ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 19

TECHNICAL FEATURE

* Ofﬁce buildings;
* Prisons;
* Research labs;
* Institutions/universities/colleges, including dormitories;
* Data centers;
* Government buildings;
* Industrial facilities;
* Warehouses; and
* Data centers.
Typical education levels of professional CxPs can range
from a technical vocational school to a college or university degree.
The body of knowledge needed to be an effective CxP
is not only learned from education and certiﬁcations-
experience and practice are required over a long period.
Jay Enck, a practicing CxP and chair of Standing
Standard Project Committee 300, Commissioning,
said " building professional commissioning providers
are individuals with unique practical knowledge of the
systems they must evaluate steeped in operationally
applied physics not found in a book. " 9
Professional CxP services include high-level strategic
oversight of all system functions, in addition to " bootson-the-ground " site observations and functional
performance testing of devices, systems and assemblies. The HVAC&R professional CxP must be able to
understand the design, construction, installation and
operation of HVAC&R systems and assemblies, as well
as other mechanical/electrical/plumbing/ﬁre protection trades and their association/interaction with each
other. These technical interactions and expertise are
needed to be able to write the detailed Cx plan, preCx checklists, and functional performance testing
protocols.
Then, the professional CxP needs to have the soft-skills
and organization to coordinate with the owner to keep
them advised, perform/lead design and construction Cx
meetings, write site visit reports and issue/resolution logs,
interact with the ﬁeld workers, explain speciﬁc Cx codes
and standards as well as compose the ﬁnal Cx report.
The CxP needs to have advanced technical education,
continuing education and updated certiﬁcations. Since
professional CxPs oversee, manage and supervise other
like professions, their credentials and credibility must
be superior. If the person or company performing this
professional Cx work does not feel they are competent,

or at least equal, in expertise to the persons or professionals they are supervising, managing or directing,
then they could be textbook negligent in accepting a
contract that requires such.
Professional CxPs are not responsible for the design
or construction/installation work itself if they do not
perform such as a part of their Cx duties. But during
the predesign and design phase, the professional CxP
is charged with identifying and coordinating with
the design professionals and design process. This
can include, but is not limited to, reviewing the OPR/
CFR (owner's project requirements/current facility requirements), design components, and scope,
as well as sequences of operation and alarm limits
for all operational times, such as occupied, unoccupied, holidays or extended shutdown periods. The Cx
provider is obligated to point out possible/potential
problems or concerns with the design team. If any of
these items are missed or forgotten, it is the responsibility of the professional CxP to recognize that omission and facilitate its cure or correction. This type of
scope review or oversight should be clearly outlined
as a part of the Cx requirements in the Cx contract or
speciﬁcation.
For example, if, during design review, the Cx provider
does not recognize that the owner (in the OPR) wanted
an electric heating system for the HVAC units, but the
designer speciﬁed a hot-water heating system with a
boiler and associated piping, valves, etc., the Cx provider would share that liability with the design engineer.
Another example, if the Cx provider was supposed to
functionally test a freeze stat that protects water coils
in a rooftop air-handling unit, and that device and test
was speciﬁed, but forgotten or omitted, the Cx provider
would share that liability with the contractor. After conviction or mitigation, the only argument left for these
cases is " comparable negligence " and what percentage
payment of the insurance coverage will be requested
to pay for damages. In cases where the Cx is 100% at
fault for their action or inaction, the Cx would be solely
responsible.
Professional CxPs are charged with the facilitation and
execution of the Cx process and procedures for systems
and equipment in their Cx contract. These may include,
but are not limited to, robust and constant communications; Cx document development, design, and submittal review; OPR/CFR reviews; periodic site inspections;
JAN UARY 2021

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ASHRAE Journal - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - January 2021
