ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 68

COLUMN THE PERFORMANCE GAP
Leslie Beu
So, Who Is Accountable?
BY LESLIE BEU, ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE
Accountability may be the most significant pitfall contributing to the
Performance Gap. Unfortunately, many traditional project processes unwittingly
de-incentivize the designers, modelers, installers, and operators from
delivering well-performing energy solutions. This column highlights various
project delivery systems, accreditations, financing mechanisms and incentives
that aim to improve accountability in the green building industry.
Additionally, the owner assumes increased risk since
The Project Team
The project team is often defined as the contractor(s)
hired to design, install, and commission the building or
system. But it is important to recognize that the client,
owner, or owner's representative is part of the team-and
most responsible for impacting accountability. Whether
or not they initiate the energy project process, they are
ultimately the final decision makers. In fact, whether
they view the project as successful or as a failure depends
on their criteria, goals and perspective. It is the client's
responsibility to have clear goals, a reasonable budget,
and appropriate incentives. The client's expertise frequently
lies elsewhere, so partnering with the right project
team is critical to maintain accountability.
The owner or client must have clear goals. An energyefficiency
goal does not often coincide with a goal of lowest
first costs for a project. The owner must understand
that incentives drive every process even when they are
not directly financial. It is typical to find contracts that
incentivize a contractor for being ahead of schedule or
penalize them for being behind schedule. In the same
way, if the owner states a goal of energy efficiency or
price/cost, the contractor should have incentives (or
penalties) to ensure these goals.
Project Delivery Systems
Project delivery systems (PDS) usually follow one of
two paths. The traditional process is called design-bidbuild.
In this process, after a design is created, contractors
bid on the exact design, and the selected contractor
installs it as designed. Drawbacks include a slower
delivery schedule, reduced communication, and finger
pointing or blame shifting.
68
A SHR A E J O U RNA L
ashrae.org JAN UARY 2014
the installation contractor has limited influence over
design and installs the design as directed. The contractor
will not take responsibility for glitches or problems
with the design. Figure 1demonstrates the owner's relationship
to the contractor disciplines.
On the other hand, the design-build project delivery
system is often used to reach goals such as sustainability
or faster implementation. With one point of contact,
conflict and disputes are limited, and liability is shifted
from the owner to the contractor. The contractor's
increased accountability for the outcome results in more
direct monetary and reputation-based incentives. Figure
2 illustrates the owner's one point of contact.
Although contractor comparison is more subjective
compared to the traditional price comparison of designbid-build,
design-build is more efficient, cost effective,
and successful at delivering high performing projects.
Figure 3 shows the consistent performance of designbuild
energy retrofit projects in a range of size and
scope. Another factor contributing to the consistent performance
of the data could be that existing buildings are
often easier to model accurately than new construction.
The design-build project delivery method relies
on trust between the owner and contractor based on
qualifications, history, customer referrals, or longterm
relationships. Design-build contractor awards are
more subjective than the cost-based design-bid-build
process. Therefore, design-build should not replace
design-bid-build, but it is probably a much better fit
to achieve energy and sustainability goals and tight
Leslie Beu is an energy engineer at Tolin Mechanical in Denver.

ASHRAE Journal - January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - January 2014

ASHRAE Journal - January 2014
Contents
Commentary
Industry News
Letters
Meetings and Shows
Effect of Heat Rejection Load and Wet Bulb on Cooling Tower Performance
Shaping the Next... Building and Energy
Texas Hospital Central Plant Redesign
Detecting Faults in Hong Kong High-Rise
Engineer's Notebook
HVAC Applications
Refrigeration Applications
Energy Modeling
The Performance Gap
Data Centers
People
Classified Advertising
Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - B1
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - B2
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - ASHRAE Journal - January 2014
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 2
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Commentary
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 5
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Industry News
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 7
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 8
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 9
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 10
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 11
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 12
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Letters
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Meetings and Shows
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 15
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Effect of Heat Rejection Load and Wet Bulb on Cooling Tower Performance
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 17
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 18
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 19
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 20
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 21
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 22
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 23
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Shaping the Next... Building and Energy
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 25
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 26
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 27
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 28
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 29
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 30
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 31
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 32
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 33
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 34
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 35
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Texas Hospital Central Plant Redesign
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 37
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 38
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 39
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 40
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 41
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 42
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 43
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 44
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 45
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Detecting Faults in Hong Kong High-Rise
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 47
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 48
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 49
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 50
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 51
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Engineer's Notebook
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 53
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 54
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 55
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 56
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 57
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - HVAC Applications
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 59
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 60
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 61
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 62
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 63
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Refrigeration Applications
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Energy Modeling
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 66
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 67
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - The Performance Gap
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 69
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 70
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 71
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 72
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 73
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Data Centers
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 75
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 76
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - People
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Classified Advertising
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - 80
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - January 2014 - Cover4
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