Same firm as sub-contractor and CxA

That depends on whether the Test and Balance firm is considered a company holding construction contracts. I would typically say yes as they will slow motors, change CFMs or GPMs through balancing dampers/valves etc... The CxA needs to review that work and verify that it is correct. therefore I do not believe a T&B company can act as Cx Authority.

Two points I would make. First, Peter, I did not take that view immediately, but focused on the contractual. I know for a fact that there are T&B firms that have been accepted by GBCI as commissioning agents, so my guess is they have made the decision to accept them as CxA. Also, we regularly are asked by our clients to hire the T&B for our MEP work, which we do, and our insurers view this as professional services. So, my guess is this is not what would hold this up. However, I would be concerned about the dual contractual role, having a firm contracted to both the owner and the contractor. This would be an inherent conflict of interest that USGBC would want to ovoid. I would recommend that the owner contract with the firm for both the T&B and Cx if that is their wish and intention. We have many owners that always hold the contract for T&B for some very good reasons. Chris, you should make sure that the T&B firm has the required experience as required for commissioning.