Commissioning
Commissioning is where a data center proves it can operate as designed. We manage the entire Cx process — from scripts to integrated systems testing — so you have confidence on day one.
What we deliver
- ✓Commissioning plan development and Cx agent coordination
- ✓Factory witness testing for critical equipment
- ✓Individual component startup and verification
- ✓Integrated systems testing (IST) management
- ✓Failure scenario testing and redundancy validation
- ✓Turnover documentation and operations training
Phase overview
Cx Planning
Script development, agent selection
Component Testing
Individual system startup and verification
Integrated Testing
Full-facility IST under load
Failure Scenarios
Redundancy and failover validation
Turnover
Ops training, documentation handoff
Questions about commissioning? Ask our Commissioning Specialist — chat available 24/7 in the corner.
The Five Levels of Commissioning
Commissioning is the systematic process of verifying that every system in your facility — electrical, mechanical, controls, fire protection, security — operates as designed, under load, including under failure conditions. It's the difference between a building that looks done and a facility that actually works. Our process moves through five levels: factory witness testing, installation verification, component functional testing, integrated systems testing (IST), and performance verification with turnover.
IST is where commissioning reveals its true value. We verify that all systems work together, simultaneously, under realistic operating conditions, including planned failure scenarios. What happens when Utility Feed A drops and the generator must start, the ATS must transfer, the UPS must ride through, and the cooling system must continue operating — all at the same time? IST provides the answer. Without it, you're hoping your systems will coordinate correctly. Hope is not a reliability strategy.
Effective Commissioning Starts During Design
Commissioning planning should begin alongside design, not after construction. A commissioning plan developed during design defines the verification criteria the design must enable — you can't test what you can't measure. It also identifies design decisions that affect testability: isolation points, monitoring requirements, and control sequence documentation. Design review by the commissioning agent often surfaces deficiencies that would otherwise be discovered during Cx — when they're far more expensive to fix. A missing isolation valve that costs $500 during construction can cost $50,000 to add after the facility is operational.
Commissioning typically costs 2–4% of total project cost — approximately $200,000–$800,000 for facilities under 5MW, and $1M–$4M for 10–50MW campuses, depending on complexity and redundancy level. This includes the commissioning agent's fees, load bank rental, fuel for generator testing, and contractor support labor. Budget commissioning from the beginning; protect that schedule from compression when construction runs long. The facilities with the fewest operational issues in their first five years are, consistently, the ones commissioned most rigorously.
Why This Matters
The stakes in mission-critical facilities are absolute. A single-building data center has no fallback. When it goes down, everything it supports goes dark. A single point of failure in power or cooling can take down the entire operation. Whether it's a 2MW edge facility or a 30MW campus phase, rigorous commissioning isn't an expense to minimize — it's the final and most critical investment in reliability.
Commissioning is the most overlooked and under-budgeted phase of data center construction, yet it's the phase that determines whether the facility actually performs as designed. Compressed construction schedules often leave Cx as the sacrificial phase, and many builders underestimate what 'done' means. We ensure commissioning is planned, budgeted, and protected from schedule compression.
Typical Timeline
- Cx plan development2–3 weeks— During design; scripts, criteria, agent coordination
- Factory witness testing1–2 weeks— At manufacturer; generators, UPS, switchgear, chillers
- Installation verificationOngoing— During construction; as equipment is installed
- Component functional testing2–3 weeks— Individual system startup, load bank testing
- Integrated systems testing2–4 weeks— Full-facility IST under load, failure scenarios
- Turnover & ops training1–2 weeks— Documentation, training, handoff
How This Plays Out
Scenario
During IST at a 1.5MW edge facility, the automatic transfer switch transferred correctly under no-load conditions but failed to complete transfer when the facility was at 70% load. The generator started, but the ATS relay logic had a timing gap under block load.
Outcome
The deficiency would have caused an outage on first real utility failure. We documented the failure, worked with the vendor to correct the logic, re-tested to full acceptance criteria, and updated the emergency procedures. The facility went live with verified failover behavior.
Scenario
A developer had budgeted 3 weeks for commissioning. Construction ran 6 weeks late, and the GC proposed compressing Cx to 2 weeks to hit the target go-live date.
Outcome
We pushed back: a compressed construction schedule increases the likelihood of installation defects, so commissioning should be more thorough, not less. We preserved the 6-week Cx window, caught and resolved four critical issues during IST, and delivered a facility that performed correctly from Day One instead of one that would have failed under first real load.
Ready to discuss your project?
Schedule a call to learn how we can help with commissioning.
Schedule a Call