TECH TALK
Straightline Consulting’ s Managing Director, Craig Eadie
At the heart of this complexity sits commissioning: the phase in the project lifecycle where the facility, as designed and built, is tested to confirm it performs as the designers intended. This is not just about verifying installation; it’ s about validating performance under real-world conditions. When executed with care and expertise, commissioning can identify risk before it becomes a failure. When rushed or overlooked, it can turn a high-performance facility into an expensive, risky mistake.
Achieving the required level of assurance requires more than a checklist at the end of the construction phase. Commissioning should begin during the design phase, where the plans drawn up for the facility are interrogated to pinpoint areas where the designers’ intent clashes with contractors’ execution. Involving a commissioning agent early on allows teams to plan around operational interdependencies, phase delivery intelligently, and ensure systems are configured not just to run, but to last.
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