dish
Code
onour
of
?
Engineers are too often just
ticking boxes when they
commission building services,
says Laurence Aston, who tells
Carina Bailey why it’s important
to push this message forward at
CIBSE’s national conference
Branthwaite
Anna
Laurence Aston explains why
the industry needs to change.
E
ncouraging good sustainable practice in Part of the problem, Aston insists, lies within the
buildings is one of Laurence Aston’s passions. commissioning codes themselves failing to go far
Another is rushing around the country on his enough. ‘I think the commissioning codes in what they
classic 1978 Yamaha SR500. But, despite this do are very good – but, for me, they stop too early in the
carbon-polluting vice, Aston is zealous about spreading process. They focus on simple regulation of flow rates
the word – whether it be educating youngsters at his and the recording of data. There is no testing to show
children’s school and getting involved with their carbon that components are working correctly and no proving
club, or simply instigating change in his role as director that the designs achieve the building performance
of mechanical engineering at Morgan Professional promised.’
Services. These codes are a series of methodological processes
And one key message he is keen to get across is how that professionals go through when commissioning a
the industry desperately needs to change – something building, and they help engineers during maintenance
he’ll be outlining in his speech at CIBSE national works or if systems break down. But, says Aston: ‘Too
conference next month (see details below). often, commissioning is only undertaken to tick the
His presentation, Beyond Commissioning: The Art right box at handover time.
of Improving Building Performance will aim to make ‘For example, the designer does a whole load of
engineers question why, if they expend so much time calculations to decide what types of system and
at the conception stage of a project, they don’t follow how much heating or cooling he needs to provide
through and test the systems to see that they deliver to a building. Then the builder builds it, using the
what was promised in the sales pitch. commissioning codes to make sure he’s got the same
40 CIBSE Journal March 2010
www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEmar10 pp40-41 Aston.indd 40 26/2/10 11:59:42
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