The importance of early manufacturer involvement!

On a recent HVAC retrofit project we hit a roadblock when an equipment manufacturer, while doing a machine startup at late construction stage, reported that their machine wouldn’t be able to operate as intended. This was not only a surprise to the design engineer and the commissioning stakeholders (including the building owner) but this was a critical and central component to the overall system operation. Without this key piece of equipment being able to run the energy model, payback and financial objectives were clearly at stake.

It’s hard to fault any single party when something likes this occurs. The objective is for all stakeholders to come to the table with possible solutions to the issue. However it is evident that perhaps the issue could have been discussed and uncovered much earlier in the construction stage if the manufacturer had taken a closer look at the specified DDC control sequences and overall functional intent of this machine. Too often we see equipment vendors only limiting their scope and review to their own specification sections and thus missing the bigger picture of the design intent.

The key takeaway is to involve the manufacturers early-on; bring them onboard at the shop drawing review stage and have them review and comment on the intended sequences of operation (as well as reviewing any other pertinent specification sections). We can’t say for sure if this would have identified the potential issue but it certainly may have increased our chances. Remember that manufacturers and vendors are key members of the commissioning team and are vital to the success of a project! And as always the earlier the involvement the better!