Reduced Operating Costs and Better Quality through Improved Operation and Maintenance

Large commercial, institutional and governmental buildings generally do not operate at their highest achievable levels of energy efficiency, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Technologies Department. Performance monitoring projects across the country have also documented the potential to conserve 15 to 30 percent of energy use through improved operation and maintenance.

Increased energy efficiency is just one of several benefits of a comprehensive building start-up and commissioning program—a process that involves field installation and operational verification, functional performance testing and documentation that all systems have been provided, installed, calibrated, balanced and functionally tested as designed. A well-executed start-up and commissioning plan ensures that building operation will meet the needs and requirements of its owner and occupants. It also helps to enhance space comfort, improve environmental condition, provide advanced system and equipment operation, and create better overall building operation while minimizing maintenance costs.

“Building mechanical and electrical systems have many different items that need to work together to provide proper functional operation, especially in the more technical type of projects like biotech, healthcare, microelectronic and data centers,” said Bill Jeffrey, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) coordinator for DPR. “Through our commissioning process, we create a plan and field verify and document that systems are installed, working properly and performing to their ultimate capability. We provide MEP commissioning on every technical project to insure the project meets the design intent, which dovetails nicely with DPR’s zero defects program. If you provide proper commissioning, there are usually no call backs or down time to make repairs to the systems after the building is occupied.

“MEP system requirements also vary depending upon the use of the facility,” added Jeffrey. “In an office building, you typically need more cooling and more electrical provisions to accommodate today’s needs for computer work stations and other office equipment. In healthcare and biotech/pharmaceutical projects, pressure-controlled rooms are designed to create negative or positive room pressures, and in a pharmacy area, room temperatures are set slightly cooler, since the occupants are usually in lab coats moving quickly to fill orders.”

DPR has noticed that more non-technical projects, such as educational facilities, office buildings and governmental projects, are requesting some degree of MEP commissioning, which indicates that the industry is seeing the advantages of providing properly commissioned projects.

At DPR, the goal is to provide field verification and written documentation for the installation, operation and functional performance testing of the MEP, fire and life safety, and building automation control systems. The commissioning plan is created early in the construction of the project and is submitted to the owner and design team for review and approval prior to starting the commissioning process. Upon completion, final documents, along with start-up and commissioning and operation and maintenance manuals, are given to the owner during project close-out. DPR also encourages building engineers and the owner’s operating and maintenance personnel to be a part of the commissioning process—training as they go.

“While going through commissioning, we are also scheduling pre-start work upfront so when it’s time to actually start up the systems, the start-up goes smoother,” said Jeffrey, who emphasized the many advantages to a start-up and commissioning program. In fact, studies from the National Institute of Building Sciences have indicated that on average, the operating costs of a commissioned building range from 8 to 20 percent below that of a non-commissioned building. The one-time investment in commissioning for a building—ranging from .5 to 1.5 percent of construction cost—can result in reduced operating costs over the life of the facility.