Sometimes in work or life, when 95% of a task is complete, it is tempting to move on to other pressing tasks, with the intention of “circling back”. All too often the list of loose ends grows beyond the ability to manage. When this happens, open items that are obvious when looked at get lost in the shuffle.

Commissioning site inspections often reveal instances of partially connected systems. Sensors are connected to the building automation system, communicating values, but are not actually installed in the piping. Hot water heaters are connected to their plumbing fixtures, but not to electricity. It may be that the installers have these open items on their list, with a plan in place, or they may have fallen off the radar. Remember, there are multiple people and trades involved and they are not always coordinated to the very end.

The value in catching these 5%-ers is that they can be fixed right away, rather than on that final walk-through before turn-over. Commissioning puts a process in place for checking on the final bits and pieces, and for communicating the issues to the team members that need to hear them.

Pro-Tip: Putting even small issues on your commissioning issues log and making this log accessible through an online commissioning platform allows immediate assignment to the right party and follow-through with the close-out.