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The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) sums up commissioning this way: “The Commissioning Process is a quality-oriented process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined objectives and criteria.”
A “Documenting and agreeing on the Owner’s Project Requirements is a very important first step since our primary role is to verify the facility operates according to a clearly defined set of pass/fail criteria,” said Dan Frasier, Director of Commissioning Services for Cornerstone Commissioning, Inc. in Boxford, Mass.
ALNmag.com had a chance to talk commissioning, a topic that will be covered at the upcoming 2008 TurnKey conference, with Frasier.
1. Commissioning is an important part of the construction process of a laboratory animal facility – why?
Dan Frasier: Too often, we hear from facility owners “We wish we had known how many problems we could have avoided by hiring a knowledgeable commissioning firm during the design phase.” Laboratory animal facilities have unique requirements and demand significant effort by experienced individuals from programming to design and through construction. The knowledge, skill set and experience of laboratory commissioning engineers has proven to provide the most value and payback during design, when it’s the least expensive to fix problems and add system components to make the facility operate correctly after turnover.
2. Do you find that planners may try to reduce costs by cutting commissioning out of the picture, and if so, what challenges can this pose down the line?
Dan Frasier: Experienced laboratory planners understand the value and role of commissioning engineers to the project team and engage them early. For those who do not understand and decide not to engage us early, the major challenge is related to the timing of questions we ask.
Responding to system operation questions when those systems are already installed is more costly and can significantly delay project completion. Our input is based on first-hand understanding of system testing and operation. We focus on three very important items: (1) special vivarium and biocontainment systems, (2) building automation system control sequences and (3) Division 1 specifications defining turnover, commissioning process support and other critical facility delivery requirements.
The fallacy that owners save money by waiting to bring a commissioning firm on board until late in the design or during construction can be very costly.
3. Can you describe a specific situation where commissioning significantly helped in the construction process?
Dan Frasier:We focus most of our attention on how buildings are supposed to work and that means we do a thorough review of control system sequences of operation and the hardware that will make those sequences function properly.
A specific example occurred recently when reviewing design documents for an ABSL3 facility. An elevator was located at the entry to the containment area and will create a piston effect of air every time it rises and descends in its shaft and can have a detrimental impact on containment. The design team had to make adjustments to avoid loss of containment in the lab area because the control system would not likely be able to overcome the piston effect.
4. How did you get into commissioning?
Dan Frasier: My great-grandfather started a plumbing and heating business in Northern Wisconsin in 1918. Since then, five generations of Frasiers have worked in that business. In 1988, after ten years of field work, management and schooling, my grandfather, William, encouraged me to work outside the family business to learn and to experience new opportunities. That led me to a career in laboratory airflow controls in the early 90s, first as a manufacturer’s representative, commissioning many systems, and then with Phoenix Controls as Marketing Manager for Laboratory Animal Facilities. While with Phoenix, I was teaching a class on Environmental Controls for Laboratories at the University of Wisconsin and was allowed to sit in a Commissioning class when not teaching. After ten minutes in that class, I started writing the business plan for Cornerstone Commissioning and since then have totally poured myself into it without looking back.
5. What is the single biggest reason someone should consider relying on commissioning services when constructing a lab?
Dan Frasier: Because they should care that the laboratory meets functional and operational needs so it can be used for its intended purposes. These buildings have sophisticated systems and it’s extremely challenging to get them working right on a tight schedule. We use a highly effective commissioning process to lead the construction team to make that happen and we understand how to pull their talents together to get it done. It can be a very rewarding experience for everyone. Why would they want anything else?!
The 2008 TurnKey Conference will be held April 17-18 at the Baltimore Marriott Watrefront Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, visit the official site.
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