FCA Intersection with Commissioning

FCA outline

Depending on facility size, a well-executed FCA can take up to six months to complete. There are many resources available on how to develop, plan and conduct an FCA; but here are some guidelines that can be used to develop an FCA, arranged in sequence:

1. Develop sustainability targets, key metrics and benchmarks with the facility owner for the FCA.
2. List the facility systems – this can be done in alphabetical order or by facility type, no preference.
3. Develop priority classifications – this can be done in order of importance.
4. Create a matrix, for example, of system and priority classification.
5. Identify key metrics and calculate facility condition index (FCNI) by system or overall FCNI.
6. Identify key capital projects, maintenance upgrades and major repairs.
7. Develop commissioning plans for these projects to ensure their success.

Commissioning

ASHRAE Guideline 0 defines the commissioning process (Cx) as a quality-focused process for enhancing the delivery of a project. The process focuses on verifying and documenting that all the commissioned systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated and maintained to meet the OPR.

Understanding commissioning significance with FCA can help ensure that the FCA outcomes are executed successfully. Development of new projects is generally the outcome for the FCA; however, those projects must be successful for the FCA to maintain its relevance. More often than not, when an FCA is executed and a summary of initiatives is put forward to the C-suite and approved, sometimes there is not enough follow through to ensure success. More importantly, each major project must be carefully considered with key criteria and objectives developed, followed by a commissioning process to ensure that the OPR are met.

Sustainability targets from the FCA

Traditionally, FCA has been a useful FM tool to assess the condition of a facility, its systems, and sub-systems, optimize systems, develop capital budgets and make recommendations for capital improvements/repairs/renovation projects. The FCA, therefore, serves as an opportunity for the FM to target specific sustainability projects geared toward decarbonization goals and present these to the C-suite for approval. As buildings account for more than 30 percent of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative that FMs translate strategic projects arising from the FCA into sustainability projects that can aid with the overall aim of reducing the building’s carbon footprint. However, not every project from the FCA can be from a sustainable point of view. Some of the projects are major repairs or renovations that may not have an apparent sustainability target.

Example 1 – Building Roofing Replacement

In this case, the FCA can reveal that a building’s facility roofing has reached the end of its useful life. The onus is now on the FM professional to develop a capital plan and budget to execute the project successfully. One key point to consider and difficult to quantify is the sustainability impact that new roofing would have. Would new roofing be manufactured using sustainable materials? Would it save energy due to better insulation characteristics? Or would a direct replacement to what exists be adequate? These are some of the considerations that the FM must consider, as a typical example of a project derived from an FCA recommendation list.

Example 2 - HVAC Capital Replacement Water-cooled Chiller

In this case study, a facility is considering replacement of an existing 400-ton water-cooled oil chiller as it has reached its end of life. This is a common recommendation from the FCA. There are several factors to consider when making capital investment HVAC replacements, and sustainability targets must be a high priority. It is not enough to decide to replace equipment with the same specifications and footprint. FMs must also evaluate other factors such as energy consumption, refrigerant selection, life cycle cost, recyclability and multipurpose (cooling and heating) so that an informed decision can be made.

After selection of the most sustainable HVAC chiller with the lowest operating cost, it is now the FM’s role to ensure that the chiller is commissioned according to the OPR to ensure that sustainability targets are met. This is where commissioning plays a vital role in ensuring that specific outcomes and objectives are achieved. These are usually established at the start of the project in conjunction with the project owner and verified through the commissioning process. As such, the FM should have a basic understanding of the commissioning process, not necessarily be a commissioning expert. The significance of commissioning with ensuring the FCA success is of paramount importance, and the two go hand in hand.

Conclusion

As FMs develop strategies to perform FCAs to accomplish commissioning and substantiality targets, they must understand these concepts, the relationship and importance between them, noting the integrations between these important themes. At the very least, FMs should be required to perform an FCA for a facility at some point. The importance of the FCA cannot be overstated, as it serves as an important starting point, becoming a living and working document, whereby key strategies and projects are identified and rolled into a working plan executed by the FM professional.

While the FCA is very important by itself, it serves as a reference and framework for capital projects. To bring the FCA into action, commissioning comes into play, and this is where FMs should identify commissioning as a process that should start early in a project and conclude at project delivery. It is an important concept that can link the FCA with achieving sustainability targets that would otherwise be difficult to meet or verified.

The effort and resources involved in conducting an FCA can be substantial, which is more reason to ensure that the FCA is well received by the organization’s C-suite, who want to see projects identified from the FCA executed successfully. With commissioning, the FM professional can ensure that sustainability targets, and by extension decarbonization goals, are met and verified through an established commissioning process.