In last October’s column, we looked at the importance of documenting and quantifying the benefits of commissioning for “selling” the concept either as a consultant providing commissioning (Cx) services or as a building operator trying to convince “decisionmakers” to implement a Cx program. We are now discovering that there are some projects where the “selling” of commissioning needs to be ongoing throughout the duration of the design and construction.
On particularly large projects with long (multiyear) schedules, the probability of personnel turnover on the owner’s management team is high. Therefore, the possibility of having strong proponents of commissioning leave the project midway can lead to a dilution of the owner’s commitment to the commissioning process. Without strong, consistent support for commissioning from the owner, the rest of the project team may start cutting corners, missing deadlines, and more or less ignoring the requirements of their contract with respect to commissioning.