Commissioning Authority (CxA)

Forsspac as your Commissioning Authority (CxA)

If you are considering any form of green accreditation for your building then you must employ a CxA and this must be done early in the design process so that you can capture the maximum number of points possible. This approach applies to both new and existing building renovation.

Your CxA must be employed directly by the client and be contracted to have standing over the whole project.

The CxA role is to verify:

The installation of systems to be commissioned
That functional testing has been undertaken correctly
That testing and balancing has been carried out and meets the required standards
That performance acceptance testing has been undertaken correctly

Forsspac’s commissioning philosophy and management services embrace the whole-building systems approach established by ASHRAE and NEBB which fully support the principles of LEED / BERDE. This approach covers all the MEPF systems, including the energy-related systems identified by LEED, focusing on owner occupancy of a fully operational facility. This approach enables Forsspac to cover the LEED CxA role as directed by the client.

In particular LEED (USGBC) requirements primarily apply to New Construction, Major Renovation, Core & Shell, Schools, Commercial Interiors, Retail, and Healthcare. In this context "Fundamental” means those activities that are prerequisites for accreditation and "Enhanced” are those activities identified by the accrediting authority that contribute towards higher levels of certification

CxA commissioning focuses on ensuring that the identified energy consuming systems operate to designed efficiencies. The energy-related systems identified as a minimum under LEED are:

Heating
Ventilation
Air conditioning and the associated controls
Lighting and day light controls
Hot water systems
Steam systems
Renewable energy systems

Your CxA will require the commissioning process be completed and signed-off by suitably qualified testing & commissioning team that have developed and established a successful commissioning and testing management process through extensive experience in a wide variety of building projects including high-rise residential, commercial offices, shopping malls, hotels and hospitals that addresses the need to plan, manage, witness, verify and close-out projects.

The following items are essential to the process

Planning and management of the commissioning works
On-site attendance to witness testing as defined by the commissioning plan
Full documentation of all testing and commissioning results, including commissioning punch-lists and close-outs
Regular progress reports including graphical and colour coded reporting formats which help all parties to visualize the progress of the works and any issues encountered which need to be addressed

Your selected testing & commissioning team has the capability to cover all services within a building providing Commissioning Management (CM), Testing and Commissioning (T&C) and Testing Adjusting & Balancing (TAB) services that ensure that all systems work as intended on completion of the works.