How to Write a Method Statement

A T esting and Com missioning Meth od Statement is a written document that

details clear a nd concise steps, for completing a particular element of work.
T he document shou ld cover:

 Introduction

 Reference Data

 Equipme nt / Instruments Us ed

 System Testing Inf ormation

 T olerances

 Method of Testing

 T esting Certificates

 Drawings

Contents
Objective ........................................................................................................ 3

Responsibilit ies & Process ............................................................................... 3

Step 1 - Evaluation of Information ..................................................................... 3

Specifications .............................................................................................. 4

General MEP Designer Specification ............................................................ 4

Specific MEP Designer Specification ............................................................ 4

Commissioning Plan / Commiss ioning Specif icat ion ....................................... 5

Codes/Guides/Stand ards/Re gulations ............................................................. 5

Drawings / Schedules ................................................................................... 5

Materia l/Technical Submissions ..................................................................... 6

1 Method Statement Overview
Step 2 - Writing the Method Statement .............................................................. 7

Front Cover ................................................................................................. 7

Document Revision Register .......................................................................... 7

Index ........................................................................................................... 8

Introduction ................................................................................................. 8

Competency of Engineers .............................................................................. 8

Permit to Work Syst em .................................................................................. 9

System Installation Sign Off .......................................................................... 9

General ..................................................................................................... 10

Reference Data .......................................................................................... 10

Equipment/Instrumentation .......................................................................... 11

General Pre-Requisit es ............................................................................... 11

System Test ing Infor mation ......................................................................... 12

Testing Toler ances ..................................................................................... 12

Method Of Testin g ...................................................................................... 12

Testing Certificate ...................................................................................... 12

Marked Up Drawin gs ................................................................................... 13

Issuing of Method Statement ....................................................................... 13

Approval of Method Statement ........................................................................ 14

2 Method Statement Overview

Objective
To allow the test ing and commissioning t o be conducted and verif ied within th e
Construction / Commissioning Proc ess, there will be a requ ire ment to write a n
issue for review Test ing and Commiss ioning Method Statements / Testing
Proced ures that cover all equ ipm ent and systems.

The documents ar e required to be iss ued and rev iewed to ens ure that the

equipment and systems they refer and are written for ar e set up, tested,

commissioned, ver ified, and document ed in line with the Own ers Project

Requirements [OPR], Basis of Design [ BOD] and manufacturer’s needs (to

ensure the warranty is not affected).

Responsibilities & Process

The process of wr iting, issuing, and rev iewing the documents will involve the
technical teams associated with the Mechanica l [HV AC], Elect rical,
Plumbing/Drain age + Fire Systems:

 Vendors / Sub Contr actors

 General Contra ctor / Main Contractor

 Commissioning Manager [Contractor Side & Client Side]

 MEP&F Designer [Contractor Side & Client Side]

 Clie nt

Step 1 - Evaluation of Information

Before start ing to write any meth od state ment, a full analys is of the project
informat ion should be completed so that the full requirements are underst ood. This
will cover reviewing:

 Specifications

 Drawings/Schedules

 Control Logics [where app licab le]

 Materia l/Technical Submiss ions

 Codes/Guides/Stand ards

3 Method Statement Overview

Specifications
There will be a fe w different specif icat ion s we will need to h ave access to and
review.

General MEP Designer Specification

This docume nt will u sua lly contain not a lot of useful info for what we need but will
have to be reviewed to understand if th ere is an ything tuck ed away relat ing to the
Testing and Commissioning requirements of the Systems/Equipment that is being
written for.

Just do a quick scan for any phrases rela ting to Testing or Commissio ning etc.

Make a note of anything that stands o ut, that could affect the outcome of the
document.

Specific MEP Designer Specification

The Specific MEP sp ecif icat ions will usually be sp lit into the type and conta in more
spec ific deta il for the project requiremen ts.

 BMS [bms]

 Ele ctrical [ee, elec]

 Extra Low Voltage [elv]

 Fire & Life Safety [fs, lss]

 Mechan ical [mvac, mech, hvac]

 Plumbing and Drainage [pd]

These should be properly read, rev iewed , and understood for any referen ce to
testing and commissioning of the syst ems or equipment writing the testing
proced ure on.

They should also provide additional details and information re lating to the
Codes/Guides and S tandards that are ex pected to be adhere d to.

At this point make notes of the following:

 Note the Specif icat ion Numbers [these will be us ed later in the Referenc e
Data requirem ent]

 Section and Item/pa ge number of spec ifications that mention any

requirements [this will be used later in the Refere nce Data requirement].

 List of Codes/Guide s and Standards, e xa mple in the link, that shou ld be

referred to specif ic to the works and any tolerances that need to be adher ed
to. [these will be used later in the method statement].

4 Method Statement Overview

  Requirements that could conf lict wit h any other condit ion s. For example, the
Commissioning Plan and Commissionin g Spec ification written by the
Commissioning Management Company represe nting the Client could include
different requirement s than the MEP Spe cific ations, a ll items s hould be
noted, d iscu ssed, an d agree d upon with the client team.

Commissioning Plan / Commissioning Specification

The commissioning pla n and spec ification will usually be written by the
commissioning consultant.

If you wou ld like to understand more abo ut the Commiss io ning Plan, we have
written two documents, WHAT IS A COMMISSIONING PLAN / Cx PLAN and
COMMISSIONING PLAN TEMPLATE

If a commissioning plan [ insert link] / commissioning spec ific ation [ ins ert link] have
been written, they should be reviewed not ing s imilar items to the MEP Des igner
Spec ification reviews:

 Note the Commissionin g Plan / Commiss ioning Specif icat io n number [this will
be used lat er in the Referen ce Data requirement]

 Section and Item/pa ge number of spec ifications that mention any

requirements [this will be used later in the Refere nce Data requirement].

 List of Codes/Guide s and Standards th at should b e referred to specif ic to the

works a nd any toler ances that need to be adhered to. [these will be us ed
later in the metho d statement].

 Requirements that could conf lict wit h any other condit ion s. For example, the
Commissioning Plan and Commissionin g Spec ification written by the
Commissioning Management Company represe nting the Client could include
different requirement s than the MEP Spe cific ations, a ll items s hould be
noted, d iscu ssed, an d agree d upon with the client team.

Codes/Guides/Standards/Regulations
From the above review of the spec ific ations, an understand ing of what codes,
guides, stan dards, and regulat ion s are to be referenced and used should now be
had.

The aut hor will need full access to these documents and complete an in-depth
review, making not e s as nee ded for inc lusion in th e Test ing Procedure.

For examp les of wha t codes, gu ides and standards see the article,
COMMISSIONING CODES, GUIDES & STANDARDS

Drawings / Schedules

5 Method Statement Overview

To allow a review of the drawings and schedules, ideally, they should b e under
Construction Stag e with a review St atus of 'A / Approved' or 'B / Rev iewed with
Comments'. If are Status 'C' then they can be used with extre me cautio n. Evaluate
the impacts from tho se comments, and if seems they will not impact the testing
then carry on, if they will then stop the pr ocess until they ar e of an adequate
status.

The types of drawings that would be need ed for review would be:

 General Plans / Layouts of the Systems - will sho w details of the systems
within a floor pla n of the building/project.

 Schemat ics of the Systems - will show a single line overview of a complete
system across the whole building/project.

 Pla nt Sch edule s - will sho w detailed design inf ormatio n on the plant and
equipment specific t o the project.

 Manufacturers' drawings - will show detailed dr awing informat ion on the

equipment.

 Control Logics - review to understan d if t here are a ny controls associated

with the systems an d equipment, how they work, and any interactio ns with
other systems

 Wiring Diagrams

 BMS Po ints List

Review the drawings making note of any spec ial observations such as

 Note the drawing/schedule n umbers where the systems/equ ipment appear

across the project [this will be us ed later in the Referen ce Data requir ement]

 The design and layo uts of the systems

 Locat ions of equipment [floor, rooms]

 Integrations with other systems [contro ls, power, dra inage, fire, BMS, etc]

Material/Technical Submissions
Materia l Submission s [or Technica l Submissions] are iss ued by the contractor team
for approval to det ail the systems, equip ment, and items that will be purc hased,
installed, and commissioned o n a project.

To allow a review of the documents, ideally, they should be at a review Status of

'A/Approved' or 'B/ Reviewe d with Comments'. If are Status ' C' then they should no t
be used, stop the pr ocess until they ar e of an ade quate stat us.

We must review thes e documents as cont ain specific detailed informat ion relat ing
to the individual item s.

6 Method Statement Overview

Review the subm issions making note of any special observat ions suc h as

 Note the Subm ission number [this will be used later in the Reference Data
requirement]

 Any sp ecial commissionin g requirements from the manufactur er in addit ion to

the project requirements.

 Specific settings.

Step 2 - Writing the Method Statement

So, once we have obtained all the inform ation we can then st art to write and format
the document.

Below deta ils a format that can be u sed, which has been seen across mult ip le
projects. Feel free to tweak it if needed, t o suit yo ur own requ irements.

The best format is a standard one that can be used acros s multiple method
statements, if not all method statements. The benef it of this is that they will look
cons istent, the eng ineers and operat ives are used to the format and will mak e a lot
quicker to wr ite and produce for each pro ject.

Front Cover
The front cover is self-explaining. It should inc lude the following inf ormation:

 Company Log o

 Project Name

 Project Number

 Tit le of the Metho d Statement (what it covers)

 Document Number

 Document Revision (A, B, C, etc).

Document Revision Register

This page will be used to list a ll rev ision s of the document:

 Revision Number

 Revision Date

 Author Name

 Notes/a ny descript io n of changes

7 Method Statement Overview

It would also be helpful to the person reviewing a ny rev ised documents that the
revised areas are highlighted/coloured s o can see the changes etc.

Index
Contents page or index of the conte nts of the document.

Introduction
The introductio n will be a high-level overview of what the document is about, how it
will be reviewed, and the expected status before test ing is c omplete d.

Below pr ovides an e xample:

"This commission ing testing docume nt has been written to des cribe how we will be
completin g the pre ssure testing of the MVAC Pipework co nsisting of
Condenser Water / Chilled Water, in line with the pro ject specif icat ions.

It is a project requirement that this document is fully reviewed, accepted, and

signed off by the clie nt team/representat ives before any test in g taking place.

This docume nt will f ocus pur ely upo n how the testing will be completed from a
technical point of view. The document is separate from any strategies that may be
required to facilitate potent ia l live environments.

All strategies will be covered und er add itional documentat ion t hat will be
submitted, later once full agreements ha ve been made on the processes and
proced ures."

Competency of Engineers
For most of the testing, there should be a requirement that the Eng ineers and
Operatives are exper ien ced and qualif ied to complet e the work s. Particu lar
attention should be paid to:

 Ele ctrical Works

 Author ized Persons [ usua lly relating to Lock Off Procedures]

 Pressur e Vessels

 Gases

 Refrigerant

 TAB [T est, Adjust, Balance]

 Health an d Safety

At the point of wr iting the docum ent, you will prob ably not know the pers ons
conductin g the works, therefore a short statement can be inc luded:

8 Method Statement Overview

"This work will be un dertaken by suitab ly trained perso nnel, inclu ding safety
training, manufactur er train ing, and any local government requirements to comply
with the laws of the country/regio n".

Permit to Work System

On all projects, there will be a permit-to-work system in place for a lot of the
testing and commissioning act ivities. This process is usu ally d ictated and manage d
by a separate team [permit to work team].

Where one is in place, the requirements should be fully adher ed to, but aga in at
the stage of writ ing it may not know what the process and procedures are.

A short statement ca n be included:

"Before an y testing and commissioning take place, a rev ie w of safety requ irements
shall be comp leted b y the engin eering team to determine if any permit to work
systems should be in place and how th ese are dealt with.

Where they are in place, and if affects this element of works; it is ex pected that all
staff / direct personnel, indirect contra ctors, and suppliers will adhere to all
requirements at the t ime of testing.

This method statement should be amended if any substant ial changes to the works
are required.

Programme

Some commissioning managers like to inc lude all the program me dates, but
usually, it is a time- wast ing exerc ise as the testing rare ly happens all at once, or
on the dates noted.

With this in m ind, we would just include a statement:

"The testing will generally commence an d be sequenc ed in line with the proje ct
programme and at a point wher e the installation allows. Pleas e refer to the latest
project programme f or dates if required".

System Installation Sign Off

The System Installat ion Sign Off is a stat ement that should be inc luded to ensure
that before any testing taking place all installat ions have been fully inspe cted by
the appropriate team. Usually, the Resident Engine er or Defec ts and Snagg ing
Team.

The statement would be:

"The relevant inst allation sig n-off certif icate should be shown to the commissioning
party for visu al inspection before test in g taking place."

9 Method Statement Overview

Note - The items above would be consi dered st and ard info rmation and
statements, that would be inclu ded within most of the met hod statem ents that
are creat ed for a pr oject.

The next sections will detail more spec ific informat ion a nd requir ements re lated t o
the different testing that will be needed and cover ed under va rious method
statements.

The reason for splitting the above area from the below area is to make the testing
on-site easier, and consolidat ion of the f inal test ing and c ommissioning documents
[insert link] more efficient, and if usin g a paper-based s ystem, less us e of paper,
wh ich is a win- win for the trees.

We would generally r emove the n eed to include the above in th e final test ing
documents but kee p the below sections.

On some projects, this could result in saving h undreds of shee ts of paper and time

managing them.

If you want to see an example of a funct ional test in g procedur e that we have
written b ase d arou nd this layout, see PUMP COMMISSIONING AND
ALIGNMENT

General
At this point in the document, we would u sua lly create a new sectio n, to separate
the above from the b elow.

We would tabulate information, that would gener ally b e completed at the test ing,
such as:

 Project Name

 Locat ion Floor of where testing has been conduct ed

 Start Date

 Start Time

 Finish Date

 Finish Time

Reference Data
The Reference Dat a Section should detail what information ha s been rev iewed to
write the document. It will pro vide the reviewer with confidence that the method
statement conta ins specific informat ion r elat ing to the testing requir ed.

10 Method Statement Overview

Information that should be referenced [as noted in the previous section]:

 General Designer Specif icat ions [ Document Number, Page, Section, Item]

 Particular Designer Specifications [Document Number, Page, Section, Item]

 Commissioning Plan [Document Number, Page, Sect ion, Item]

 Commissioning Specification [Document Number, Page, Section, Item]

 Codes/Guides/Stand ards and Regulation s [Document Number , Page,

Section, Item]

 Drawings/Schematics [Document Number, Page, Sectio n, Item]

 Materia l/Technical Submiss ions [Docume nt Number, Page, Section, Item]

Equipment/Instrumentation
Provide informat ion on all equipment, instruments, tools, and access ories that will
be used during the t esting.

Would be in a table f ormat and include:

 Type of equipment / instrument / tools and access ories. Completed at the

time of writ ing. [pre ssure gauge, mult imet er, handheld thermometer, torque
wrench, tarpaulin, buckets, etc]

 Model of equipment/ instruments used. Co mpleted at the time of writ ing.

 Serial Number of eq uipment/instruments used. Leave column to

be completed at testing.

 Expiration of Calibration Certif icate. Leav e column to be completed at

testing.

General Pre-Requisites
The general pre-requisites will include a list of all items that will need to be
completed bef ore allowing the testing works to commence. These wo uld cov er:

 De livery inspection sheets

 Installat ion ins pect io n sheets

 Documentation req uirements

 Testing pre-checks of installations etc

 Commissioning works that are required t o be comp leted before allo wing the
testing works to commence [i.e., Pressure Testing before p ipework c le aning,
before water balancing, etc].

11 Method Statement Overview

System Testing Information
System Test ing information should be included to allow th e Operativ es an d
Engineers comp let ing the works to under stand requirements s uch as:

 Operating System Pr essures

 Flow Rates through valves/dampers and equipment

 Control Expectat ions

 Ele ctrical Supplies [ if dual fed] to equ ipm ent

 Room Condition requireme nts

 Lux Levels

 etc...

Testing Tolerances
For most of the testing, there will b e a requirement to adh ere to and be within
certain parameters/t oler ances.

These will usually be detailed in the project specif icat ions, codes, guides,
standards, and regulations.

Create a table that details the fo llowing it ems:

 Type of Tolerance.

 Reference of Document where toleranc e is quoted from [BSRIA, CIBSE,

NFPA, etc] includes the page, section, it em, etc.

 What the toler ance/specific ation/time is for the testing.

Method Of Testing
The metho d of testing will cover all steps related to completing the testin g and
commissioning meth odically, logically, and in the correct sequence.

When wr iting this section, keep in mind the Engineers a nd Operativ es who will be
conductin g the test ing.

The steps shou ld be clear. If needing to r efer to certain parts of the proced ure
direct them, an d where informat ion is to b e completed, prov ide enough spac e to
write the data.

At the bottom of each page include a box that allows signatures from the persons
doing the test ing and witnessing for recordin g.

Testing Certificate
12 Method Statement Overview
The cert ificate would be used to capture t he testing information that is relevant to
the works b eing com plete d. All informat ion that is to be record ed should be
detaile d and enough space provided for t he clear input of dat a.

At the bottom of each page include a box that allows signatures from the persons
doing the test ing and witnessing for recordin g

Marked Up Drawings
A set of fully marked-up drawings sho uld be attached in an appendix, sh owing the
systems and equipment that the document refers to.

A3 is better than A4 as is usua lly clearer to read.

Issuing of Method Statement

Once everythin g is complete, the document will need to be issued for
comments/approval to the client team.

The process is quite straightforward...

First ly, und erstand if there is a requirement for a separate doc ument cover sh eet
[click on the link] to be attached to the document. If is, complete this with the
relev ant details and informat ion.

After, issue the document to the client te am, usually will include the
Commissioning Manager, MEP Des ign er.

Finally, log the information in the Docum ent tracking register, this will usually be
an int erna l document used for report ing and tracking of progre ss [add lin k]

13 Method Statement Overview

Approval of Method Statement

Once iss ued the document will be reviewed, approved, and c ommented up on, by
the client team as noted above.

When all reviews have been completed t he Method Statemen t will b e given a
Status.

For und erstanding of the different stat us's click What Does STATUS A, B, C & D
Mean

Depending upon the status it may be re quired to upd ate and r eiss ue.

Usually, projects will allow works to proc eed on a Status B, but for the inc lus ion
of the Testing Pr ocedure with in the Operating and Maintenance Manuals a
Status A sh ould be provided.

14 Method Statement Overview

The below provides a high-level check lis t that can be us ed and modif ied for the

Basis of De sign.

Ref Requirement Notes Checked

1 Intende d usage of the Type of occupa ncy, how it affects

building and s paces the design and operation of the

building. Uniqu e cha llenges

2 System oper ation and How will the different systems

maintenance exp ect ations operate? How it will be maint ained,

facilit ies staff ing, etc

3 Design meth ods Method of Calculations for

implemented loadings, lighting, cooling, h eating,

peop le, u-values, etc . Software

used or will use

4 Narrative of the design For all systems and t ypes, prov ide

a general descr iption, explain why

it was selected, what equipment

will be us ed, and int egrate

environmental syst e ms. Types of

materia ls to be used for the

installat ions. Decentralized

systems etc.

15 Method Statement Overview

Ref Requirement Notes Checked

5 Narrative of the oper ation Expla in the intended operation of

of the systems the systems Se quence of

operat ions Time c loc ks Plant

changeovers

6 Codes Guides Stand ards To cover des ign, construction &

commissioning of the HVAC /

Building Servic es for the project.

7 Ambient Co nditions Outdoor Design Con dit ions Room /

Spac e Conditions [temp, humidity,

noise etc]

8 List performa nce cr iteria Describe any specif ic

design/performance criteria that

have been st ipulated by the OPR /

Clie nt Comfort Levels Air Quality

Lux Levels Energy Requirements

Spec ific maintenanc e requirements

Vent ilation rates

9 Source s of energy / fuel / Expla in the fue l sources that the

supply building will ut ilize: Water Electric

Solar Natural Gas Propan e Diese l

Oil Borehole

16 Method Statement Overview

Ref Requirement Notes Checked

10 List of manuf acturers Provide a full list of equipment a nd

expected manufact urers that will be

used.

17 Method Statement Overview