TURNER BUILDING SCIENCE & DESIGN, LLC

In the commissioning process, we bring our clients a wealth of knowledge and experience gained through creating original designs that integrate architectural and engineering design aspects.  TBS is unique in its approach to performing facility assessments, by treating the commissioning process similar to conducting an extensive forensic investigation.  Many commissioning companies look at a building to ensure the systems are hooked up and running, TBS, in addition to ensuring correct operation, makes sure the actual modes of operation implemented by the DDC software are as intended, and as required to meet the client’s needs and expectations. 

Commissioning projects involving TBS have the benefit of custom web-based management information and data management tools.  By logging onto our project database, Contractors, Owners, and Commissioning Agents can keep up-to-date on the commissioning project, and effectively distribute documentation and important communications.  Our commissioning project database contains project specific documents for tracking individual system construction and operation status, design intent documents, and field observation reports.

We also possess, and are trained in the use of many industry specific tools useful for troubleshooting building systems.  Some examples include:

  • Air and water balancing tools, such as flow hoods, pitot tubes, micro-manometers, and anemometers.
  • Data loggers that track dust particles, temperature, humidity, CO and CO2, amps, actuator signals, and lighting lumens.
  • Theatrical smoke generating equipment for waste and vent testing, exhaust air re-entrainment review, building leakage and air distribution patterns.
  • Q-Trak CO2, temperature, and humidity sensors.
  • Acoustical sound level measurements.
  • Infrared photography.

Control systems are key to a properly functioning mechanical system, controls issues can lead to energy waste, occupant discomfort, and ongoing maintenance headaches.  This building component may easily appear complete and correct on the surface, while hidden defects can result in problems for Owners months down the road.  It is critical that controls be reviewed by an independent third party in order to validate building controls.

Our Commissioning Team has dealt with the challenges of building controls from both the perspective of the Design Professional, Building Owner, and the Commissioning Agent. Through our past projects, we have worked with all major building automation and control systems, and are proficient with Honeywell, Siemens, Andover, Johnson, and Trane controls. 

 

Turner Building Science & Design offers a wide variety of building performance testing. We identify opportunities for cost savings, diagnose trouble spots and their causes, and work with our clients to develop strategies that will benefit them for years to come. Here's a sampling of some of the services we offer:

 

Energy Analyses

TBS provides full energy audit services that can predict energy consumption for future buildings, evaluate current energy consumption efficiency, and identify likely savings potential. Our audits can identify the energy a building should be using compared to the energy you are using to identify unnecessary or unexpected energy losses or consumption.

Water Intrusion/Leakage

TBS provides water intrusion testing on building wall, foundation, floor, and roof assemblies and components including window and door openings, skylights, louvers, and utility penetration through the walls utilizing ASTM test methods, adapted for field conditions where necessary.

Soil Vapor/Brownfield

Many modern day renovations occur in facilities that were once industrial manufacturing structures. Many of these facilities are sitting above potentially toxic and carcinogenic plumes of contaminated groundwater or VOC-laced soil vapors trapped in the vadose zone under buildings. We are experts at performing diagnostics evaluations to aid in the design of active mitigation systems.

Air Flow Modeling

Our in-house airflow modeling services may be required for a diverse number of applications such as determining pressure differentials, verifying air leakage, diagnosing unbalanced ventilation, and aiding in the design of containment pathways.

Large Building Air Tightness

Testing Modern buildings need to meet more stringent air leakage standards. Testing larger buildings for air tightness requires multiple blower doors working in unison, in conjunction with guarded pressure zones, to measure the leakage rate of the building enclosure.

Air Leakage/Barrier Review - ABAA Auditing

An air barrier is critical to limiting air transport pathways (infiltration) into the building walls, resulting in high infiltration loads of HVAC equipment. Minimizing the air movement through the building envelope components reduces the cost of HVAC equipment and operation.

Today’s buildings take a high level of competence in design of the systems, an integrity and pride in workmanship by contractors, and the coordination of a countless number of trades people, equipment manufacturers, and disciplines. We know that to ensure that systems are performing as intended; all of these aspects should be reviewed by a team of commissioning professionals with a strong background and experience in building design and construction.

We methodically work to provide a method of risk reduction for our client’s capital investments through peer review and collaboration. Our team follows the construction process from pre-design through construction, and final acceptance. This process ensures that building systems meet the design intent, and that the building owner is provided with a facility that meets the initial requirements as outlined in the owner’s project requirements documents, all the while facilitating effective communication between professionals, owners, and contractors.

By incorporating our BECx services at the design stage provides the best way to integrate the process into the construction phase. By providing commissioning and testing specs to the contractor at bid stage, they have access to the BECx requirements and can incorporate the necessary protocols into their construction schedule and budget.

During the design process, we work to ensure that the envelope design details are complete, well-coordinated, and will perform as intended. During construction, we will witness the early construction details of the air and water barriers completed in the mock up and observe testing of the air and water barriers as installed by utilizing air leakage and water intrusion tests. Finally, we will verify that the systems are installed as designed, and that the quality of workmanship is at the level intended. Once the installation is complete, we will observe final whole building air tightness testing and additional testing for water intrusion of the building enclosure systems.

Envelope Commissioning 1
Figure 1: Wall commissioning transition strips at windows and joints and sheathing of bump cut.
Envelope Commissioning 2
Figure 2: Blower doors being used to generate guarded pressure zones which are used to isolate the test zone floor below from the remainder of the facility to allow measurement of the wall leakage through the test zone.

Through retro-commissioning, we perform a systematic investigation of the existing building, including any available documentation, in order to improve and optimize a building's operations and maintenance, reduce energy waste, and identify and fix existing problems. The result is a building that has been "Tuned Up" to operate at its optimum level.

Planning

- Develop recommissioning plan
- Review any available documentation
- Develop commissioning objective

Investigation Phase

- Perform site assessment
- Develop and execute diagnostic monitoring and tests
- Analyze results
- Develop master list of deficiencies and improvements
- Recommend most cost-effective improvements for implementation

Post-Acceptance Phase

- Prepare and submit final report
- Develop recommissioning plan