RECAP | ROUNDTABLE | Executing a Successful Commissioning Plan

Uptime Institute’s October 29th Inside Track Roundtable proved an opportunity for participants to exchange tips about commissioning practices. Participants agreed that proper commissioning can help make operations more efficient, reduce risk in the aftermath of a construction program and save money over the life of the facility. These findings were especially valuable as several participants were in the beginning stages of construction projects and wanted to ensure that their commissioning programs incorporated as many best practices as possible. Uptime Institute’s senior consultant Isaac Borras and Kevin Heslin, chief editor, joined the discussion.
Borras launched the discussion by defining commissioning and explaining the importance of each of the five Levels, including Integrated System Testing (Level 5) or. In his experience, commissioning leaves an obvious and lasting impact on a facility, visible in its operations and the quality of its procedures. Other participants confirmed these observations, citing examples where the commissioning process had improved designs and led to equipment changes.
Roundtable participants reached consensus on a great number of points regarding the commissioning process. These included the need for an early start to allow for document review and to accommodate factory acceptance testing in a timely fashion. The early start (mid-design or earlier) also allows for the completion of Level 4 and Level 5 scripts.
Participants noted that the quality of commissioning depended a great deal on the commitment of the data center owner. High levels of communication create opportunities for commissioning and construction to follow a prescribed path so that the time allotted to commissioning remains as planned and because a smooth construction process means that fewer construction errors are identified during commissioning. In addition, involving operations teams in commissioning activities helps site personnel familiarize themselves with a site in advance of the live date.
Most of the participants also agreed on the benefits of hiring an independent, third-party commissioning agent. They noted that the third-party agent brought a valuable perspective. But one organization felt its in-house program offered the same benefits. Finally, each organization advocated for recurrent recommissioning as well as the use of commissioning on a variety of projects of different scale.