Design Reviews in Sirius Energy’s FACILITY Team – Making Buildings Work in Practice
When we work on complex building projects, we often see the same pattern : the biggest challenges rarely originate in the drawings themselves. They appear later - during execution, commissioning, or handover to operations - when systems are expected to function together in real life.
Most of the time, these issues are not caused by major mistakes. They arise from small gaps in the project material, unclear interfaces between disciplines, or assumptions that were never fully aligned. On paper, they may appear minor. During commissioning and operation, they often become critical.
That is exactly why design reviews are such an important part of how we work in FACILITY.
This is where we identify challenges before they develop into delays, uncertainty, or operational problems on site.
What design reviews mean to us
For us, a design review is not simply about reviewing drawings. It is about understanding whether the proposed solutions can realistically be built, tested, operated and maintained.
We do not review projects to assign blame. We review them to ensure that systems can function as intended in practice.
We do not review projects to assign blame. We review them to ensure that systems can function as intended in practice.
- Can the installation actually be serviced and maintained?
- Will the control system receive the required signals?
- Are interfaces between disciplines clearly defined?
- Can the system realistically be tested and verified?
- Will the operations team be able to operate the installation from day one?
In our experience, many project challenges arise in the transitions between disciplines. When responsibilities, signals or dependencies are not fully clarified, important details can easily be overlooked. That is why we place significant focus on interfaces and cross-disciplinary coordination during design reviews.
Derfor bruger vi meget energi på grænseflader og tværfaglig koordinering i vores granskning.
Why cross-disciplinary understanding matters
One of the strengths of our FACILITY team is that all consultants are marine engineers (MASKINMESTRE) with broad technical and operational understanding. This allows us to review projects across disciplines - including HVAC, heating and cooling systems, electrical installations, automation, controls and building operation.
The value lies in understanding how the complete system will behave once all disciplines begin interacting during commissioning and operation.
This perspective often allows us to identify practical challenges early in the process - for example installations with poor accessibility for maintenance, missing signals required for functional testing, dependencies between systems that are not fully coordinated, or technical rooms that become difficult to operate in practice.
These are often the types of issues that first become visible once the project moves into commissioning - where changes also become significantly more expensive.
From construction to commissioning
One of the most important transitions in any project happens when the building moves from installation into commissioning.
At this stage, the character of the project changes.
Focus shifts from individual disciplines completing their own scope to ensuring that systems function together as a complete operational solution. Mechanical completion alone does not create a functioning building. Systems first begin to work when contributions from all disciplines are coordinated and verified together.
This transition places significantly higher demands on coordination, communication, interface management, test planning and shared understanding between all parties.
Because commissioning is not only about checking whether components have been installed.
It is about verifying whether the building can actually operate as intended.
Why early design reviews create value
When design reviews are performed early and systematically, cross-disciplinary coordination improves, commissioning becomes more structured, and operational risks are reduced. Contractors gain a clearer understanding of expectations, while testing activities become easier to plan and execute.
Most importantly, problems are identified while they are still manageable.
That creates better project flow, fewer late changes and a more stable transition into operation.
Making buildings ready for operation
In Sirius Energy’s FACILITY team, design reviews are an important part of ensuring that buildings are not only technically complete - but operationally ready.
Our focus is always the same:
- Systems must functiontogether
- Functions must betestable
- Interfaces must beunderstood
- The operations team must be able to take over with confidence
Because real quality is not created at handover.
It is created much earlier - when the right questions are asked before the building is built.
