Performance INVESTIGATION Update
Is something draining your Profit? Did you know Retro-commissioning has a 50% ROI?
With the latest BUZZ about smart grid, intelligent buildings, virtual
commissioning, living buildings, Net 0 and LEAN Project Delivery we decided it
was time to investigate what is shaking in the building industry from a commissioning
perspective. ............ Are the commissioning AGENTS, getting the job done?
When we last did a check on the building industry we
found building were still guzzling energy and operators were extremely
stressed having to deal with buildings “full half dead zombie controls that
arise in the night” Our mission is to separate the hype from reality and report on how real value is being created in
the building industry. We wanted to discover from "the agents" how to progress to a new level of building intelligence.
What we have learned!
Since the 90’s, commissioning has become more widely adopted because it
is a mandatory process for LEED certification. Some Owners recognize the value of commissioning but most treat it as a commodity and select this service based upon low cost. How unfortunate!
Is there a Business Case for higher levels of Commissioning?
It is unfortunate that the industry does not recognize that Cx provides one of the best returns on investment. Based upon studies by Lawrence Berkley Laboratories the returns get better for the more intensive technical commissioning that takes time and effort. If we take that to a whole new level and be real PROACTIVE with Lean Commissioning (LeanCx) we can get projects done 6 month early and realize a 500% return on investment.
Find out more about this from the Murray & Gary's LeanCx presentation in Boston title "Commissioning for Productivity, Performance & Profit"
Show me the Money!
This perception is changing, as there are more success stories like the University of Illinois that adopted commissioning as a strategy to fund budget gaps. By implementing a comprehensive retro-commissioning program they were able to reduce energy costs by $350,000 to $500,000 per year for each of four facilities. This investment yielded average paybacks for commissioning of 1.1 year or approximately a 100% ROI based upon energy savings alone.
Is there a Business Case for higher levels of Commissioning?
It is unfortunate that the industry does not recognize that Cx provides one of the best returns on investment. Based upon studies by Lawrence Berkley Laboratories the returns get better for the more intensive technical commissioning that takes time and effort. If we take that to a whole new level and be real PROACTIVE with Lean Commissioning (LeanCx) we can get projects done 6 month early and realize a 500% return on investment.
Find out more about this from the Murray & Gary's LeanCx presentation in Boston title "Commissioning for Productivity, Performance & Profit"
Show me the Money!
This perception is changing, as there are more success stories like the University of Illinois that adopted commissioning as a strategy to fund budget gaps. By implementing a comprehensive retro-commissioning program they were able to reduce energy costs by $350,000 to $500,000 per year for each of four facilities. This investment yielded average paybacks for commissioning of 1.1 year or approximately a 100% ROI based upon energy savings alone.
Why do you need a Columbo?
Agents need to be confident enough to challenge the team
to do their best work, persistent in ensuring project requirements are achieved and
have an uncanny knack for convincing the team that they will be more successful
working collaboratively to rid the project of half dead zombie controls.
Forensics will discover the truth!
A comprehensive testing program is key for discovering the truth about performance. Systems need to be tested to ensure the team has delivered the intended performance before they collect their final pay checks and head out the door.
The Future of Commissioning
For commissioning to become recognized for the VALUE it brings to a project, performance management needs to become everyone’s business. We need to expand the little black box they call Commissioning at the end of a schedule if we want to get done 4 to 6 months early.
Commissiong Agents are Unsung Heroes on a project?
Commissiong Agents are Unsung Heroes on a project?
A common theme emerged when investigating with Owners, Designers,
Operators and Contractors the future of high performance buildings. They all
verified that the Agent was invaluable in pulling the team together to achieve
great things.
For the owner it was technical expertise and the opportunity to reduce the risk and stress of non-performance that provided real value;
For the operators it was the mentoring and the high involvement and the avoided stress associated with deficiencies;
For the contractors, it was the communications and the improved coordination that helped them achieve Lean construction schedules;
For the designer it was avoidance of the embarrassing change notices and non-performance issues.
For the owner it was technical expertise and the opportunity to reduce the risk and stress of non-performance that provided real value;
For the operators it was the mentoring and the high involvement and the avoided stress associated with deficiencies;
For the contractors, it was the communications and the improved coordination that helped them achieve Lean construction schedules;
For the designer it was avoidance of the embarrassing change notices and non-performance issues.
With all this value being created it makes me wonder if the Agent is one
those many unsung heroes on a project. Just
maybe together we need to change that as an industry!
References
Sounds about right Mr. Guy. I worked for an ESCO as a lighting auditor for years and before that for several architectural firms and before that as a tradesmen in construction and fiberglass manufacturing, seen allot. When working for the ESCO prior to my current partnership with my wife, I saw that when we took the time to really trouble shoot the issues of a particular facility or campus of buildings we always achieved our EPC benchmarks and thus the client was happy and we obtained the value we originally sought out from the project. But, almost every project I worked on that value is never what you think it might be when in design development on new projects, and almost never there on retrofits. You have to tweak things you might never would have imagined had anything to do with a particular system weather its MPE or even building envelope or civil site conditions Cx isn't always in a mechanical yard/plant, and when done well you find yourself sometimes dis-associating the conventional to solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteSounds about right Mr. Guy. I worked for an ESCO as a lighting auditor for years and before that for several architectural firms and before that as a tradesmen in construction and fiberglass manufacturing, seen allot. When working for the ESCO prior to my current partnership with my wife, I saw that when we took the time to really trouble shoot the issues of a particular facility or campus of buildings we always achieved our EPC benchmarks and thus the client was happy and we obtained the value we originally sought out from the project. But, almost every project I worked on that value is never what you think it might be when in design development on new projects, and almost never there on retrofits. You have to tweak things you might never would have imagined had anything to do with a particular system weather its MPE or even building envelope or civil site conditions Cx isn't always in a mechanical yard/plant, and when done well you find yourself sometimes dis-associating the conventional to solve a problem.
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ReplyDeleteWe like getting the operations people together with the technical expertise of Cx, balancing and controls involved at the design stage to minimize PROBLEMS in the field. Worked for us at Innovation Place Research Park. BUT unfortunately we don't seeing it happening on most projects. A good alternative is the Lean Project Delivery approach where the whole team gets on board at the front end of a project. Cheers!
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