Message from the ABEC North President, Amir Hassan

Amir Hassan

President, ABEC (North)

Message from the ABEC North President

Finally, after two long years, we see pressures on the health-care system noticeably subsiding and governments across the country are working hard towards implementing progressive steps to remove public health measures. We’re all hopeful these latest efforts will bolster our economy and lead to renewed community events and activities. We hope to go back soon to in-person lunch-and-learn sessions and social gatherings. Our next in-person luncheon will be on April 26, 2022, and next joint golf event with CSC on June 30, 2022. Propelled with the positive feedback of the last two issues, we are excited to present the third issue of Building Science Perspective. This rich publication is made possible by the hard work and commitment of our passionate and knowledgeable technical committee from ABEC North and South.

We have another ongoing epidemic with the quality of building enclosures. Many leaky buildings and underperforming envelope systems continue to be constructed across Alberta. One way to avoid many of the problems continuing to occur is engage a Building Envelope Commissioning Agent (BECxA). Introducing commissioning at the predesign stage of a project has proven to have favourable payback to many owners. The greatest benefit is that the building systems are installed and operated properly, according to the design intent before the building is occupied. Consequently, warranty service calls to fix problems in occupied areas are greatly reduced. The commissioning process is a separate series of activities led by BECxA, and requires participation from the owner’s staff, design team, and contractors. Commissioning starts before the design phase and continues until after building occupancy. Design phase commissioning activities involve review of the design intent manual prepared by the design team, and review of the design drawings at all phases. This independent review ensures that the design intent – which often gets lost in the design process – is incorporated in the construction documents and contains adequate information to allow functional performance testing of building systems at the end of the construction administration phase. The construction administration phase contains the most intensive commissioning activities. Using the design documents and the shop drawings, BECxA prepares specific pre-functional checklists to aid the contractors in the start-up process. Not only must individual components and sequences operate properly, but also all independent systems must operate in concert as a functioning whole. This interoperability is verified through carefully developed functional performance test procedures for building envelope systems. Using the basis of design manual and the contract documents, expectations of system performance are established and conveyed to the contractors in a clear pass/fail format. After all, commissioning is not a milestone; it is a quality-focused process, enhancing the delivery of all energy and resource using systems. ABECN is a non-profit society dedicated to encouraging the pursuit of excellence in the design, construction, and performance of building enclosures and to advancing educational and technical standards within the building envelope industry. This council welcomes anyone interested in the evolving field of building envelope. To know more about us, visit our website at www.ABECNorth.org and follow us on ABECN LinkedIn Page. Happy reading!

Amir Hassan, M.Sc., P.E., P.Eng. President, Alberta Building Envelope Council (North)