Assignment No.

1. Discuss commissioning plan

2. Explain the owner furnished equipment
3. Discuss the integrated testing and start-up
4. Explain safety and security certification

1. The general purpose of a commissioning plan is to give direction for the entire construction
process. It basically acts as a road map for entire construction team. It lays out roles and
responsibilities of individuals and teams, includes lines of communication and reporting,
provides a resolution process for issues, and provides overall coordination.

Included in a commissioning plan are:

General Building Information. This section of the commissioning plan lays out the basic
information detailing the project, including the project name, address, building type, building
description, owner agency, and scheduled completion date.

● The Commissioning Scope. This section of the plan will document the official equipment
checks for the building project. These systems will need to be commissioned in any general
construction project: HVAC system, electrical system, and any other systems and equipment.

● Commissioning Team Information. The plan will include documentation of every person
and company involved in the construction process. Information includes: the owner, project
manager, commissioning provider, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, general contractor,
etc.

● Project Schedule. This section includes the entire project schedule, from initial design to
the final commissioning report.

● Roles and Responsibilities. This section of the plan will lay out each of the roles of the
teams and their descriptions. This will include every role listed in the Team Information section,
followed by a detailed description of each team’s role and how that role in the construction
project.

● General Management Plan and Protocols. Every project needs specified protocols for
handling various situations, because protocols ensure the project runs more smoothly. For
example, this section of the commissioning plan will include the protocol for requesting
information (RFI) or for requesting formal documentation during the construction process.
The Commissioning Process

1. The initial scope meeting. All members of the design, construction, and operations teams
will come together to agree upon the scope of work required, tasks, schedules, and
responsibilities for the implementation of the commissioning plan.

2. Finalize the plan. The agent will finalize the commissioning plan draft using the information
gathered from the scope meeting. The timeline is also fine-tuned in this step as the construction
progresses.

3. Design intent documentation. All design requirements for the building system must be
documented to establish a baseline of performance expectations. These expectations will then
need to align with the actual performance of the systems once they’re actually installed.

4. Submittals. The commissioning agent will be provided with the equipment and system
submittals by the general contractor. The submittal data includes the installation and startup
procedures, performance data, temperature control drawings, and more.

5. Site observation. The official commissioning agent needs to make regular site visits to
witness equipment and system installations to ensure everything is running according to the
plan.

6. Prefunctional checklists and procedures. Initial inspection checklists are developed and
filled out for all mechanical equipment being commissioned. This is to ensure the systems are
complete and operating.

7. Execution of testing procedures. At this step, the commissioning agent will schedule
functional tests through the general contractor and subcontractors. When it’s time to run
performance tests, the commissioning agent will need to witness and record these test
outcomes.

8. Short-term diagnostic monitoring. For a two-to-three week period, the commissioner will
monitor diagnostic tests to ensure all systems are performing under natural occupancy.

9. Operations manuals and training. Operation and maintenance manuals are prepared by
the contractors and are then used to train the owner personnel and occupants if necessary.

10. Warranty period. The building’s mechanical systems may experience variations in
performance during different seasons. Therefore, they may be required additional testing during
peak heating and cooling seasons. If any issues arise, the general contractor’s warranty team will
troubleshoot during the warranty period.
 11. Commissioning report. The final commissioning report will summarize all tasks, findings, and
include any documentation from the commissioning process.

The objective of the commissioning process in a new building project is to ensure all building
systems perform optimally, according to their design intent and the building owner’s
requirements. Laying out a project’s plan is the necessary step to help make for a seamless
construction process.

2. Owner-Furnished Equipment

1. Introduction

Owner-furnished equipment is a common practice on large private

and public works projects where an owner purchases process equipment directly from a supplier and
provides them as „owner-furnished equipment (OFE)” to be installed by the contractor. This

practice can result in measurable savings since public works owners

are exempt form paying sales taxes on equipment purchases. Advantages also include allowing owners
to negotiate lower prices directly with suppliers, thus avoiding paying additional overhead and

profits if the contractor provides the equipment. Despite the perceived advantages of OFE, this practice
carries technical and contractual risks and can result in disputes and construction claims.

Risks include poor integration of the OFE with the contract, limited

coordination by the contractor, inadequate warranty, and performance risks. These risks are often the
source of delay claims, extended

overhead claims, different site condition (DSC) claims, impact

claims, change orders, and litigation. The costs of settling these

claims often exceed and offset the derived savings of OFE procurement.

2. Background

The use of OFE in public works projects arises from two necessities:

(1) to acquire equipment with a long lead delivery time, and (2) to

avoid the pitfalls of specifying and approving „or equal” products.

Conventional construction specifications for process equipment are

often „performance” specifications that list design parameters and

performance limits for the desired products. The clarity and intent

of this type of specification often results in poor communication of

the requirements by the engineer, and misunderstanding by contractors and suppliers. This has often
led to disputes, claims, and prolonged litigation between contractors and owners.

Performance specifications, combined with a highly competitive

construction market, pressure the contractor to substitute cheaper

alternatives under the „or equal” provisions. This substitution often

results in disputes with the owner over the „equivalency” merit of

the submitted products, the installation of less qualified alternatives

with frequent failures and high operating and maintenance (O&M)

costs. These disputes consume time, require resources, and often

lead to schedule slippage, cost overruns, and delay claims.

Owner-Furnished Equipment: Savings or Potential Claims? F7010–3

45 Cost Engineers www.factomedia.nl december 2003 f/7010

Public owners have also recognized that there are clear logistical

and financial benefits in pre-purchasing major equipment and systems. First, the purchases are tax-
exempt, resulting in considerable

savings. Second, owners can purchase equipment much earlier than

the general contractor, who is selected at a much later stage of the

process. Consequently, problems associated with the fabrication and

delivery of such equipment can be minimized. To alleviate problems

associated with lower-quality equipment, and to address delivery of

long lead items, public owners are using OFE procurement.

 3. Integrated Testing and Start Up

The Integrated System Test (IST) is pinnacle of the commissioning program, and the performance of
these activities demonstrates the performance of the facility as a whole against the owner’s project
requirements. The commissioned systems are operated at various loads and in various modes to
demonstrate fully automated operation and proper response to equipment failures and utility problems.

4. Explain safety and security certification

CERTIFICATION AS PART OF SYSTEM SAFETY AND SECURITY The system safety and security discipline
manages hazards and vulnerabilities throughout the life cycle of a project, program, or activity through a
committed approach to risk management, where:

a hazard is a condition or circumstance that could lead to an unplanned or undesired event; ¾ a

vulnerability is a characteristic of the system that increases the probability of occurrence of a security
incident; and ¾ risk is an expression of the impact of an undesired event or security incident in terms of
severity and likelihood.

Certification for safety and security verifies application of this discipline for transit projects. Through this
process, hazards and vulnerabilities are translated into risks, which are then analyzed, assessed,
prioritized, and resolved, accepted, or tracked. Figure 1 presents this process as a continuous loop,
providing for validation of decisions and ongoing evaluation to support further action. This process
supports the consideration of safety and security objectives during all activities of the dynamic and
evolving project management process.