In an article on the Consulting-Specifying Engineer website, engineers with healthcare experience offer tips on sustainable, efficient buildings

They were asked what, if anything, an engineer can do to help increase the chances of success of sustainability efforts.

"It is not unusual for a design and construction team to spend months or even years planning, designing, and constructing a new building and then turn it over to a facility operations team that has had no involvement in the design process and little or no training on how to operate the new building systems and controls. Thus, it should not be surprising that today’s complex control systems are often overridden and the buildings don’t operate as efficiently as intended. The facility operations team should be involved in the project as early as possible; their years of hands-on experience can result in great input on making systems simpler and easier to maintain, helping to ensure ongoing success," said Daniel L. Doyle, chairman of Grumman/Butkus Associates in Evanston, Ill.

"Most projects could also benefit from significantly more staff training, including off-site training during the design phase followed by on-site training on the new systems as they are brought on-line, before the building is fully occupied and turned over. Minimum training activities should be incorporated into bidding documents. Large new buildings and major additions or renovations should be commissioned to help ensure that the systems are all working as intended when the project is turned over. Owners should also consider adding monitoring-based commissioning systems to help ensure that buildings will continue to operate efficiently, long term. When a new building is turned over after commissioning, the operations staff should receive extensive documentation, including commissioning reports and functional performance tests, equipment manuals, and an operations manual for the building systems (including operating setpoints, hours, sequence of operations, water and airflow values, and designed occupancy temperatures)."

Read the article.