Meaning & use
commissioning agent
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A specialist engaged to test a new or renovated building's systems, such as heating, cooling and electrics, and confirm they work as designed before the owner takes over.
Grammar: Counts like any person noun: a commissioning agent, two commissioning agents.
Patterns
- commissioning agent for something
- hire a commissioning agent
The hospital hired a commissioning agent to test every ventilation unit before the wards opened.
Our commissioning agent found that the boiler controls had been wired backwards.
A good commissioning agent works for the owner, not the contractor, so the report stays honest.
Word forms
| plural | commissioning agents |
|---|
Common combinations
- appoint a commissioning agent
- The school board appointed a commissioning agent early in the design stage.
- independent commissioning agent
- An independent commissioning agent has no stake in the contractor's profit.
- commissioning agent's report
- The commissioning agent's report listed forty unresolved defects.
- work with a commissioning agent
- Electricians must work with the commissioning agent during final testing.
- lead commissioning agent
- The lead commissioning agent signed off the fire alarm system.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commissioning authority
- This is the formal title used in many American standards and is slightly more official than commissioning agent, which sounds like a job description.
- commissioning engineer
- It stresses the technical qualification of the person and often means someone who starts up one machine or plant, not the whole building.
- building inspector
- An inspector checks that the work meets legal codes for the council, whereas a commissioning agent checks that it performs as the owner wanted.
Word family
- commission verb
- to test and bring a system into working use
- commissioning noun
- the process of testing and handing over a building or plant
- recommissioning noun
- retesting an older building's systems to restore performance
- decommission verb
- to take something out of service
Commonly confused: commissioning agent or commission agent?
commissioning agent vs commission agent
A commission agent sells goods for others and is paid a percentage. A commissioning agent tests building systems.
Practice
Before the offices opened, the owner asked a ____ to test the air conditioning and fire alarms.
Choose one answer.
A commissioning agent verifies that building systems work as designed. A commission agent is paid per sale, which is the tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commissioning agent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.