Engineered Systems - November 2008 - (Page 10)

Back 2 Basics Based on Cx-3 ATC/FPT software BY HOWARD MCKEW, P.E., C.P.E. Engineering in the Construction Phase • The designer should manage the design phase fee so that he has adequate funds to participate in the field coordination drawing phase of construction. Refer to “Design and Construction for the 21st Century,” in the August 2007 issue of Engineered Systems for more information • The design engineer should request the equipment O&M manual for the associated piece of equipment immediately after the shop drawing has been approved, so that the facility manager can begin the process of building the PM workorder system in the first quarter of the construction phase. For this B2B application, it is assumed there will be on-site campus facility management to compile the PM workorder requirements. This management staff should also provide a remote monitoring of space temperatures, safeties, and alarms and provide 24-hr response coverage. • The design engineer should use standardized equipment checklists (refer to “HVACR Designer Tips” for construction observation) for documenting installation progress, system readiness, and final punchlist. This electronic equipment checklist can be provided to the facility manager at the end of the job to be linked to the CMMS system asset database. • The design engineer should invest at least one day to providing system training using the operator handbooks to educate the owner and associated HVAC service contractor leading up to the building system commissioning, highlighting the basis of design and estimated energy budget. Third-Party Cx and TAB Engineering in the Construction Phase • Those who contract for commissioning services in the construction phase of the job usually interpret commissioning as being start-up. When the commissioning firm is hired, it is time to perform functional performance testing (FPT). Experience has shown that this approach to commissioning is really enhanced start-up because commissioning is intended to begin in the schematic phase of a building program. • The commissioning engineer shall facilitate a specific number of commissioning team meetings along with distribution of meeting minutes. This engineer shall also participate in system readiness site visits and issue field visit reports along with completed observation checklists and digital photographs. • Prior to the FPT demonstration to the owner, the contractor is required to complete the pre-functional performance tests (PFPT), better known as equipment and system startup. • The commissioning engineer’s commission test plan and schedule spreadsheet shall be used by the contractor to fill in the target dates and completion dates for tasks. The PFPT team should include the contractor (general contractor or construction manager), HVAC contractor, ATC installer and programmer, electrical contractor, TAB engineer, equipment manufacturers (e.g., ERU-1), and facility operating group. In many installations, the automatic control computer software may be furnished on the unit (e.g., RTU-1) and programmed by the equipment manufacturer. This is also the commissioning team. • The software program associated with the building system sequence 10 En gi neer ed S y stem s November 2008 of operation should be closely reviewed, tested, and finalized prior to demonstrating the system performance to the commissioning team. When commissioning the computer software programs, it is important that the commissioning engineer have access to the flow diagram (control logic) as part of the FPT procedures. • The TAB engineer in the shop drawing phase shall submit the system flow diagram with design data along with the final TAB report table of content, and other pertinent documents outlined in the Division 18000 specification. When completing the air and water balancing, the TAB engineer shall document all operating data on system flow diagrams that were submitted in the shop drawing phase. • The TAB engineer shall participate in the field coordination drawing phase and sign off on TAB-ability. • The TAB engineer shall provide pre-TAB site inspections reports along with standard observation checklists and digital photographs of installation status. • When demonstrating the FPT for the dormitory HVAC system, the facility operators should be participating to receive on-the-job system training. While observing the system performance the O&M manual and PM workorders should be reviewed. • When observing the dormitory HVAC systems FTP, the commissioning team will need to have a commissioning engineer at the building automation control panel/computer and another commissioning engineer or technician at the end devices to observe “action-reaction.” • Consideration should be given to the use of “smart software” (e.g., TAB-3) that provides the TAB engineer the ability to create their system flow diagram documenting the flows, velocities, pressure drops, etc. and laminated and saved within the operator’s handbook for quick reference, troubleshooting, and future re-balancing. The handbook should be located at unit with electronic copy saved on CD-ROM. http://www.subscribeforfree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Engineered Systems - November 2008

Engineered Systems - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Note HVAC Challenge Back2Basics Case In Point Commissioning Building Automation HVACR Designer Tips Show Me The Motor Money The IAQ Top 10 Putting A Damper on Tragedy Special: Lighting Controls Computers & Software Products Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Environment

Engineered Systems - November 2008

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