The Importance of Independent Commissioning

How Third-Party Commissioning Agents can Improve Building Construction

Over the last three decades, I worked with thousands of buildings and witnesses firsthand a critical issue in the building industry: Construction Quality. Serious building deficiencies are shockingly common.

These flaws are born from a construction event – not only in new construction but remodels and simple equipment replacements as well. The prevalence of quality in all building types: big and small, simple and complex, commercial and residential; is on the rise. Retail, restaurant, office, grocery, lodging, education, warehouse, data center, healthcare…none are immune.

As a result, we have buildings with:

  • Unhealthy and uncomfortable indoor environments’
  • High energy use
  • Soaring repair and maintenance costs

Cause of Poor Construction Quality

I observed four key root causes of poor construction quality:

  1. Pressure on time and money – As a society, we want things faster and cheaper, and buildings are no exception. This constricts construction teams, forcing errors and cut corners. Important design elements are ignored or intentionally removed from scopes of work.
  2. Scarcity of skilled labor – The skilled labor shortage is a national challenge and is worsening. Because of this, people are installing building systems without proper training and experience. Even when intentions are good, mistakes happen.
  3. Lack of integrity – Sadly, personal character and ethics are undervalued by many. Frequently I see contractor reports claiming tasks were complete but, upon inspections, were found incomplete. Some common examples are, a construction checklist indicating the presence of important equipment accessories that are missing, or a balance report showing airflow set to design while the necessary components are not installed. Much of the construction process is invisible to building owners and thus ripe for dishonesty.
  4. Absence of accountability – The vast majority of construction issues are being overlooked. When they are caught, they are not being pursued to a successful resolution. The problem is exacerbated for chain building owners trying to manage dozens, if not hundreds, of projects at once. They are unable to keep up, and their level of oversight diminishes.

Commissioning: How to Improve Construction Quality

So, what can be done? Give construction contractors more time and money to do their job and, though that may help, that doesn’t ensure success. The skilled labor shortage is a long-term problem and will not be solved any time soon. We can and should associate with those who have integrity, but we must verify that our trust in them is justified.

What can we do immediately? We can improve construction quality, provide accountability by auditing, and inspect the construction process. In other words, we can commission the building.

Independent commissioning agents work alongside the design and construction teams, objectively checking things along the way. However, they do not replace those teams or their responsibilities. The commissioning agents examine particular details of the building systems and determine how those systems work together. Experienced and diligent commissioning agents uncover construction deficiencies and work with the appropriate contractors to appropriately resolve issues.

Without accountability built into our construction processes, (AKA commissioning) the quality of buildings will only continue to worsen.

 


Melink offers commissioning services for all of your building’s life stages. Contact us to learn more.

Blue tinted aluminum HVAC ducts and vents in ceiling of a warehouse

A Good Time For Technology

Future of Technology

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”  In my estimation, this quote from Ferris Bueller is more relevant now than when first uttered.  We’re in a period where everything continues to speed up. We’re moving along at breakneck speed to get to the next task, the next meeting, the next event, that it’s often easier to keep your head down.  The downside is that it’s easy to miss some of the amazing things happening in the world due to technology.

Smartphones

Smartphones, for example.  In the span of just a few years they’ve managed to become a nearly indispensable tool.  Gone are the days of proud parents stuffing their wallets with photos – you now have a literal gallery at your beck and call.  Simply carrying the phone gives us the ability to capture those special moments that in years past may be missed.  Try remembering what life was like travelling to a new city before we started carrying portable GPS units in our pockets.  What would previously take hours of planning is now done in minutes (if not seconds).  That’s not to say the consequences of ‘pocket computers’ have been beneficial, but I’d argue the good outweighs the bad by a significant margin.

Furthering Technology

Imagine opportunities to create new technology.  Instead of further connecting people (like the smartphone did), think of developing the next generation of sustainability.  Advancing business capabilities to reduce the amount of energy they consume and to make facilities healthier.  To help build intelligence that create win-win scenarios for companies and consumers at the same time.   Regardless of anyone’s beliefs on climate change and why it’s happening, it’s clear that the climate is changing.  Another thing that has been clear for some time is that the resources that we have on this planet are finite.  Finally, we’ve also learned that the cheapest energy of all is the energy that doesn’t get used.

Make an Impact

Right now, there is such an opportunity available.  Melink is actively searching for an Embedded Software Engineer and an Application Developer who would like to join our family as we continue our journey towards a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow.  We’re growing our sustainable offerings. These offerings include energy-saving demand controls for commercial kitchens (Intelli-Hood), innovative geothermal solutions (Manifest), and HVAC commissioning (Test and Balance). Melink is about to release an innovative new building health monitor (PositiV) and has more innovation on the way.  We’re also creating an awesome Portal that will connect our employees, technology, products, and customers with a clean, intuitive interface. This will create new applications to expand the reach of our hardware and improve the work-life balance of our employees.  Help us build the new tomorrow.

Apply online here