Many federal projects are design/build (DB) where the DB firm hires the Commissioning Authority (CxA).
The LEED requirements are that the CxA “Is not an employee of, or contracted through, a contractor or construction manager holding construction contracts”.
EAc3 template requires both a signature that the CxA is independent of the construction team and an uploaded commissioning contract.
With that being said, Federal Design/Build projects do get certified with enhanced commissioning.
My question goes to how to complete the LEED Template.
As a third party commissioning authority, contracted through the DB firm, how can we make the case that we are not contracted through a contractor or construction manager when we need to upload a copy of the commissioning contract?
Has there been “Alternate Approach” wording that has been successfully reviewed by GBCI??
jason schneider
8 thumbs up
January 31, 2012 - 1:43 pm
It is my experience that GBCI permitted this relationship under LEED v2.2 as stated in several CIR’s on this topic. However, those CIR’s do not apply to LEED 2009 and GBCI is enforcing the contractual separation between D/B Contractor and the CxA. The RFP may still require Enhanced Commissioning services, and the D/B team must provide them, however those activities are not applicable toward EAc3. There still appears to be confusion on LEED requirements on the part of individuals responsible for preparation of the RFP; some are better than others.
However, I have seen one RFP recently that stated specifically that the Government would provide the CxA for Enhanced Commissioning only, creating that separation required by LEED. I have also seen contracting positions for CxA’s posted to the FedBizOpps website. The Government ship turns sloooowly, but it is turning.