Five C's of Commissioning and The Making of a Complete Engineer

Commissioning is a series of activities that culminates in the start-up of a plant. The activities of commissioning get underway when the plant has achieved Mechanical Completion, an important contractual milestone in the life of a project.

Commissioning engineers carry out the five checks for

1) Completeness (of the system)

2) Correctness (of the installation)

3) Cleanliness (to avoid contamination and choking)

4) Containment (to avoid leaks)

5) Calibration (of instruments and controllers)

Commissioning calls for not only technical but also man-management skills as engineers need to get the work done from contractor's and client's personnel. Comissioning engineers have to think out of their box and yet also display oodles of patience and perseverance.

Though commissioning needs special skill sets and attitudes, when the same team of engineers who have been involved in the design and engineering phases, commission the plant, it gives a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment to the individuals concerned. It also ensures that the learnings at site are absorbed in the future projects. Commisioning makes an engineer complete.