Commissioning

In today’s construction world, complex state-of-the-art mechanical equipment and control systems require a well-planned and integrated approach to start-up, training and operation/maintenance.

In response to these demands, KDB has developed an industry-leading commissioning team. Our professionals are comprised of individuals from various trade specialties including mechanical service, start-up, building automation, and project management.  We work closely with project stakeholders to ensure the mechanical equipment and controls are installed and performing in accordance with the contract documents and ready for operation at project completion.

Planning

Our in-house commissioning engineers work in conjunction with KDB project management and trades to develop project-specific plans.  These are used to coordinate both with our internal and external project team entities.  Examples of these plans include:

  • Commissioning schedule development
  • Flushing plans
  • Temporary conditioning plans
  • Power coordination and energization priority
  • Equipment Maintenance plans
  • Loading & Load Bank plans

Start-Up & Maintenance

KDB leverages the vast experience of our commissioning technicians by conducting in-house start-up on the majority of the equipment we install:

  • Terminal/Unitary
  • Air Handling Equipment
  • VRF Systems
  • Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s)

For equipment requiring vendors, our technicians coordinate the start-up process and are there to supervise until completion.

During construction, the commissioning team is also responsible for the care of all installed mechanical equipment.  Technicians follow the established maintenance plans and complete the equipment -specific maintenance as required.  Upon project completion, this documentation is provided to both the vendor and customer for warranty documentation.

Pre-functional

During the pre-functional phase, each piece of equipment is thoroughly inspected to ensure it is ready to be put into service.  KDB’s commissioning technicians conduct the inspections and complete all required paperwork for submission to the project Commissioning Authority.  Any issues found that prevent pre-functional signoff are logged and distributed to the respective trade for correction.  Once complete, the equipment moves to the next phase of balancing and controls prior to functional testing.

Functional

Prior to scheduling any functional testing, KDB’s commissioning team conducts a complete run-through of the functional performance test with the controls provider (where applicable).  This ensures any equipment and/or programming issues are caught and corrected early.  Only after functional sign-off occurs will KDB schedule witnessed functional testing.

Closeout

Throughout the project the KDB commissioning technicians develop an intimate knowledge of each building and its systems.  As our in-house experts, they are utilized to support and execute customer training during close-out.

Additionally, once a project has entered the warranty phase KDB assigns a technician from the original construction as lead for warranty service.  This provides a consistent presence site both for KDB and the operating engineers.