We know the common project delivery models:

• DBB – Design-Bid-Build – one group does the design. This design is then used to procure the construction contract.
• DB – Design-Build – the same group is responsible for design and construction
• CMAR – Construction Manager At Risk – the designer and contractor work collaboratively for design and construction

But where is commissioning?

The two metrics used to determine if a project is successful are if it is on-time and on-budget. Listen to any project you hear about in the media and the only things reported on are if it is late and over-budget…

(To be clear, scope/quality is considered as well. But if your project has impeccable quality, but is late and over-budget, it will still be deemed a failure.)

So it only makes sense to work backward from these two important metrics to plan your project – how do we get to on-time and on-budget…

What determines if a project meets cost and schedule? – It meets at least one of these if it is complete by the intended in-service date.

What determines if a project meets its in-service date? – If commissioning is complete on time.

And due to the project burn rate, a project that meets schedule is often within budget.

So if commissioning determines if the ISD is met, then this critical stage of the project must be the focus at the beginning to ensure this is the case. Everything done during design and construction must be done with the intention to make commissioning successful.

You see, the industry is looking at projects from the wrong angle – the acronyms above focus on how a project is started during design and construction.

But to deliver projects on-time and on-budget, we must focus on how they will be completed and work backward from there.

Without a clear view of how commissioning will be completed to meet the ISD, then we have no way to know how to proceed through design and construction to make this happen.

And until the industry starts focusing on commissioning first and working backward, we’ll continue to hear about horror stories in the media of projects being millions/billions of dollars over-budget and years behind schedule.

I can help you look at projects from the right angle to set commissioning up for success, so your project doesn’t have to be a horror story I hear about…