Topic: Building Commissioning: It’s All About the People

The cooperation of the commissioning (Cx) team spells the success or failure of the quality assurance process. Cx is a collaborative process that allows the participants to succeed, rather than forcing them. It is impossible to build a bad facility when commissioning is rigorously employed. Unfortunately, the onslaught of certification programs and legal requirements has led to poor or incomplete Cx, done only to get the credit. This is often accompanied by reverse-engineered Cx documents that add expense instead of being valuable project tools. This seminar teaches the “people factor” in Cx. It covers roles, responsibilities and motivating factors that add up to a Cx job well done.

Speaker: RONALD J. WILKINSON, P.E.,  Commissioning Authority, New York, New York

Mr. Wilkinson is a nationally published author and speaker on commissioning quality assurance procedures for the building construction industry. He is an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer and an AIA Continuing Education provider. He produced the first USGBC LEED commissioning training program, the first New York City Department of Design and Construction commissioning training DVD and continues speaking nationally and internationally.

He is on the editorial board of Heating/ Piping/ Air Conditioning Engineering (HPAC) magazine and is published in the ASHRAE Journal, American School and University, Engineered Systems and Engineering News-Record magazines, among others. He is recording secretary of ASHRAE GPC 0.2 and 1.2 committees developing guidelines for commissioning existing building systems and is former co-chair of the NASFA Commissioning Guideline Committee that published its “Building Commissioning Recommended Guidelines” in 2003. His NEEA “Best Practices in Commissioning” was published in 2000.

Mr. Wilkinson is founding chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Commissioning Advisory Sub-committee and selected papers for and moderated the inaugural COTE commissioning symposium “Vision 2009: Building Commissioning.” He is currently on the NIBS Whole Building Design Guide committee, rewriting the commissioning portions of the WBDG. Ron earned his BSMAE from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his master of Public Administration from the Evergreen State College. He is and independent Commissioning Authority in New York City.