On Monday March 3rd from 2-5pm the Toronto Chapter along with the Eastern Canadian Chapter of the Building Commissioning Association (BCA) and the Toronto Building Owners and Managers Association held our second annual commissioning seminar.   The seminar had more than 120 attendees and was packed full of information.   The following 6 topics were presented:

1. Commissioning of Healthcare Facilities

David Kennard, Stantec. 

A review of CSA Standard CSA Z8001-13 (formerly CSA Z318.0-05).  There are challenges faced in a healthcare facility with the balance between health, safety and sustainability.  Commissioning responsibility matrixes and task sheets were shown.   CSA Z8001-13 contains key definitions in the world of commissioning, in particular the overall seminar themes of retro-commissioning and recommissioning:

Commissioning (commissioning process) is defined as...

"a systematic verification, documentation and training process applied to all activities during the design, construction, static verification,  start-up and functional  performance testing of equipment and systems in a facility to ensure that the facility operates in conformity with the owner's project requirements and the basis of design in accordance with the contract documents."

Ongoing Commissioning

"a process /program which monitors and documents the building's performance using the original commissioning documentation as a bench mark"

Recommissioning

"To commission a building using the documentation created during the previous commissioning process"

Retro Commissioning

"To commission a building new or existing, when commissioning has never been carried out and documentation does not exist"

The commissioning process through the design phases and construction phases were reviewed. 

2. Building Enclosure Commissioning

Jennifer Hogan, Pretium Anderson Building Engineers

Commissioning the building enclosure cannot be overlooked by mechanical engineers.  Underperforming mechanical systems can sometimes be traced to the building enclosure.  Commissioning the enclosure can also:

• Limit disruptions to the HVAC System design pressures due to infiltration / exfiltration
• Potential Energy Savings
• Limit Risk Associated with Construction Defects - For Owner and Contractor!
• LEED v.4 Credits

The following standards were reviewed: 

• ASTM E2813-12
• ASTM E1186 - Practice for Air Leakage Site Detection in Building Envelopes and Air Barrier Systems
• ASTM C1153 - Practice for Location of Wet Insulation in Roofing Systems Using Infrared Imaging
• ASTM C1193 - Guide for Use of Joint Sealants: Field Applied Sealant Joint Hand Pull Tab

3. Hydronic Balancing

Jamie Dudley, Victaulic

The importance of hydronic balancing was presented with respect to building comfort and energy savings opportunities.  A properly balanced building is comfortable along with reduced pump energy and production energy (heating or cooling) savings.   For example in heating season a 1˚F increase (too high) in room temperature can increase the annual plant energy consumption by 4-7%.   In cooling 1˚F decrease (too low) in room temperature can increase the annual plant energy consumption by 6-10%.   A properly installed and functioning manual balancing valve can be a powerful troubleshooting tool as it has the function of balancing the flow, measuring the flow and providing a shut off valve.   

Any changes to a hydronic network in a building will typically require rebalancing of a manual balancing valve system.  Troubleshooting comfort issues often leads re-balancing which is why it should not be considered a "once and done" item when a new building is prepared for occupancy. 

Proper design and installation guidelines of balancing valves were shown, with helpful rules of thumb for commissioning agents to watch out for. 

4. Commissioning Process for Buildings & Systems ASHRAE Standard 202-2013

Derek Cheung, Isotherm Engineering Ltd.

The history of ASHRAE Commissioning standards was presented along with the highlights of the Standard 202.   Did you know that ASHRAE didn't form its first commissioning committee until 1982?  A relatively short time ago, reminding us that commissioning is a young child compared to the ASHRAE handbook that was first published in 1922. 

ASHRAE standards were compared to CSA standards.  The roles and responsibilities of commissioning agents were reviewed.  One of the more interesting slides detailed the following: 

Commissioning is NOT

• Completing manufacturer's test forms
• Contractor's QC check
• Deficiency inspection
• Construction management

5. Mission Critical Data Centre Commissioning

Nigel Bastiampillai, HH Angus & Associates Ltd.

Mission critical sites are: telecommunication facilities, financial data centres, air traffic control centres, CL4 laboratories and military defence buildings.  Mission critical facilities require different commissioning to ensure they operate 24/7.   Differences between typical commercial buildings include:

• More rigid process; higher witness rate
• Greater number of tests and iterations
• Testing maintenance scenarios that allow continuous operations
• Complexity of systems

There are 6 levels of mission critical commissioning.  Factory witness tests (Level 1) offer an important advantage with mission critical buildings.  Less problems in the field reduces the risk during the construction phase.   Risk reduction is the single greatest focus of any mission critical building.  Level 2 is pre-functional testing, confirmation of contract installation.  Functional testing (Level 3) is then done on site to ensure equipment continues to perform as expected.  The next level of best practices is the Individual System Test or IST (Level 4).  The focus is on the interactive nature of all components of a system.  Level 5 is the Integrated System Operation Test which includes my favourite names for tests:  Pull The Plug (PTP) and Black Start.  Finally Level 6 is warranty commissioning. 

6. Condominium Commissioning

Reg Barsoum, Ecovert Cx

Condominium commissioning is a growing and challenging field.  The economics of condominium construction make a big rush to get building completed as quickly as possible.  Early attention to the details are the key, but not an easy thing to do.  LEED buildings provide the impetus and drive to look at, evaluate, and give thought to the details.  3rd party commissioning is key to having a specialist keep focus on the priorities that don't seem important to the project management staff that are under economic pressure to build the condominium as quickly as possible.  Developers should target high priority items for condo owners such as migration of odours, noise, balancing, air pressure tests and energy use.   Finally developers should prioritize documenting commissioning activities which includes functional testing and training. In summary:

1. A good condo can be built
2. Happy condo owners can be found
3. LEED is not a magic bullet
4. The LEED process can minimize risk.