Combining Equipment Startup with System Commissioning
Add value for building owner customers with system commissioning
COMFORT CHECK: Tomorrow’s Environment columnist Howard McKew (who knows the value of a well-set thermostat) shares practical strategies for HVAC consultants and contractors to raise the bar on quality.
Historically, the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) contractor would complete equipment startup, possibly using a standard startup checklist. Commissioning of the system that this equipment serves is usually a separate task, required by a third-party commissioning agent hired by the building owner, that requires the HVAC contractor to demonstrate that the system installation meets the engineer’s design intent performance document.
In this competitive building industry market, an HVAC contractor can differentiate their firm from the competition by enhancing the company’s standard equipment startup sheet with the addition of a commissioning “functional performance test” (FPT) checklist. This FPT format is simply an “Action-Reaction” approach, using the automatic control “Sequence of Operation” specification produced by the design engineer in the contract specification to create this checklist.
From a marketing point of view, the HVAC contractor will want to raise the building owner’s awareness that this is the contractor’s “proprietary” quality control approach, as opposed to the industry standard for starting up the equipment and running the equipment and system through its paces. This process includes requesting that the building owner arrange to have their maintenance staff observe the HVAC installation to ensure the design intent has been achieved.
With this approach, the contractor will also be simultaneously providing operating instructions to the staff while referring to the specific operating and maintenance (O&M) manual. Both training and O&M manuals are contract requirements and are provided in sync with the equipment and system startup, rather than scheduling startup, training, and O&M manuals as three separate tasks. In addition, the HVAC warranties can begin with this documentation signed off at the completion of the combined Startup and Commissioning checklist.
Using two heat pump unit(s), here is an example of this combination approach:
|
UNIT #
|
Type | SERVE | LOCATION |
| HP-1 |
Heat Pump
|
First Floor |
Ceiling |
| HP-2 |
Heat Pump | Second Floor | Ceiling |
| CU-1 |
Compressor-Condenser
|
HP-1 & 2 |
Roof |
Immediately following the startup checklist, continue the document by inserting the heat pump unit’s commissioning FPT checklist, including the following:
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