Soft Landings: The role of quality commissioning in closing the gap between

design and reality

2Making buildings better

Understanding Soft Landings

Soft Landings

What is it?

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Understanding Soft Landings

Soft landings is a process or framework to ease the transition from

construction to occupancy

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Soft Landings benefits• Helps with management of end-user expectations about comfort and

usability• Provides for regular reality-checking of assumptions as design

develops• Closes the gap between design targets and operational energy and

environmental performance• Creates greater confidence in the built product• Creates project team involvement and ownership of the project • Makes the migration into the new building a positive event • Supports occupants in their new building, keeping them informed,

making them happier, and removing barriers to productivity • Gives the client a greater chance of achieving design targets on energy

use

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A five stage processInception &

briefing

Design, Construction & Commissioning

Pre-handoverInitial aftercare

Extended aftercare

6The built environment experts

The basics of Soft Landings Drives for clarity at the inception and

briefing stages about client needs and expectations

A process for designers and constructors to focus on operational outcomes

A method of setting performance targets and reality-checking them

Greater emphasis on building readiness The project team on site during the initial

building occupation and involved for up to three years

7The built environment experts

Soft Landings and the RIBA Plan of Work

Years 1 to 3aftercare

Stage 5

Stage 1: Briefing

B1: Define Roles and Responsibilities

B2: Review Past Experience (Pre-Design)

B3: Set an intermediate evaluation programme

B4: Set environmental & energy performance metrics

B5: Create sign-off gateways, including reality checks

B6: Consider incentives for achieving performance

Stage 2 Design and Construct

D1: Review past experience (Design)

D2: Reality Check of emerging design solutions

D3: Tender Documentation and Evaluation

D4: Agree roles & responsibilities of contractor team

D5: Create commissioning Management Plan

Stage 5: Long term Aftercare

Y1: Aftercare Review Meetings (4-6 per year)

Y2: Log and Review energy Use

Y3: Review Engineering Systems and Energy use

Y4: Fine-tune systems

Y5: Record fine-tuning and changes of use

Y6: Extend Helpline and Newsletters

Y7: Continue periodic walkabouts

Y8: Measure Energy use and Occupant Satisfaction

Y9: Conduct End of Year Review

Stage 4: Intial Aftercare

A1: Resident on-site attendance

A2: Provide workplace and data-comms links

A3: Issue and Refine Building Use Guide

A4: Issue and refine technical Guidance

A5: Produce regular newsletters and set up helpline

A6: Walkabout building to spot emerging issues

Stage 3: Pre-Handover

P1: Environmental/energy logging

P2: Building Readiness Programme

P3: Commissioning Records Check

P4: Maintenance Contract

P5: Training and Familiarisation

P6: BMS Interface Completion and Demonstration

P7: Migration Planning

P8: Set up Aftercare Team Office

P9: Compile Building Users Guide

P10: Compile Building Technical Guide

P11: Review O&M manuals

Design, construction& commissioning

Stage 2

Pre-handover

Stage 3

Initialaftercare

Stage 4

Inceptionand Briefing

Stage 1

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So where do you start?1. Adopt the entire process

2. Provide leadership

3. Set roles and responsibilities

4. Ensure continuity

5. Commit to aftercare

6. Share risk and responsibility

7. Use feedback to inform design

8. Focus on operational outcomes

9. Involve the building managers

10. Involve the end users

11. Set performance objectives

12. Communicate and inform

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CommissioningStages 1 and 2• Create a commissioning management plan

– BSRIA Commissioning Job Book - A framework for managing the commissioning process BG11/2010

– Appoint a commissioning management specialist

• Commissioning-focused design reviews– Concept – examine implications for commissioning from design intent– Design development and technical design

• Prepare separate commissioning specification• Integrate commissioning process activities into the project

programme

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Commissioning

Stages 3, 4 and 5• Prepare and implement the building readiness programme

– Minimum requirement: time, event and responsible individual

– Training, familiarisation and demonstrations• Introduce users to their building and show how it operates

– Conduct aftercare review meetings• Produce a commissioning report• Conduct post-occupancy evaluation

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• BSRIA BG27/2011 Pitstopping explains the entire process, stage by stage

• Provides guidance on how to choose pitstop topics, where to hold meetings, and who should take part

• Guidance contains advice on facilitation and meeting techniques

• Contains example pitstop action and review forms, a handover plan and a suggested diary of events

• Available in book form or in PDF from www.bsria.co.uk/bookshop

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Summary

• A methodology to improve the quality of buildings• Raises awareness of performance in use at the

earliest stages• Assists the management of expectation• Additional focus immediately before and after

handover• Extended aftercare• Monitoring, performance reviews and feedback

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The Landings FrameworkIncludes all the procedures for applying Soft Landings, plus checklists and generic work plans

Soft Landings for schoolsSoft Landings processes carried out on the UK schools rebuilding programme

The case for Soft Landings 1: Energy cost variationsThis document explains how the cost of Soft Landings is small compared to the cost variation in a building's estimated energy consumption

BREEAM 2011 and Soft Landings The BREEAM New Construction Soft Landings requirements explained

Soft Landings Core PrinciplesThe main requirements for defining a full Soft Landings project

Download free from www.softlandings.org.uk

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Soft LandingsIan.Orme@bsria.co.uk

www.bsria.co.ukwww.softlandings.org.uk

www.usablebuildings.co.uk