQ and humidity, poor lighting, noise, balancing issues, control issues, and many others. 

 

Example: A large condominum complex in Washington, D.C. had a 10-year problem with summer time high humidity and the resulting musty smells.  Mr. Krout made several site visits, took many on-site humidity readings, and examined the HVAC systems and original design documents.  The reheat system had been disconnected many years ago in an attempt to save energy without consideration of the full consequences, and the Chilled Water Supply temperature had been set up to approximately 50F.  Once the hot water reheat system was re-commissioned, and the chilled water supply temperature returned to its design value of 44F, proper de-humidification was re-instated and the humidity dropped to normal levels and the smells dissipated.

 

At this same facility, Mr. Krout found that the underground oil tank which fed the large dual-fuel (gas/oil) boilers had been removed, and the facility had been placed back on the much higher Firm gas rate some years back.  As a second part of this project, a new above ground oil storage tank was designed and installed, and the facility applied for, and was placed back on the Interruptible natural gas rate tariff.  This resulted in an annual savings of approximately $29,000/year and a less than 2 year payback period.

 

We have taken a hands-on role in working with clients to obtain on the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing, and Building Envelope credits involved with obtaining the LEED Existing Building (EB) certification.  As part of these efforts, we have managed all of the compliance actions required for LEED EA V2.0 Pr1 - Building Commissioning, a LEED EB pre-requisite.  While the newer LEED EB Operations & Maintenance version puts more of an emphasis on energy efficiency, EA Pr1 still requires many Cx aspects including documenting the control Sequences of Operation, developing a Building Operating Plan, a Systems Narrative, and a Preventive Maintenance Plan narrative. It also includes an ASHRAE Level I Energy Audit, which we are well suited to perform. Finally EA Credits 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 all involve Cx work plus energy analysis work, enabling the Owner to obtain up to (6) additional Cx related credits as compared to EB V2.0.

 

While commissioning work is our main focus, we also offer full LEED Consulting and Administrative Services.  We have provided LEED Consulting on over 40 facilities, including LEED NC, CS, CI, and EB.  In house we provide consulting services on most of the LEED pre-requisites and credits, including SS Cr8, all WE credits, all EA pre-requisites and credits, all MR pre-requisites and credits, all EQ pre-requisites and credits, and a number of the potential Innovation in Design (ID) credits.  Together with one of our partners, we offer complete LEED Consulting and Administrative project management.

 

Bob Krout has an extensive background in energy supply and energy conservation. This began in 1979 when he modeled, designed, built, and tested a water heating flat panel solar collector for his senior thesis.  As a student on a low budget, he had to use donated beer kegs (thoroughly cleaned out of course) for his water storage tanks.  As a young Field Engineer for GE he managed maintenance work and the start-up and commissioning of steam turbine-generators at various power plants and paper mills.  Over the years he has performed over 100 energy study projects on over 1,000 facilities of all types.  On a number of those projects he was Project Manager for the subsequent design, implementation and acceptance testing (before the term "commissioning" became commonly used). 

 

He worked in the energy performance contracting (EPC) industry for 9 years, which also enabled him to see first hand the big difference between the overzealous energy savings estimates a typical energy engineer makes as compared to the actual documented savings of a thorough EPC Measurement & Verification plan.  When we perform your study, or manage your energy project from study through implementation and commissioning, you can be assured your savings estimates and Return on Investment (ROI) will be realistic.

 

Energy modeling of a designed facility as compared to the ASHRAE base case is an extremely important component of the LEED NC and CS rating systems, and can result in up to 19 (NC) or 21 (NC) LEED credits.  Energy modeling is also appropriate for use in certain energy studies, particulary for large facilities with excessive energy use and complex energy systems.  BK Commissioning does not perform energy simulations in house, but we have several partners that perform excellent modeling services, should you need a referral, or want us to manage that aspect of your project. As Mr. Krout has modeled several complex facilities himself, he will fully review and clarify the energy model summary report before it is presented for your project.