Escalation Procedures is to allow for the successful response to a critical site event. Following the escalation process, assures proper notification and timely response. By assessing the event first, critical information will be available early on. It is important that a chain of command be followed because when events arise, teams need to ensure that communication and reactions are escalated in the proper fashion.
1.5 Testing and Commissioning
The definition of commissioning (Cx) has developed over the past twelve years from being nothing more than vendor start‐up to the comprehensive quality control process it is today. Some still cling to the idea that commissioning is something that starts at the end of construction or after the design is complete. Indeed, for most of the 20th Century, when building systems were much less complex, and tradesmen did not need additional expertise to activate them, this approach was sufficient. Today, many commissioning professionals have found it helpful for themselves and their clients to organize the effort into “levels” of commissioning, and level one starts after the design is complete at Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT). The advent of the Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) program and its various certifications forced the industry once again to rethink the commissioning process. For several good reasons, LEED requires design reviews and other requirements that start earlier in the project than commissioning professionals were accustomed to. A widely accepted definition of commissioning can be found in ASHRAE’s Guideline 0. ASHRAE’s Commissioning Guideline 0‐2005 is a recognized model and good resource that explains commissioning as a quality control process in detail. Although its intent is to apply to all kinds of buildings, it can be applied to critical facilities with some embellishment to address the unique needs of verifying critical system performance. The quality control process given by ASHRAE is in phases starting with the Pre‐Design Phase and continues throughout the Occupancy and Operations phase.
A summary of the phases given in ASHRAE appears below, with some additions for mission critical facilities. These additions, along with all phases, should be included in all mission critical facility projects.
Pre‐Design phaseDocument Owner’s project requirements and basis of design
Design phaseCommission focused Design reviewWriting Cx specifications
Construction phaseFactory Acceptance Testing ‐ FATConstruction check listingStart‐up (Pre‐functional) testing
Acceptance phaseSite acceptance (Functional)Acceptance testing to verify the performance of critical equipmentIntegrated testingO & M document reviewStaff training oversightDevelop and prove out EOPs. SOPs and MOPs
Occupancy and Operations phaseContinual review and updating of materialsContinual training of O&M staffReliability Assurance Testing (continual commissioning)
A quality control process would never be overlooked in any valuable production project such as a new model automobile or TV. Why would we neglect quality control for critical facility projects? In the case of critical facility projects, quality control or commissioning starts in the pre‐design phase so we can make sure the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) are fully developed and track all relevant documents such as the Basis of Design (BOD). We do this so that during value engineering, we can evaluate any impact to the BOD and OPR, and if the proposed change does not meet the documented requirements, then the team must sign off on it. It should be clear that these documents are the foundation of your project and part of the quality control process required for the commissioning of a critical facility. Without them, the commissioning team is left without a clear set of criteria upon which to base their findings and actions.
In the design phase, we have a commissioning‐focused design review that should not be confused with a peer review. In a commissioning‐focused design review, the commissioning engineers should provide input on making the building and systems easier to commission and easier to maintain. They should also examine equipment layout, labeling schemes, and other ergonomic factors, which can result in a facility that operations team members find intuitively easy to work with. This, in turn, reduces the likelihood of operator error in emergency response situations. The CxA should also verify that bid documents adequately specify building commissioning as this will help reduce vendor change orders. It many cases it is better to have the CxA provide commissioning specifications and have them included in the pre‐purchase and other bid sets. The focused review also needs to verify that there are adequate monitoring and control points specified to facilitate commissioning and O&M (trending capabilities, test ports, control points, gages, and thermometers). A review needs to include a review of design as it pertains to the reliability and redundancy standards of the owner and industry standards and verifies that building O&M plan and documentation requirements specified are adequate.
During the construction phase, much of the rudimentary testing is accomplished. During this time, the factory acceptance testing is being conducted, and it is important to have the CxA involved to verify that the controls and interlocks will work with the complete system. During this time, equipment is being delivered and installed. During this installation, the vendors and GC should be verifying the installation using construction checklists provided by the CxA. These checklists basically track the construction process and verify that the vendor delivered what was paid for in good condition, installed properly, and has the proper clearance. The vendor startup will follow, and if performed in accordance with the agreed procedures, all the functions, including all the alarms, will be verified. It is important to track all these documents and have them signed off by the vendors as proof of proper startup. In some cases, the vendors will sign off the documents and not perform all the requirements, and that will slow down the acceptance and integrated testing. In this case of improper start‐up, the delays can be back charged to the responsible vendor.
In the Acceptance Phase, the CxA will first operate all the equipment in all configurations and verify the proper start‐up by the vendors. Once this is completed, the CxA should verify the performance of certain equipment without using vendor‐provided test gear. This is done to keep the quality control process in the hands of the CxA and make sure that only calibrated equipment is used, and the calculations are performed without bias. The equipment list below is recommended to be subjected to this extra acceptance test phase.
1 Emergency power systems and controls.
2 Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and batteries.
3 Flywheel energy storage systems.
4 Static Transfer Switches (STS) and all associated controls.
If the acceptance testing is done properly, it should, at a minimum, verify the equipment is worthy of critical load. In some cases, deficiencies found during this process have forced the vendors to meet their own specifications and improve product quality.
We are now ready for integrated testing, and the intent of this test is to verify that the building and all the systems work together to meet the client’s design requirements. Some hints for having a successful integrated test that proves proper operation and no unwanted system interaction are:
1 Perform a full data center heat load test, including any enclosed cooling systems.
2 Perform integrated testing at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the design load.
3 Use data loggers on the data center floor to verify measured data and BMS controls.
4 Check all operating modes, including maintenance configurations.
Staff training and operations documents need to be provided before we can start operations. Proper training must be given to the staff for systems and integrated operations. I would suggest that the vendors provide system training,
