Commissioning at its best

One of the objectives of the DBCxA is to make a good match for commissioning between providers and clients. Bertus Toering, owner of ET Management and Advice and specialist in commissioning, works for, among others, the National Real Estate Agency, Microsoft and the VU. He works with a number of colleagues in working groups to optimize commissioning processes.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

Toering is currently involved in a project group at the Dutch Building Commissioning Association (DBCxA) that focuses on commissioning plans and processes. He briefly explains what exactly commissioning work is in his view: “In fact, commissioning is quite easy to explain to a layman,” says Toering: “I'll put it very bluntly: it is the inspection and testing of installations. Under inspection, for example, in the initial phase you look at whether good materials are used. But also whether all the material is clean and not damaged. You do this with visual checks.”

He continues: “As a project progresses, installations are connected to each other and you then test that. These can be structural installations, but also electrical installations, fire alarm systems and security systems. Ultimately, you do another integral test. Then you test all connected systems simultaneously during an iSAT (Integrated Site Acceptance Test or SIT, Site Integrated Test. Some colleagues call this a TOAT, a Total Operational Acceptance Test.”

More attention

Commissioning could still receive more attention in the construction world, says Toering. Because some installation companies still see it as a final item: “As a self-employed person, I notice that I am often asked too late. Then two months before delivery a company thinks 'I still have to test something' and only then do I get a call. I then have to quickly write out all the test protocols and fully record the installations with the documentation. Sometimes that is much too late.”

He therefore advocates starting this process as early as possible: “You must ensure that you are involved in the design phase. Because then the direction is determined, in particular which components will be purchased. This ranges from cooling machines to fixtures. Choices are also made in suppliers. In that initial phase, a lot of documentation is requested from them. You will need all that documentation again later. Because commissioning is not only testing in the field, but all documentation must also be in order.” In short: from machine specifications, visual reporting, measurement and test reports, As Built drawings to instruction and operating instructions. GDP (Good Document Practice). And finally: The seasonal tests.

The latter is not always the case: in Toering's view, many poorly completed commissioning processes are due to poor document management: “That's quite a shame. If you were to get us in early to let us take a look, you could prevent this. These digital documents are often kept by an employee in their own folder, but if someone switches to another employer, you lose everything.”

Toering has worked on a number of projects in the pharmaceutical industry and, in his opinion, many installation companies can follow this as a good example. “Everything really has to be properly recorded there,” he says. “When you're dealing with medicine, you're dealing with people's lives.”

Further professionalization

In short, enough work to further professionalize the commissioning field. And the DBCxA is fully engaged in this, says Toering: “The organization wants to create a register in which my colleagues and I are registered. This means that you meet a number of requirements to be able to do commissioning. Secondly, we want to try to map out a national commissioning process, including a commissioning plan. And in each construction phase you record what you pay attention to and what you must record as a commissioning manager or authority. Ultimately, the DBxCA wants to become independent and in fact introduce a kind of quality mark.”

The work is not yet finished, but Toering concludes that the momentum is good: “I think the commissioning plan will be ready this year, I expect the register in the first or second quarter of next year.”