ASHRAE Journal - October 2013 - 76

Technical feaTure
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Technical vs. Process commissioning

Basis of Design
By Vince Briones, P.e., MeMBer AsHrAe; And dAVe McFArlAne, MeMBer AsHrAe

The basis of design (BOD) document provides building designers and engineers with an effective tool they can use to clearly present—to the owner,
commissioning agent (CxA), contractors, suppliers, and any other third
parties—the decision, assumptions, and specifications that are being used to
develop the construction documents for a project.
The BOD transforms the raw data from the owner’s project requirements
(OPR) document (the “what”) into a detailed, technical, actionable plan (the
“how”) that will meet the owner’s objectives—which will also help avoid the
“scope creep” that can derail the project schedule and lead to budget overruns.
Understanding the Basis of Design
ASHRAE defines the BOD as “a document that records
the major thought processes and assumptions behind
design decisions made to meet the owner’s project
requirements (OPR).” The design team uses the BOD
document to show how their assumptions and specifications will enable the completed project to satisfy the
requirements listed in the OPR document. The previous
article in this series (ASHRAE Journal, August 2013) noted
(ASHRAE
that the owner can use a well-crafted OPR document as a
checklist or “scorecard” to verify project success.
The BOD document needs to be created early on: after
the schematic design is completed, but before creating the actual design development documents. That’s
because the BOD must explain the decision processes
behind the design, essentially “translating” the owner’s
*this is the third in a series of articles that explain the technical commissioning process for new
buildings. the series (and the first article) is titled “technical Commissioning: the Commissioning
Process that Works.” some of these articles’ content is based on AshrAe Guideline 0-2005, The
Commissioning Process (published 2005) and the National environmental balancing bureau (Nebb)
Whole Building Systems Technical Commissioning Procedural Standards Manual (revised April
2013). In addition, some of the information in this article has been taken from an unpublished Nebb
standard titled NEBB Standard Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) Guideline (June 20, 2011). this
article also draws upon an unpublished “sample” oPr document created by Nebb for the fictional
“AbC headquarters office building” (Jan. 2, 2011).

vision into practical design criteria—and improving
the communication process between all parties during
the design phase. As noted in the previous article, the
USGBC has made the OPR and BOD documents mandatory for all LEED-NC certified projects (LEED 2009).
Unfortunately, the BOD document is too often forgotten until after the design process. Then something is
thrown together—which ends up of no use to anyone.
Without a BOD document, the CxA cannot fully understand and act upon the design team’s actual intentions.

Some Practical Considerations
To help ensure easy understandability by the most readers, write your BOD document in layman’s terms (whenever possible). Use lots of charts, tables, detailed lists, and
graphs. If photos best explain what you want to convey,
include them, along with clear and detailed captions.
Every member of the design team should be a part of
preparing the BOD document and then maintaining it
throughout the design process. It’s not a job for a juniorlevel designer or intern. You’ll also need to involve the
architectural team, as well as the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical engineers. And don’t forget specialty

About the Authors Vince Briones, P.E., is senior program manager at Atkins in Austin, Texas, and Dave McFarlane is a principal project director at Atkins in Fort Myers, Fla.
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - October 2013