9.2 Commissioning and Performance

Commissioning – Role of Specialist commissioning manager - KBCN0604

The specialist commissioning manager for a complex system must be a specialist contractor and not a general sub-contractor. They must be on hand to independently verify the work carried out by whoever installs the system. In principle, it is possible for the specialist commissioning manager to be from the same organisation as the main contractor provided any conflicts of interest have been declared and records show how they have been managed to provide confidence that commissioning will be carried out appropriately. The separate roles of the main contractor and specialist commissioning manager are so that the installation and commissioning are carried out independently by different parties.

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Commissioning certificates – evidence - KBCN1311

Certificates demonstrating compliance with any relevant standards are acceptable for the commissioning criteria, where they cover all the systems referred to in the criteria (hot water, heating, ventilation etc.) and any relevant commissioning best practice guidance has been complied with. The ‘commissioning best practice guidance’ outlines how to carry out commissioning for various different systems that may be present. Some of the guidance is more appropriate for complex systems and often won’t be relevant. The person or persons carrying out the commissioning activities is expected to be familiar enough with the standards referenced, to determine the ones that are relevant to the systems they are commissioning.

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Complex Systems - KBCN1617

These include, but are not limited to all communal systems with a centralised plant, systems that provide combined services (e.g. HVAC systems) and complex passive ventilation systems.

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Erratum-03 Post-construction testing - KBCN1583

There is an error in the manual in table 55. Where it states the testing method is 'airtightness testing', the requirement is incorrect, it should not state 'crit 4' but 'crit 6' instead.

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Independent Air Testing Scheme (IATS) – Elmhurst Airtightness Scheme (EAS) - KBCN1699

Please note that the Independent Air Testing Scheme (IATS) has been rebranded as the Elmhurst Airtightness Scheme (EAS) and therefore where referenced, this may also be accepted.

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Pre-testing apartment blocks - KBCN1298

For the purposes of the pre-testing criteria, it is possible for there to be flexibility with developments such as apartment blocks if a preliminary air leakage test is carried out for the whole apartment block (instead of every single unit within the block separately). If this approach is taken, inspection and preliminary air tightness testing also needs to be done on a sample of homes within the block, after all services have been installed, as determined by the appropriately qualified person who has determined the pre-testing regime. The sample size should include the apartments that are most likely to experience leakage issues, such as those with a large external surface area and more complex or abundant fabric joints and seals, in order to better identify and resolve potential issues through remedial works.

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