First Post-Pandemic BCxA Town Hall

Every few years, to update and calibrate the BCxA’s perspective on current Cx practices, we conduct a
Town Hall meeting at the end of our conference. This is the first time we have joined virtual attendees
and in-person attendees together in a live conversation to investigate “The Gap Between Reality and
Best Practices.”  We were able to bring this conversation to life at the conference this year – engaging with attendees to
tackle questions that included:

  • Why do we see a gap between reality and best practices for commissioning?
  • Are best practices well understood by stakeholders?
  • How do we train new providers – where we expect them to know best practices but to be able
    to work with the reality of our industry?
  • How do we advocate and educate on the value of raising the bar to best practices?
  • And, do we need to lower the bar on where we set best practices for commissioning?


“I remember,” says 2023 incoming BCxA President Jesse Sycuro, “back in 2018 when the BCxA and LBNL
published the updated study results for the Value of Commissioning. Building on the original 2009 study
of the benefits of commissioning, this survey provided a great refresh on how commissioning is
influenced by the market and drivers that are furthering our industry. What struck me most was how
providers were identifying the value of commissioning through the application of best practices.

“At the same time, this study also shined the spotlight on cracks in our foundation of best practices for
commissioning. Despite our industry widely recognizing the value of design reviews and Owner Project
Requirements (OPR), the study identified over 45% of projects that rarely or never implement these best
practices. Looking around and speaking with other providers and industry professionals you’ll see many
other areas where what we practice in the field often falls short of delivering the full value of
commissioning through best practices defined by the BCxA, ASHRAE, and other industry organizations.

“This year’s Town Hall discussion was passionate, engaging, and inspiring – with a unanimous agreement
that we must look to the future of what is possible with commissioning, keeping our bar for
expectations high, and the need for us to raise the built environment understanding of commissioning
to make best practices a reality.

“Attendees recognized that we all have a part in making best practices ‘business as usual,’ and I am
energized as we take this discussion to a broader audience – looking to survey our industry stakeholders
and providers on how we can close the gap, engaging with other industry organizations to further the
value recognition of commissioning, and combining our findings with the feedback from our Town Hall
discussion to shape our future.”

Be on the lookout for the survey. Join this conversation and get involved with the BCxA as our
chapters, committees, and members advocate educate, and promote the value of commissioning
best practices.

“The Town Hall on Friday afternoon was a really good discussion amongst our table and the larger group.” Attendee remark