1. COMMISSIONING TEAM
30 I ICT TODAY
After designation of the commissioning authority,
a commissioning team is selected; the team can include,
but is not limited to, the following members:
• Owner or operator of the facility
• The commissioning authority
• Registered design professionals, such
as BICSI Registered Communications
Distribution Designers (RCDDs)
• Security system experts
º Installation contractor(s)
º Manufacturers’ representatives
º Owner’s technical support personnel
• Construction manager and/or general contractor
• Facility manager and/or operations personnel
• AHJ
Security system experts are important team members,
because there can be significant impacts to the project
if key access control components or integrations are not
identified early in the project. The quantity of integrated
systems at the doors dictates the size and makeup of the
commissioning team. The owner can designate an owner’s
representative on the team. The designation should be in
writing and documented in the plan. During the design
and construction process, an owner can add or subtract
team members.
Some state and local AHJs have licensing, registration,
or certification requirements for individuals within the
commissioning or testing team. Therefore, it is important
to verify that licenses, registrations, and certifications are
aligned with AHJ requirements.
The entity in charge of the commissioning of project
systems is typically called the commissioning authority
and reports directly to the owner. The commissioning
authority can be a member of the design team, an
employee of the owner’s staff or an independent third
party. Many standards for commissioning recommend
that the individual leading the commissioning process
is independent of the design team and the construction
team. In practice, this happens for heating, ventilating,
air conditioning, and refrigeration systems, lighting
controls, domestic hot water systems, and renewable
energy systems; it is seldom the case for security systems
on projects without rigid contracting requirements.
The party acting as the commissioning authority
may include:
• Independent consultant contracted directly
to the owner
• Owner employee or staff member
• An employee of the general contractor who has
construction responsibilities
• An employee or subcontractor of the construction
manager who holds constructor contracts
• An employee of a contractor or construction
manager who has no project responsibilities other
than commissioning
• An employee of the architect or other registered
design professional with design responsibilities
• An employee of the architect or other registered
design professional who has no project
responsibilities other than commissioning
Regardless of who the commissioning authority
works for, he or she should have documented
commissioning authority experience in at least
two building projects and must have knowledge
and experience in security systems design, ACS,
installation and operations, commissioning planning
and process management, door hardware performance
(with hands on field experience), systems interaction,
operation and maintenance procedures, testing
and troubleshooting.
Today, requirements for testing
access control systems have
become significantly more
complex due to multi-system
integrations and code changes.