The NEBB Professional 2024 - Quarter 2

Consequences of Considering Commissioning Last WAR STORIES By George E. Martin

“It’s ready” The commissioning of this project began in an odd way. I received a call from the soon-to-be tenant of the site saying that the landlord had reported that construction of the space had been substantially completed and that they could begin to occupy the space. More in terestingly still, the landlord would begin charging rent in two weeks per the agreement. I was told “They say ‘It’s ready’, but we’re not so sure. We were hoping you could come by and verify things for us.” Having been in the TAB industry, my first question was whether they had a balancing report. The response? “We don’t have a copy of the balancing report, but they tell us our floors have been balanced and the landlord is the one who will be receiving the report. They keep telling us ‘It’s ready.’” Having heard that phrase many times before, and not knowing what kind of situation I would be walking into, I scheduled a date for the site visit and mentally pre pared for a new adventure. The First Site Visit On arrival, my team and I immediately realized the reason for the future tenant’s concern. There was no

way this space was ready to be occupied. Exposed wiring was hanging down in multiple places from the openings left behind by missing ceiling tiles. The space was still littered with construction debris. There were even missing doors to some of the closets! In short, the space was visibly still in the thick of its construc tion phase.

Exposed wiring visible where ceiling tiles were not installed

The NEBB Professional | Quarter 2 | 2024

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