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BGCE Launches Commissioning Agents USA
3/6/03 — Denver, Colorado — Beaudin Ganze Consulting Engineers, Inc., (BGCE) has launched a new division, Commissioning Agents USA (CxA-USA), which is devoted to providing a variety of commissioning services, including: total building commissioning services for new buildings, re-commissioning services for existing buildings, LEED™ commissioning services, and building systems performance and energy audits. Key benefits of commissioning services include: increased Owner, User, and Operations/Maintenance staff satisfaction; and decreased operating, maintenance, and energy costs.
Total Building Commissioning is a process of documentation and verification of design intent that begins at pre-design - incorporating input from owners, prospective occupants, operations and maintenance staff, as well as the entire design and construction team - through construction and start-up, to several checkpoints during the initial years of operation. This approach facilitates clearer, smoother development of the overall design solution and execution. Furthermore it results in a collaborative effort to anticipate circumstances that will impact a project's success in terms of form, function, and overall efficiency, thus avoiding the conventional, and often costly, adversity that results when problems do arise during the course of a project's development and operation.
A study of 60 buildings by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory found that 50% suffered from control problems; 40% had HVAC equipment problems, 15% had missing equipment; and around 25% had malfunctioning system efficiency components. Commissioning Agents USA will re-commissioning buildings such as these to identify specific deficiencies and recommend remedial strategies.
Commissioning is a pre-requisite in the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED™ Program, by which buildings may gain certification as "green." LEED™ is quickly gaining ascendancy in design and construction industries, and many local, state, and government agencies are making certification mandatory for their new projects. Commissioning Agents USA is registered commissioning provider with the U.S.G.B.C., and is providing commissioning services for the Old Greenwood Pool, Tennis, & Fitness Facility Project, a LEED™ registered project in Lake Tahoe.
Commissioning Agents USA specialists' collective experience provides the division with practical understanding of the assorted perspectives and concerns that come into play in a building's overall design and functionality. Division specialists have worked in engineering for consulting firms, controls for leading national controls providers, operations & maintenance for major Denver commercial buildings, and energy management for Adams County. BGCE believes CxA-USA is ideally poised to make major contributions to both new and existing built environments for commercial and government clients, alike.
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