For a typical institutional facility or commercial building every day is hectic. There is a constant crush of work orders, comfort complaints, problems that need immediate response, and projects to accomplish. As a rule facilities are run on a reactive basis. As facility operations get more sophisticated there are often a series of alarms and notices set up in the BAS system that provide some preliminary heads up of operating conditions getting close to a problem.
Perhaps the holy grail of facility operations could be to operate proactively each day. To know in advance where the problems lie, the ability to anticipate failures, and have enough team members to handle all projects and problems. Sorry but we don’t have that, nor have we heard of its existence yet, but please call if you find such a shangra la!
Where we have seen steps towards a more proactive facility operation is by deploying a Performance Based Commissioning process.
What is Performance-Based Commissioning?
Performance -based commissioning uses analytics to provide clear insights and recommendations that help facility managers continuously improve a building’s operational and energy performance. To bring this to life, the analytics platform is connected to the facility’s existing BAS system, and collects all of the daily data produced by the attached HVAC and building systems. Adopting performance -based commissioning lets managers know when and where operational anomalies begin, the severity of the problem, and the probable root cause. When the power of these analytics is incorporated into a systematic and properly supported process, the power of performance based commissioning is unleashed.
