The objective of commissioning is to provide documented confirmation that the facility fulfills the functional and performance requirements of the building owner, occupants, and operators.  It is also a prerequisite to obtain a LEED certification. To reach this goal, it is necessary for the commissioning process to establish and document the Owner's project requirements (OPR) for system function, performance, and maintainability and to also verify and document compliance with these criteria throughout construction and start-up.

ads ENGINEERS, the commissioning agent (CA), shall develop and coordinate the execution of a testing plan, which includes observing and documenting all systems' performance to ensure that the systems are functioning in accordance with the Owner's basis of design documents (BOD) requirements and the contract documents.

The commissioning process can also be applied to existing buildings that have never been commissioned to restore them to optimal performance.  retro commissioning (RCx) is a systematic, documented process that identifies low-cost operational and maintenance improvements. This process that identifies low-cost operational and maintenance improvements in existing buildings and brings the buildings up to the design intentions of its current usage.

Retro-Commissioning (RCx) typically includes an audit of the entire building including a study of past energy bills, interviews with facility personnel.  Then diagnostic monitoring and functional tests of building systems are executed and analyzed.  Building systems are retested and re-monitored to fine-tune improvements.  This process helps find and repair operational problems.  The identification of more complex problems are presented to the Owner as well.  A final report, re-commissioning plan and schedule are then given to the Owner.

Commissioning has become a fundamental part of the firm's engineering services.  ads ENGINEERS has provided commissioning services for both public and private sector clients.  It has engaged in over twenty commissioning projects for new and existing buildings.  ads ENGINEERS is a member of the Building Commissioning Association (BCA) and a number of its employees have attended commissioning training sessions.

 
For a list of projects that demonstrate the firm's expertise in the area of commissioning click here.