By: Bill Coltzer, Jr.
Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx) and building envelope consulting are not the same thing. One involves a defined, comprehensive process with real accountability. The other does not. And right now, the industry is blurring that line in ways that are costing building owners.
What Is Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx)?
Real building envelope commissioning is a comprehensive process that includes four core components: program verification, multiple peer reviews of construction documents, extensive quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and testing, and acceptance phase activities including warranty walks. If the BECx plan you are being sold does not touch on all four of these, you are getting consulting, not commissioning.
What Is the Difference Between BECx and Envelope Consulting?
This is where it gets uncomfortable. Zero/Six Consulting deals with this nearly every day. A potential client reaches out asking for building envelope commissioning and then describes a scope of work that would not come close to commissioning anything. We have some polished, politically correct responses for that situation. But the short version is this: if you want any firm to stand behind the performance of your building, they will want to follow traditional commissioning procedures, assuming they are actual commissioning experts.
The commissioning process is the same regardless of what system you are commissioning. There is no need for creativity here. It is a process that dates to 1775. Seriously, Google the HMS Alfred (aka the Black Prince).
Why Are So Many BECx Plans Falling Short?
From where we sit, BECx plans are being developed based on what the proposing firm already knows how to do, rather than what a proper commissioning process actually requires. That is a bad way to develop a BECx plan.
There is a real variety of talent required to commission the exterior building envelope. Just because a firm does not have a particular capability in house does not mean that part of the process can be eliminated. It means that portion needs to be sub-contracted to someone who can actually do it. We do this all the time. Insert huge opportunity here.
The Teaming Model: How BECx Should Actually Work
Very few firms, including the big ones (maybe especially the big ones), have the internal capacity to deliver every service required to properly commission a building envelope. Instead of cutting the process short, the answer is teaming.
Two or three sub-consultants working under a prime consultant to execute the BECx process is not a compromise. It is the right model. That team might include an envelope-savvy AE for peer reviews, an inspection company for QA/QC, an envelope testing firm, a facade access specialist, and others depending on the project. The result is a team that cross-markets across each other’s networks, cross-trains in each other’s areas of expertise, supports a consistent process, and ultimately delivers better buildings.
What Needs to Change Industry-Wide
The only way this gets fixed at scale is if governing codes or project specifications require it. Standardizing what BECx actually means is not a creative exercise. It is a compliance one. Anyone got Mr. MasterSpec’s contact info?
Get the BECx Plan and Learn the Process
NABCTA has developed a comprehensive BECx plan built on decades of real-world experience from Zero/Six. It is the same process, the same standards, no shortcuts.
Want to learn it yourself? Join NABCTA and check out our upcoming Building Envelope Commissioning course, where we walk through the full process from program verification through warranty walks. This is the course the industry has been missing.