Icebergs & Cx Reports
Quality, Consequences and the Construction Industrial Complex (part 134).
“Isn’t a commissioning report just a lot of templated Bu!!$h!t?”
Layered presuppositions in peoples language reveal true beliefs and intentions. Implied within this question is:
- Building commissioning has no value
- Building commissioning is too expensive
I was asked this question by a main contractor on a laboratory project who should have known better. All he wanted was to get the commissioning report, submit it, get paid and get off to the next project.
However, the question is not without cause. There are some commissioning firms who do just produce a lot of templated bu!!$h!t. This is one of the key differences between pure process Cx compared to technical Cx.
A commissioning report, or any technical report, can be considered a “money iceberg”. What you see on the surface, belies what is beneath.
Many just want to pay for what is “above the waterline” i.e. templated reports. The value is “below the waterline” i.e. the actual, technical work.
The purpose of a building commissioning report is to:
- Memorialize the actual commissioning and test results
- Provide base line information for the facilities management team
- Audit “actual” completion of the building commissioning process
A commissioning report captures the following:
Also, Commissioning reports are only useful, IMHO, if they are systemized and not a list of equipment test sheets. I specify commissioning reports for building systems follow the following generic structure.
Didn’t we all learn how to write technical reports at college or university? Why are commissioning reports held in such low regard?
IMHO, the answer is for the project specifications to specify requirements for building commissioning report delivery, structure and contents. My innovation on this idea, is for this specification clause to actually be enforced with hard financial consequences.
Just saying!
Twitter: @BLDWhisperer
Edifice Complex Podcast
Podcast: www.edificecomplexpodcast.com
Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGEo1pCt2k8NzvBNJ_78lA
Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Edifice-Complex-Podcast-792113294283607/
