A first and an honour at the same time: Bertus Toering, the face of ET Management and Advice, was invited to give a guest lecture at the offices of the Technical Association for Heating and Air Conditioning (TVVL) in Woerden on 6 May. Subject of the lecture was what the profession of Commissioning Manager (Cx-Manager) entails in practice.
The students are all currently following the Cx-Manager training and listened attentively to what ‘the eagle of Purmerend’, who himself successfully completed the training in 2019, had to say. It was a very inspiring meeting”, said Toering. It is wonderful to ‘work’ with professionals, I especially enjoyed the interaction. As a Cx-manager you are often the only one on site in your field, the guest lecture offered the opportunity to share plenty of practical knowledge with prospective colleagues and to discuss the best way of working.”
Toering spoke mainly about integral testing, sometimes wearing the cap of test leader and sometimes wearing the cap of Cx-Manager. The emphasis in all of this was on the versatility of the work. As a Cx-manager you have to have installation-wide knowledge and skills, which is sometimes forgotten or underestimated”, Toering says. That means from gas and water pipes to electricity and ventilation. In practice, that means from the sprinkler installation to that antiquated meter box and from the ventilation pipes to the most modern energy systems. The checks are so essential, as are the people who have to do the work after your checks, that you are often directly or indirectly involved in things like the fire safety system and the access control systems. As a Cx manager, your know-how makes you the gatekeeper of a building’s sound security level in the broadest sense of the word.”
Background of the guest lecture
Toering is on behalf of ET Management and Advice registered at SERTUM, this register is since its establishment in 2021 the quality mark for Commissioning Specialists and Commissioning Managers. The Commissioning Manager who is registered in this register has the knowledge and skills to select the right commissioning process and methodology and to organise the related activities. He/she is also the contact person for the client and can substantiate and advise the choices made for the process to be carried out and the associated activities. For some years now, courses have been organised through the TVVL to train new professionals so that the quality level is guaranteed when people leave through retirement, for example. The guest lecture was intended to connect current and future professionals.
A learning experience in itself
The guest lecture was also a good example of cross-pollination of knowledge and experience: Apart from the pedagogical aspect, I also learned something from it”, Toering says. An attentive student pointed out my pitfall. As a Cx-Manager you have to record your findings and not come up with solutions in your final report. Certainly if you have a lot of experience, you tend to give your advice a more coercive character. That, however, is not part of the Cx manager’s job.
The course participants all represented a high level of knowledge already. Those who follow the Cx- Manager training are experienced, qualified professionals (minimum six years of work experience) who work for a leading consultancy or installation company, another appealing client or a government agency. They are also already registered with SERTUM as Commissioning Specialist.
Exclusively positive reactions
The guest lecture of Bertus Toering could count on only positive reactions. To name a few:
Ronald van der Neut: Hey Bertus Toering, thanks a lot for sharing your vision on the Commissioning process. It was a valuable addition to the course material.
Geert-Jan Hoogendoorn: “Thanks for the enthusiastic contribution, next year again?”