36. Product Commissioning

This should not be confused with installation. Typically commissioning of a product involves taking a product in its installed and installation tested state and making it ready for normal operation. A variety of commissioning operations may be necessary to tailor the product to its customer or environment.

Commissioning Operations

Commissioning operations are often effected by the operation of controls that configure the product for operation in a particular mode. Controls may be broken down into a variety of mechanisms including: mechanical controls such as valves, electromechanical controls such as switches and relays, electronic controls such as stored logic.

Supply of Energy

Commissioning comprises the set-up of the product into a permanent state suitable for the operations it is required to fulfil during its life. It therefore involves the supply of energy or other consumable to the product prior to operation.

Customer Tests

The commissioning process may involve the performance of customer tests. Such tests are usually in the nature of bench mark tests aimed at assessing the performance of the product against an agreed set of criteria. It is very useful within any product definition to consider what performance testing may be required by a customer and ensure that there are appropriate facilities available within the equipment to ensure the performance measurements may be accessed in an efficient manner during commissioning.