2023 Building Commissioning Excellence Award Recipients

New Construction

LaGuardia Airport Terminal B

Project Owner– LaGuardia Gateway Partners
Commissioning Provider – FST Technical Services

FST Technical Service (FST) served as both the Commissioning Provider for the MEP/FP/FA and Commissioning Program Manager, overseeing multiple other commissioning providers as noted above, reporting directly to the Owner LaGuardia Gateway Partners, a subsidiary of the large airport development group The Vantage Group based out of Vancouver, Canada. FST was originally contracted to serve as only the commissioning provider for the West Parking Garage and Central Heating & Reirrigation Plant. However, it was re-assigned the MEP/FA/FP scope of work after it was removed from the existing commissioning providers' scope of services. The project was a multi-package Design Building Agreement that spanned over 2.5M square feet, including the CHRP, Terminal Headhouse, Concourse A, Pedestrian Bridges, Parking Garage, Roadways, etc. The project was redeveloped around the existing operational airport, with the phasing of each of the project packages to support the eventual demolition of the existing facility while maintaining a required number of operational gate bridges for normal operations. In total, FST commissioned over 11,000 assets and identified, tracked, and resolved over 14,000 deficiencies. FST’s scope of services was originally estimated to be at $800k, which eventually grew to over $5M in services based on additional scope added based on the quality of the service provided. The final phase of the overall project completed in April of 2023.

Existing Building Commissioning

55 Water Street

Project Owner – New Water Street Corp
Commissioning Provider – Jaros, Baum & Bolles 

Constructed in 1972 and located in the Financial District of Manhattan, 55 Water is one of the largest commercial buildings in New York City.  The building consists of a 53-story tower and a 16-story wing, with an elevated public plaza overlooking the East River.  The building has implemented various infrastructure improvements over the course of its life, including the installation of new electric chillers, an ice storage plant, and generator selective catalytic reduction systems for use with the Con Edison demand-response program.

55 Water Street hired JB&B to perform Existing Building Commissioning (EBCx) for the major base building mechanical, plumbing, and lighting systems between 2021 and 2022.  EBCx was one of several steps that the building implemented to reduce energy consumption and identify opportunities for future capital projects.

The goal of the EBCx process was to assess the operation of the building compared to the original design criteria and Owner’s requirements, develop a Current Facility Requirements (CFR) document, functionally test systems to confirm that they were operating in accordance with the CFR, identify issues, and implement solutions to correct system deficiencies.

During the Initial Assessment Phase, the EBCx team reviewed existing design documents and controls submittals, performed building walk-throughs, and interviewed the building operations team to develop detailed Functional Performance Test scripts for each system. During the Investigation phase, equipment was functionally tested to confirm programmed sequences of operation, functionality of system components, and calibration of associated controls sensors. Issues were reviewed with the Owner and distributed to the building operations team and various Contractors for correction throughout the Implementation Phase. Correction was confirmed by the RCx team onsite.

At the end of the project, JB&B delivered a final Commissioning Report and updated the Current Facility Requirements document to the building team. During this Handoff Phase, lessons learned from the RCx process were reviewed with the Owner and building team for implementation in the future operation of the building.

Ongoing Building Commissioning

80 Atlantic 

Project Owner – Hullmark
Commissioning Provider – RWDI 
 

The 80 Atlantic Avenue project is in Toronto, ON. Set in the heart of Liberty Village, 80 Atlantic is Toronto’s first new timber-frame commercial building to be built in a generation. Integrating natural and high-performance materials, it sets a new standard of development, offering high-design work environments and collaborative spaces. The five storey mass timber building consists of four floors of open office space, retail on the ground floor, and two levels of below-grade parking. The building has a total gross floor area of approximately 7,940 m2 (85,500 ft2).

RWDI provided additional functional testing for various systems, increased operator training, and Ongoing Commissioning to prevent “drift” of key building systems. Updated commissioning documentation with the monitoring-based procedures and identified points to be measured and evaluated to assess the performance of energy- and water-consuming systems.  Include the procedures and measurement points in the commissioning documentation. Address the following:

  • roles and responsibilities;
  • measurement requirements (meters, points, metering systems, data access);
  • the points to be tracked, with frequency and duration for trend monitoring;
  • the limits of acceptable values for tracked points and metered values (where appropriate, predictive algorithms may be used to compare ideal values with actual values);
  • the elements used to evaluate performance, including conflict between systems, out-of-sequence operation of systems components, and energy and water usage profiles;
  • an action plan for identifying and correcting operational errors and deficiencies;
  • additional training to the operations team on how to use analytics and dashboards to prevent errors;
  • planning for repairs needed to maintain performance;
  • the frequency of analyses in the first year of occupancy (recommend quarterly). Includes eight additional on-site evaluation days with the operations team for functional testing and reviewing analytics insights
  • update the systems manual with any modifications or new settings and give the reason for any modifications from the original design.