We are done with our commissioning process and almost ready to submit for preliminary construction review, however the systems manual (Upload EAc3-1) is develop in Spanish language since it is the native tonge of the country of Mexico.
Systems manual has been reviewed by our commissioning agents and it has been declared that systems manual complies with all requierements necesary.
We will provide a letter in English language stating that the systems manual have been develop and provided and that they all contain the following subjects:
-introduction
-systems description
-operation and functioning AS-BUILT (with operation sequence, control drawings, one line diagrams and original set points)
-Maintenance (recomended testing, recomended scheduling, recomended calibration and manufacturer contact)
-Common failures and possible causes
-Final BOD and submittals
Will this letter along with systems manual (in Spanish language) will be sufficient? Or do reviwers need to read the entire manual?
Scott Bowman
LEED FellowIntegrated Design + Energy Advisors, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
519 thumbs up
November 21, 2014 - 12:00 pm
Well, I do not have experience with this issue, and I do know that in other credits, having the translation is required. But a Systems Manual is a lot of information, and much of it is content that is provided by others, so not easily provided in English. I also understand that soon the reference guide is going to be available in multiple languages, including Spanish, so I wonder how that is going to effect these requirements.
I think what you propose is quite reasonable. You might want to ask the reviewers using the "contact us" link under EAc3. First try just an email with your proposal. Make sure you word it like "We are going to provide the following as we feel this complies with the intent of the documentation requirements because..." Don't ask permission per say, state why you feel this is consistent with proving compliance, and seek agreement.
Good luck!
Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer
Edmonds International38 thumbs up
November 21, 2014 - 1:44 pm
Great advice Scott, we already sent the question to GBCI via the contact section on their webpage. As soon as we get a response we will post it here to share with others.
Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer
Edmonds International38 thumbs up
December 22, 2014 - 11:42 am
In case it is helpful to anyone, this was GBCI response:
All required documentation must be provided in English, or relevant portions must be translated to English. The suggested letter appears to only outline the topics addressed within the Systems Manual. Based on the information provided in the customer's inquiry, it does not appear that the proposed documentation is sufficient to confirm that all of the required information will be included in the Systems Manual, as required to demonstrate credit compliance for EAc3: Enhanced Commissioning.
According to Step 9 under EAp1: Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems in the LEED BD+C v2009 Reference Guide, ''the Systems Manual should include the following for each commissioned system: final version of the basis of design, system single-line diagrams, as-built sequences of operations, control drawings, and original setpoints, operating instructions for integrated building systems, recommended schedule of maintenance requirements and frequency if not already included in the project O and M manuals, recommended schedule for retesting of commissioned systems with blank test forms from the original commissioning plan, and recommended schedule for calibrating sensors and actuators.''
Additionally, if submitting the Systems Manual in a language other than English, note that the entire Systems Manual is not required to be translated to English, yet a sufficient amount of the document must be translated such that it can be confirmed that the Systems Manual contains all of the required information, as outlined above.
Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer
Edmonds International38 thumbs up
March 24, 2015 - 6:58 pm
Our credit was granted and our project is now certified.