To encourage a properly planned handover and commissioning process that reflects the needs of the building occupants.

• Improve actual building performance by ensuring systems are adequately commissioned prior to and following handover.
• Reduce the gap between predicted design performance and as-built actual performance.
• Improve occupant comfort conditions and meet end user requirements, therefore boosting satisfaction and productivity.
• Reduce operation and maintenance costs through robust and efficient maintenance schedules, increased systems’ lifetime and well trained operational and maintenance staff.
• Allow facilities managers and building owners to better understand the functionality of the building and how to ensure it continues to perform at optimum levels.

Targets regarding building energy performance are increasingly challenging. The first difficulty is around making sure that the building performs in practice as expected in terms of energy consumption and performance. The second aspect, directly linked to the first one, is related to achieving thermal comfort and high satisfaction levels for building occupants.

There are many reasons for this, including the following1 Usable Buildings Trust, Way M, Bunn R. BSRIA BG 54/2014 The Soft Landings Framework for better briefing, design, handover and building performance in-use. 2014.:

• High energy performance is often associated to complicated energy systems, which need extended commissioning processes in place in order to ensure they operate as intended.
• Design solutions are often difficult to manage in practice and building occupants and managers do not have enough information or understanding to allow them to operate the buildings as expected.