Sustainability: Commissioning Phase

The commissioning phase includes the installation, connection and testing of all equipment, systems and utilities.

All activities will be completed in coordination with the owner’s project team and its assigned subcontractors and vendors, if applicable. If required—and as part of the services offered by Stellar—a process engineer may assist the owner’s team members during the testing phases of the commissioning.

Project commissioning is an important component in assuring owners that the building’s MEP systems, production equipment and life-safety systems have been built in accordance with the architect’s and engineer’s plans and specifications.

LEED certification requires a commissioning process, and higher certifications require a third-party commissioning agent. Stellar suggests that the role of an independent commissioning agent start at the beginning of design. Stellar will work with the commissioning agents early and often to ensure their input into the engineered systems is documented, and when applicable, integrated into the design. The commissioning agent is not the lead design professional for the MEP design; rather the agent provides oversight and added value, ensuring proper systems integration and operation from design through construction.

After the owner has occupied the building, measurement and verification of indoor air quality is implemented, and building commissioning is completed. Both of these activities are critical to verify that the engineered systems are performing as designed and that all LEED credit requirements have been satisfied.