VS Energy along with our subject matter expert guest Nick introduce the Commissioning podcast series. We start off with some personal and business introductions and then dive into discussing what commissioning is, how it has evolved, and why it is so important to have quality commissioning agents part of the project from the start.

Mark, Clayton, and Nick discuss the Commissioning process from start to finish. Many people think this process starts once a project is completed, but the commissioning process begins at project inception with the OPR (Owners Project Requirements) document and carries through the entirety of the project. We also discuss the ASHRAE 2005 guideline and the importance of it along with some personal and professional opinions regarding commissioning and best practices during the process.

In this episode Mark, Clayton, and Nick discuss virtual commissioning and the risks and benefits involved in the process. With modern technology and advanced Building management Systems more people and businesses utilize aspects of virtual commissioning, but can it totally substitute for boots on the ground? Tune in to hear our professional opinions on the topic.

Mark, Clayton, and Nick discuss the process of writing the OPR (Owners Project Requiements) in this episode. This document is often overlooked or forgotten about during a project an can cause some undesirable outcomes for a project that could have been easily avoided. Through the series we will refer to the importance of the OPR and in this episode we cover the process in detail from start to finish and provide personal and professional insight to generate a thorough and effective OPR.

Mark, Clayton, and Nick discuss the design phase of commissioning. In this phase the owner, commissioning agent, and the A&E have critical roles to ensure a project is successful. The involvement of the commissioning agent in the phase can often be overlooked and cause problems further down the road in a project. We will discuss what can happen and why the commissioning agent plays a critical role in this phase.

Mark, Clay, and Nick discuss the installation phase responsibilities of the commissioning agent. This phase, like the others is a critical phase for commissioning agent involvement to help ensure a successful project. We will dive into how much time the CXa should spend on site, what issues can be found by the CXa, what a pre-functional/construction checklist is, and the process of functional testing.

Check out this short audio clip from our Virtual Commissioning podcast episode! If you want to tine into the rest of this episode and others tune into more Commissioning podcast episodes!

Mark, Clay, and Nick discus the importance of the commissioning agent presence during construction. This goes far past arriving on site periodically or for just functional testing and we get into more detail from our previous episodes discussion about the installation phase responsibilities of the commissioning agent. Some building owners do no see the need to pay for CX involvement at this level but in this episode we discuss some common mistakes caught by CX agents that can be easily remediated during installation but can be very costly after the fact. We also discuss the importance for the commissioning agent to be knowledgeable about the installation of equipment and have the ability to communicate effectively to the owner and contractors to ensure a successful project.