HEADQUARTERS

The mission of the Commissioning Center of Expertise in Sustainability (CXS) is to provide guidance, advice, and sample documentation from USACE subject matter experts in the area of Total Building commissioning. The intent is to build a commissioning community of practice.

Commissioning Benefits:

• Project quality as a result of early collaborative efforts of diverse stakeholders
• Reduced contractor callbacks (warranty calls)
• Lower operating and maintenance costs
• Fully functional facility meeting owner project requirements (OPR)

Total Building Commissioning is a systematic process of ensuring, using appropriate verification and documentation, during the period beginning on the initial day of the design phase of the facility and ending not earlier than one year after the date of completion of the facility, that all facility systems perform interactively in accordance with the design documentation and intent of the facility, and the operational needs of the owner are met. One of the key aspects of total building commissioning is that the owner's needs are determined during the planning and design stage, and then, well articulated in the plans and specifications. The Commissioning Authority (CxA) is a person or team that carries this message from planning and design through construction and building occupancy.

Systems to be Commissioned:

• Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and associated controls
• Interior and exterior lighting and daylighting controls
• Domestic hot water systems
• Renewable energy systems (wind, solar, etc.)
• Electrical sub-metering systems
• Building envelope (building air tightness test)
• Other common systems that could be included are protective systems (fire suppression, lightning protection); plumbing (water distribution, sanitary, storm water); communications systems (telecommunications sound, video); alarm systems (fault detection, security, leak detection)

Contact: Commissioning@usace.army.mil