OverviewUntil recently, owners of newly constructed and renovated buildings had no way of knowing if the technical functions associated with their major systems were safe and fully operational. To help the interest of safety and quality assurance, CSA Group published this standard to help address important issues of quality assurance and safety.
Z320 provides guidelines for commissioning of buildings and all related systems, and has been developed to deal with buildings and their major systems as a whole, rather than as individual stand-alone components. It can be applied to new construction as well as renovations of existing buildings or facilities.
This is the first edition of CSA Z320, Building commissioning. This Standard provides guidelines for the commissioning of buildings and all related building systems, and has been developed to deal with buildings and/or their major systems as a whole, rather than as separate individual stand-alone components. It applies to new construction and to renovations of existing buildings or facilities.
The intent of this Standard is to provide a comprehensive, integrated, consistent, and managed process to ensure and document the performance of a complete building and its major systems in meeting the basis of design and operational requirements of the owner.
Major building systems included are:
- architectural systems (building envelope and interior space assemblies that are environmental separators)
- vertical and horizontal transportation systems
- electrical systems (incoming, main, and branch distribution; fire alarm and detection systems)
- mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and refrigeration); and
- control systems and integration (BAS, energy management control systems, lighting control systems).
This Standard has been developed to assist the commissioning team in the preparation and implementation of a commissioning plan. A commissioning plan specifies commissioning requirements for newly installed or renovated building systems and includes, but is not limited to, descriptions of the following:
- the commissioning process
- the resources required to complete commissioning
- the responsibilities of the commissioning team; and
- the sequence and integration of commissioning activities.
The intended users of the standard may include workers and professionals who perform technical functions associated with any of these phases of operation as well as stakeholders who have an interest in building safety or related quality assurance, (i.e. developers, general contractors, property marketers, regulators, commissioning providers and consumers). The standard may also facilitate certification to green building rating systems.
The Technical Committee has developed non mandatory annexes (written in mandatory language) to provide further explanatory information. Included in these annexes are sections on recommissioning and retro-commissioning.
Note
: Mandatory language will allow an individual/organization to reference an annex as a project specification.
Preface
This is the first edition of CSA Z320, Building commissioning. This Standard provides guidelines for the commissioning of buildings and all related building systems, and has been developed to deal with buildings and/or their major systems as a whole, rather than as separate individual stand-alone components. It applies to new construction and to renovations of existing buildings or facilities.
Scope
1.1 General
1.1.1
This Standard provides guidelines for the commissioning of buildings and all related building systems. It applies to new construction and to renovations of existing facilities. It does not apply to operational commissioning of equipment and systems installed by the owner or others.
1.1.2
This Standard is intended to assist the commissioning team in the preparation and implementation of a commissioning plan. This plan specifies commissioning requirements for newly installed or renovated building systems and includes, but is not limited to, descriptions of the following:
(a) the commissioning process;
(b) the resources required to complete commissioning;
(c) the responsibilities of the commissioning team; and
(d) the sequence and integration of commissioning activities.
1.2 Specific systems
1.2.1 General
The systems covered in this Standard are classified as
(a) architectural;
(b) vertical and horizontal transportation;
(c) electrical;
(d) mechanical; and
(e) control and integration.
1.2.2 Site services
For the purposes of this Standard, commissioning will be limited to the building enclosure and not include site services outside the building. Any exceptions will be identified in the commissioning plan.
1.3 Terminology
In CSA standards, shall is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the standard; should is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and may is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard.
Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material.
Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements.
Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (nonmandatory) to define their application.
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