Owner-Focused HVAC Training: A Smarter Approach
A blueprint for integrating owner participation in HVAC system training
EARLY: ES NEWS’ Tomorrow’s Environment Columnist Howie McKew dives into what the HVAC design engineer must do to integrate owners early on.
For years, I have observed HVAC equipment and system training at the completion of a project to be a “necessary evil.” I saw it that way as a design engineer consultant, where the firm would encourage their project manager to simply pass on this contract specification requirement to the trade contractor because the design firm had reached or exceeded its design fee.
As the individual in charge of design-build and estimating for a mechanical contractor, I observed our construction group, pursuing design-bid-build projects, carry in their estimate a minimum lump sum cost for implementing training – but without any time or cost to support their estimated training cost. Usually, this contracting arm of our HVAC company was anxious to close out the construction job, minimizing any further expenses charged to the job.
The last 20 years of my HVAC career have been focused on representing the building owner’s facility group, troubleshooting problematic installations, and retro-commissioning projects – quite often due to the facility staff not clearly understanding how their HVAC systems were to operate, along with other issues and concerns.
What surprises me about these scenarios is that there are solutions that would lead to better project closeouts, improved client satisfaction, and cost avoidance for project warranty time spent returning to the job site after the project has been accepted and the job closed out.
I see the business of equipment and system training as “the owner’s responsibility” starting at project conception, as well as a design team and contractor responsibility at the end of a job. My experience has been to advocate the following in the “design phase”:
- Prior to initiating the first of three phases, at the start of the “schematic phase,” the design team must request and assist the building owner in the creation of an “owner’s project requirements” (OPR) document. From this OPR document, the HVAC design engineer will draft a “design intent document” (DID) that includes energy operating budgets and facility staff training requirements.
- Comment: These documents foster mutual understanding and commitment by the building owner and the design team. Rather than view this approach as an additional cost to the design team, it is better to consider this a “time management” approach that will provide its “return on investment” during the warranty phase with a more efficient HVAC system operation.
- Upon submission of the schematic phase HVAC drawings and specifications, the building owner, along with facility staff representative(s), must agree to and sign off on these two documents, along with an abbreviated training session that explains how the HVAC systems will operate according to the OPR and DID.
- Comment: This method begins the building owner’s “project closeout” acceptance.
- The “design development phase” will expand on the eventual contract documents (drawings and specifications) and finish with the building owner and facility staff representative(s) approving the progress documents and signing off on these documents, along with another training session to further understand how the HVAC systems will accommodate the OPR and DID. At this time, the facility staff can begin to strategize how they will populate their existing preventive maintenance (PM) asset database and determine the man-hours required to operate and maintain the new equipment.
- Comment: This method continues the building owner’s “project closeout” acceptance by preparing their PM work order system, as well as beginning to address the annual operating costs of labor and utilities. And again, time spent by the design team will provide its return on investment by possibly eliminating any additional design team hours in the warranty phase.
- The “contract document” final phase of the design must include the building owner and facility staff reviewing and accepting the specification of the contractor’s training sessions, along with what the equipment submittals and associated operation and maintenance (O&M) manuals will provide prior to acceptance of the job at project closeout.
- Comment: By the completion of the design phase, the facility staff will be well-versed in operating and maintaining the HVAC once these systems are tested, adjusted, and balanced (TAB).
The contractor takes the lead upon “authorization to proceed” as follows:
- Pre-Construction Services: Submission and approval of equipment shop drawings, and receipt of equipment O&M manuals immediately following the associated pieces of equipment. With the pre-construction phase finished, the facility staff will have the necessary documents to populate their existing PM work order systems well in advance of the owner’s acceptance of the completed job.
- Construction: Installation of equipment, system distribution, etc., associated with the HVAC systems, finishing up with equipment/system start-up and TAB.
- Commissioning: Including facility staff participation in observing this quality control process as an important part of their HVAC training.
- Project Closeout: Transfer of the job to the building owner, with acceptance based on the design team’s recommendation for approval by the owner.
This approach is also applicable and recommended for the other three project delivery methods:
- Design-Build
- Construction Management
- Integrated Project Delivery
The above narrative should not be considered an added cost to the project. Instead, it is both a “pay me now, pay me later” request to building owners to be active participants in their own, contract-funded project.
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