OPR, BOD, Systems Manual – Expensive, Useless Encumbrances or Valuable, Cost Effective Tools – It's Up to You Kent Barber
Three commissioning related documents – the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR), Basis of Design (BOD), and Systems Manual (SM) – can be cost effective keys to successfully commissioning and sustaining building functionality. The OPR, BOD and SM may be developed as a part of the overall project process with little to no additional project cost. As properly applied tools, the documents add to project efficiency by promoting project team collaboration, facilitating a common understanding of the project goals and requirements, and enhancing the exchange of knowledge. After the owner takes possession of the building, the OPR, BOD and SM continue to provide information regarding design intent, basis of design and functionality for the life-long operation and evolution of the building. Understanding this process is highly beneficial to owners, architects, engineers and commissioning agents.
Unfortunately, the fundamental purposes of the OPR, BOD and SM are frequently not understood. Inexperienced project teams may separate the development of these documents from overall project production, and may not apply them effectively to the progression of designing, building, and operating the building. As a result, they become burdensome, expensive and provide little value.
Understanding the OPR, BOD and SM has become more important as the commissioning processes mandated by various institutions and high performance building programs have begun requiring OPR, BOD and SM documentation. The US Green Buildings Council LEED® program is a widely know example of such a program. The LEED Fundamental Commissioning Prerequisite requires the Owner to “document the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR)”, and the design team to “develop the Basis of Design (BOD).” In order to obtain the LEED Enhanced Commissioning Credit, the commissioning team must “develop a systems manual.”
This paper describes a cost-effective approach, for the development and long-term application of the OPR, BOD and SM. It explains that these documents provide a venue for efficiently documenting and effectively utilizing vital information upon which the systems are based; information that is often addressed at the time it's first needed, and later forgotten. The relationships between OPR, BOD and SM are explained, including the sequential manner in which each document forms the basis for the next. Perhaps most importantly, the paper describes these documents, when properly maintained, may be used to optimize systems operation throughout the life-long operation and evolution of the building.
Best Practices for Existing Building CommissioningMark Miller
Existing Building Commissioning (also known as retro-commissioning) is emerging as an important trend in the building industry. This presentation will explain why Existing Building Commissioning is such a hot topic, discuss what is happening in the industry, and describe the effort underway by the Building Commissioning Association to define and document what is the “Best Practice”.
The Building Commissioning Association (BCA) has a goal to achieve high professional standards in the commissioning industry, and has taken a leadership role in the emerging Retro-Commissioning industry through the definition of a recommended “Best Practice.” The term “Best Practice” generally refers to the best possible way of doing something and is derived from the process of taking the most successful elements from many different sources and combining them to create the optimal process or approach. The document created by the BCA is intended to provide a practical process to facilitate the implementation of existing building commissioning and to assist in the standardization of the existing building commissioning industry. During the presentation, an overview of the Best Practices document will be provided and a discussion on the practical applications of the process will be held. Discussion points will include the history of the BCA “Best Practices” initiative, other industry efforts that are now underway throughout the county, and the impact of the sustainability movement.
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