Blaine Lake School

Commissioning

A school project where diligence was needed to ensure life safety systems operation, and to ensure that teachers could begin work in time for the upcoming school year.

Service completion: 2023
Scope of services: Design and construction (pre-functional, functional) commissioning
Size: $12,600,000 construction budget; 27,300 sq.ft.
Building systems: Two air handling units (AHU), controls, life safety, and electrical systems

TES was responsible for creating and executing the test script for Integrated Life Safety testing in accordance with ULS S1001 code requirements.  Integrated Life Safety System testing (LSST) failed two times during commissioning. This was a result of faulty fire modules and variable frequency drive programming in the AHUs. In both the initial LSST and the subsequent re-test, neither of the two AHUs shut down on a fire alarm. Fire modules were replaced and the variable frequency drive programmed correctly to remove fan stop delays. On the third LSST conducted by TES, the systems passed.

Before the important life safety system testing, TES conducted design reviews, took ownership of the Owner’s Project Requirements, created the Commissioning Plans (design and construction) and Commissioning Specifications in design commissioning.

In construction commissioning, TES conducted pre-functional and functional testing along with organizing, hosting and documenting 10 commissioning specific meetings. These meetings ensured that critical path items were addressed and actioned so that minimal impacts to the schedule occurred.  Electrical equipment installation and function was especially delayed, requiring a plan of a temporary panelboard acting as the distribution gear so that commissioning would not be delayed, and to ensure the transition to permanent power was not an issue to motors, pumps, etc.  It was also found that the construction schedule was not realistic with respect to equipment start-ups as dust-free dates (no drywalling, concrete grinding, millwork cutting, etc.) were not in line with start-ups.  TES identified this misalignment as critical path to commissioning and owner turnover, working with the contractor to coordinate this schedule to allow sufficient time from (dust -free) start-up through functional testing.  Without these interventions, teachers may not have had the needed time to set-up their new classrooms in time for the excited students!

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