There are several CSU Critical Success Factors to focus on in order to set your project up for success.  CSU cannot be an afterthought at the end of your project – you need to start with the end in mind in order to have the best chance of success.  These are the critical success factors to focus on at each stage of your project.

CSU Team

The commissioning phase of your project is led by the Commissioning Manager, which is often the first role filled on the Commissioning Team.  The Commissioning Manager role should be filled early in your project during the design and procurement phase.  When this role is filed, it is critical that this individual stays for the duration of the project.  Continuous leadership is important to have knowledge transfer from the early stages of your project and to ensure plans and processes established early in your project are fulfilled once your project enters the commissioning phase.

While leadership continuity is important, it is also critical to have the right skillsets on the Commissioning Team.  The skillsets and experience of the Mechanical, Electrical, and Automation lead roles reporting to the Commissioning Manager are important to ensure more junior members of the Commissioning Team are provided guidance and that these lead roles are able to effectively execute their portion of the project commissioning plan.

It is critical that the Commissioning Manager work closely with the Engineering Manager, Construction Manager, Owner PM, and Operations Teams, as these groups provide important inputs to the commissioning process.  Without support and buy-in from these groups, the commissioning process will be difficult to execute successfully.  The Commissioning Manager therefore needs to pay close attention to the working relationships with these groups and manage expectations in order for CSU to be successful. Roles and responsibilities of the people who are involved in commissioning is one of the lessons in our in-depth training, check it out here Mechanical Commissioning Training Course

CSU Planning

The success of CSU starts in the planning phase of your project.  CSU is typically less than 5% of your overall project budget, but you need to ensure that the cost of commissioning is included in your project estimate and that this budget is reserved for the commissioning phase.  Recognize the value of one day of operation of the new systems – what is the value to the owner of delivering the project one day earlier?  Use this number when evaluating costs during the project.

During the design and construction phases of your project, this is when the Commissioning Team will develop detailed plans for commissioning and startup of the new systems, to learn more about the commissioning process here is your guide The Commissioning Process: A Step-by-Step Guide.  It is far too late to develop detailed plans during the commissioning phase, this must be done in advance in order to prepare the detailed plans and sequences for CSU.  Detailed CSU planning includes developing the sequence and schedule of commissioning activities as well as preparing the equipment checklists and commissioning procedures to execute the work.  This detailed planning must be done in advance of on-site commissioning during the design and construction phases of your project, and the inputs/prerequisites to the sequence recognized by all project participants, to learn more about .  Prerequisites must be identified in an integrated engineering, construction, and commissioning schedule, where engineering deliverables are identified as prerequisites for construction activities, and construction pre-requisites are identified for commissioning of systems.  This is where strong relationships between the Engineering Manager, Construction Manager, and Commissioning Manager will be beneficial in order that all groups can work collaboratively towards the same end goal of the project.

CSU During Design

Decisions made during the design phase of the project will determine the success of CSU.  The design process must be approached from a system perspective – impact of design decisions on one portion of the project must be considered to evaluate impacts on other systems, in order that the end deliverable of the project functions as one system.  If design decisions are made without consideration for other portions of the project, the Commissioning Team will have difficulty integrating all portions of the project together as one system.  It is beneficial to have the Commissioning Team involved in these design decisions in order to always have the end in mind. 

CSU During Construction

During the construction phase of the project, the Project Team must shift their focus from equipment level activities to systems-based management of activities.  This means looking at a portion of the project as a system that can only work if all components of the system are available.  System milestones are established in the detailed sequence/schedule prepared in the planning phase and these milestones must be focused on systems rather than single equipment milestones – the components must function together as a system and therefore be completed by the Construction Team and handed over to the Commissioning Team as systems.  A strong Quality Management System during construction is critical to ensure systems meet quality requirements defined in the contract.  The deliverables and acceptance criteria for each system must be established in advance in order that the Construction Team can implement effective QC/QA processes and the Commissioning Team receives defect free systems with all information needed to commission and startup the systems.  Accurate as-built information is critically important as part of this handover, as the Commissioning Team needs to know the as-built configuration of the systems in the field.  The handover of systems from the Construction Team to the Commissioning Team must be a collaborative approach, and this is where a strong relationship between the Construction Manager and Commissioning Manager will be beneficial in order that they work collaboratively towards the same end goal of the project. To guide you in having  the positive mindset when setting your project up in the right direction, here is an article for you  Project Mindset Lifecycle

Summary

To summarize, these are the critical success factors for commissioning and startup of your project:

• #1 Involve the Commissioning Team early in the project

• #2 Ensure continuity of early Commissioning Team participants for the duration of the project

• #3 Commissioning Team skillsets are important, pairing experienced individuals with more junior team members

• #4 Alignment of senior project leadership – Engineering Manager, Construction Manager, Commissioning Manager, Owner PM, and Operation Teams must work collaboratively towards the same project goal

• #5 Adequate funding for CSU and recognition of the value of one day of operation to the owner

• #6 Detailed planning during design and construction phases – develop sequence/schedule of CSU, identification of engineering and construction prerequisite milestones, preparation of CSU checklists and procedures

• #7 Systems approach to design deliverables and construction completion

• #8 Implementation of a strong Quality Management System during the construction phase

• #9 Establish construction deliverables and acceptance criteria for each construction milestone – QC/QA signoff and as-built information

Thanks,

Paul Turner, P. Eng, PMP