A new install, and no commissioning sheet to hand over
The project manager is compiling the handover pack for a fit-out: several VRF systems, a few splits and some ventilation. The main contractor wants the commissioning records by Friday. Two sheets are in a van, one got wet, and the refrigerant added on one system was written on the back of a delivery note. Meanwhile the manufacturer's extended warranty needs commissioning data submitted within a set period.
Commissioning is recorded in the worst possible place
Commissioning is the moment when you know most about a system: its readings, its charge, its settings. It is often recorded on paper forms in a plant room, or on a manufacturer's template, and then carried around until someone collects it. Different engineers use different forms. The data rarely makes it into your own systems in a usable way.
On larger projects the problem multiplies. Several engineers commission different systems over several weeks, sometimes alongside a controls specialist and the main contractor's commissioning manager, and each keeps records their own way until someone asks for all of them at once.
- Paper forms get lost, damaged or left in vans.
- Refrigerant added at commissioning is not always recorded against the system.
- Different systems use different forms.
- Warranty registration needs data that is in a folder.
- Handover packs are compiled by chasing engineers.
What lost commissioning data costs
Handover delayed, which delays retention release and final payment on contract work. Warranty registration missed or late. F-gas records for new systems starting incomplete. And when something goes wrong in the first year, nobody can compare today's readings with those at commissioning.
Engineers also end up revisiting sites to record readings they took but did not write down, which is time nobody planned for on a project that is already closing.
The digital commissioning we build
- Each system on a project is set up with a commissioning template chosen by your team for its type, using your own forms or the manufacturer's fields.
- Engineers complete commissioning in the app on site: readings, settings, refrigerant type and quantity added with the cylinder reference, photos of the plates and controls.
- Required fields must be filled before the system can be marked commissioned, and values outside the ranges your engineers set are highlighted for comment.
- The completed record creates or updates the asset register entry and the system's F-gas record automatically.
- Warranty registration is prompted with the data already assembled, where the manufacturer allows it.
- Handover documents are generated from the records per system, ready for the client or main contractor's O&M information.
| Output | From paper | From digital commissioning |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioning record | Lost or damp sheet | Complete per system |
| Refrigerant added | Back of a delivery note | Quantity and cylinder recorded |
| Asset register | Typed in later | Created from the record |
| Warranty registration | Late or missed | Prompted with data ready |
| Handover pack | Chased from engineers | Generated per system |
The readings, settings and acceptance criteria are your engineers' and the manufacturer's. The app records them and puts them where they are needed.
Handover without the chase
Project managers see commissioning progress per system as engineers work, and the handover pack is mostly assembled when the last system is done. New systems start life with complete asset and F-gas records. Warranties are registered on time. And a year later, an engineer investigating a problem can compare readings with those on the day the system was commissioned.
Subcontractors and specialists who commission parts of the system, such as controls, can submit their records into the same place, so the project manager is not assembling handover from several different formats.
Does your commissioning look like this?
- Commissioning sheets are paper, and some go missing.
- Handover packs are assembled by chasing engineers.
- Warranty registration waits for paperwork.
- Refrigerant added at commissioning is not recorded consistently.
- Commissioning data is not in your asset records.