Energy Efficient Buildings | Recommissioning

Recommissioning (RCx) Guide for Building Owners and Managers

Chapter 3 - Project Basis

Key Strategies for Success

The following section summarizes strategies described in detail later in the Guide. These are areas that a building owner or owner's representative should pay particular attention to while designing and carrying out a recommissioning project. Each Key Strategy contains a link/reference to the corresponding detailed sections on each strategy. In addition, the Key Strategies section summarizes the deliverables that owners will want to obtain from their recommissioning provider.

Identify the Best Building Candidates

Owners of multiple buildings can consider a portfolio approach to selecting the best candidate(s) for recommissioning. Evaluating potential for energy improvements across a portfolio of buildings and selecting those with the most potential for success in the recommissioning process can assist with long-term planning and enable the owner to strategically capitalize on short-term paybacks. When budgets are tight, it may be wise to start with buildings in areas where utility incentives are available. Read more about Good Candidates for Recommissioning (Chapter 4). See also an example in Appendix A – List of Preferred Building Characteristics for Recommissioning.

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Analyse the building portfolio to identify the best recommissioning candidates. Bear in mind that the worst performing buildings in a portfolio may not always be the most cost effective choices.

Develop Well-Defined Objectives

The owner's project objectives determine the overall vision, scope, and direction of the project. They should be written and clearly articulated to the recommissioning provider to guide the project from start to finish. Understanding the objectives helps to ensure that adequate time and funds are allocated to complete the project. Read more about Defining Objectives and Project Scope (Chapter 4).

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For each building selected, write a set of objectives that can be incorporated into the Recommissioning Plan and the recommissioning provider's scope of work.

Select a Recommissioning Provider Well-Suited to the Project

When hiring a provider, check general qualifications, such as years in the field but, most importantly, understand what experience each candidate has with your specific building type. Ask to see sample reports to understand the type of information you can expect during the project. Read more about Selecting a Recommissioning Provider (Chapter 5).

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Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for recommissioning the selected building or buildings. The RFP should clearly define the project and its objectives

Designate an In-House Champion

Owner commitment is critical to project success. From the beginning, engaging with the team to clearly express project goals and support collaboration between the recommissioning provider and building staff helps ensure a successful recommissioning project. If the owner cannot be directly involved, the next best strategy is to assign an owner's representative to be an active "champion" for the project. This person will need to rally the facility staff to action and secure the necessary senior management support to keep the project moving forward. Read Owner's Operating Requirement (Appendix B) and Determining Roles (Chapter 3).  

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Assign the appropriate in-house staff person to shepherd the project. This individual will need to be a good communicator and motivator in order to maintain adequate focus throughout the project. Also ensure that assigned staff has adequate time to oversee the provider and carry out some recommissioning tasks where necessary.

Assign Key Facility Staff

Assign key facility staff to work with the recommissioning provider throughout the recommissioning project. When facility staff are brought in and consulted from the beginning, potential conflicts are avoided. A recommissioning process involving experienced, knowledgeable, interested, and available building staff is more likely to be cost-effective and have lasting results. There a several points in the recommissioning process where facility staff involvement can reduce costs and increase benefits. Read more about Involving Facility Staff to Save Time and Money (Chapter 2) and Involving Facility Staff (Chapter 3).

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Assign 1 or 2 experienced building operators (especially those who have the most controls experience) to work with the recommissioning provider. Request that the recommissioning provider provide estimates for the timeframe and necessary level of staff involvement for each task.

Define Project Deliverables

As part of the recommissioning provider's contractual scope of work, include a well-defined list of deliverables or outcomes for each phase of the project. The detailed Recommissioning Flow Chart (Figure 6) shows where each deliverable typically occurs during the process. These documents may include:
Planning Phase

• Recommissioning Plan
• Read The Recommissioning Plan (Chapter 5) ³¹

Investigation Phase

• Read Owner's Operating Requirements (Chapter 6)
• See an example in Appendix B – Owner's Operating Requirements

• Read Diagnostic Monitoring and Functional Testing (Chapter 6)

• Read Develop a Findings Log (Chapter 6) ³²

• Read Prioritize and Select Operational Improvements (Chapter 6)
• Read Develop the Investigation Report (Chapter 6)

Implementation Phase

• Read The Implementation Plan (Chapter 7)
• See an example in Appendix D – Recommissioning Implementation Plan

• Read Implementation Verification and Reporting (Chapter 7)
• See an example in Appendix D – Recommissioning Implementation Report

Hand-Off Phase³³

• Read The Recommissioning Final Report (Chapter 8)

• Read Building Documentation (Chapter 9)

• Recommissioning or Ongoing Commissioning Plan
• Read Periodic Recommissioning (Chapitre 9) or Ongoing Commissioning Plan (Chapter 9)

Hold a Project Kick-Off Meeting

The recommissioning kick-off meeting is typically scheduled prior to the Investigation Phase. In this meeting, it is critical to clearly outline the benefits of participating in the recommissioning project to get buy-in from each team member. A formal project kick-off meeting creates an opportunity to bring the project team together to review the Recommissioning Plan and discuss the objectives, process, and team roles. Read Project Kick-Off Meeting (Chapter 6). 

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Schedule time to attend the Project Kick-off Meeting. Review the agenda with the recommissioning provider prior to the meeting.

Define the Owner's Operating Requirements

Providing detailed operating requirements for the facility enables the recommissioning provider to be sensitive when performing diagnostic activities to ensure that the critical operating requirements of the building are not disturbed. These requirements are also useful to the provider in assessing the feasibility of recommissioning measures. The owner's operating requirements inform the recommissioning provider of building schedules, functions, and processes, and differentiate between areas of the building that have different uses (Chapter 6) . 

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Develop a written list of operating requirements for the building as early in the project as possible. Review lease agreements for tenant operating needs and owner obligations and commitments to ensure that they are taken into consideration during the investigation process.

Accomplish Strategic O&M Tasks Prior to the Investigation Phase

Prior to the Investigation Phase, direct the building staff to gather the most up-to-date building documentation such as mechanical and electrical drawings, equipment lists, O&M manuals, and sequences of operation. Tenant improvement drawings, balancing reports and lists of changes to systems and in use of the building are also helpful. This will expedite the project by saving the recommissioning provider time. Also, direct the building staff to complete all scheduled maintenance prior to the Investigation Phase. Normal equipment maintenance should be completed before assessing equipment and system performance. Because this does not require a recommissioning provider's expertise, it is more cost effective to have in-house staff or an outside service contractor address these tasks early to prevent delays to the project. Read Performing Scheduled Preventative Maintenance (Chapter 2).

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Make a list and assign strategic O&M tasks to the building operations staff and service contractors to help expedite the recommissioning work.

Review the Findings Log With the Recommissioning Provider

The Findings Log and Investigation Report are the most significant deliverables coming out of the Investigation Phase of the project. The Findings Log can be thought of as a decision making tool for the owner. The owner and recommissioning provider use the Findings Log to select and prioritize the operational improvements for the most cost-effective results. Read Develop a Findings Log (Chapitre 6).

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Schedule a meeting with the recommissioning provider to review and select the improvements for implementation based on information in the Findings Log. This meeting should include any building staff members who were intimately involved in the investigation process.

Select an Implementation Approach

Depending on the building and circumstances of the project, there are different approaches to consider for implementing the recommissioning measures. The approaches range from "turn-key", where the recommissioning provider is hired to manage the entire process from start to finish, to using in-house staff to manage the entire implementation phase. Choosing an implementation approach will largely hinge on the in-house staff 's availability and skills. Read Selecting an Implementation Approach (Chapitre 7) .

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Assess the in-house building staff's abilities and time constraints prior to determining the implementation approach. If appropriate, implementation can be staged to take advantage of utility incentives, lease changes, budget cycles and planned renovation projects.

Require or Develop an Implementation Plan

This document is critical for helping the implementation proceed smoothly and should reflect the management approach selected for the Implementation Phase. It should include scopes of work for addressing all the selected measures, as well as the methods required for evaluating the results after implementation. Read The Implementation Plan (Chapitre 7).

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Review the Implementation Plan for each of the selected recommissioning improvements. Confirm that verification requirements are included to prove that each of the improvements is functioning as expected.

Require an Implementation Report

The Implementation Report, and the data it contains that verify the impact of measures, is a key document. This is used for staff training, maintaining continuous building performance, and project evaluation. Read Implementation Verification and Reporting (Chapter 7) .

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Review the Implementation Report to make sure it is clear as to what was implemented and that it was verified to be implemented correctly. The approved report should be made available to those building staff members who are responsible for maintaining the improvements.

Require a Final Report and Hold a Project Hand-Off Meeting

Developing the Final Report is a key responsibility of the provider. It is the comprehensive record of the recommissioning project and should be kept as part of the on-site resources for facility staff. The owner should request that the provider present the Final Report at a Project Hand-Off Meeting, in order to address questions from staff and management about the project process, findings, and deliverables (Chapter 8) . 

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Schedule the Project Hand-Off Meeting to reiterate the project accomplishments and go over next steps for ensuring that the benefits last. The Final RCx Report can also be used to inform management and staff not directly involved in the recommissioning process of the achievements and results obtained.

Develop Persistence Strategies

During the recommissioning Hand-off Phase the owner and recommissioning provider determine effective persistence strategies for ensuring the recommissioning benefits are long lasting. Without these strategies the new, more efficient measures and improvements may degrade quickly. The recommissioning provider can recommend which strategies are most appropriate for the building and help develop a plan to carry them out (Chapter 9) .

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Determine methods for incorporating persistence strategies into the building's O&M plan. These methods should include, at a minimum, periodic O&M reviews for those improvements most at risk for degradation. Constant monitoring of energy consumption will trigger an immediate look at any significant deviation and maintain rigour in the quest of persistence.

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³¹ S ee on-line example from the California Commissioning Collaborative Website. 

³² Ibid 31

³³ Ibid 31