InspectWrk

Retro-Commissioning Checklist

Use this retro-commissioning checklist to run checks on rcx project scope, existing documentation review, initial building assessment, HVAC systems, controls and BAS, and trend analysis and functional testing, capturing photo evidence per finding and tracking each fix through to closure.

11 sections52 questions16 to 30 minutesFree

Retro-CommissioningTower A · Existing Documentation Review0 of 3 checked
  • Collect as-built drawings, equipment schedules and control drawings where available.Facilities team reviewing site status in a plant control roomPhoto Added
  • Collect the available utility and energy use history for the building.Facilities team reviewing site status in a plant control roomPhoto Added
  • Confirm BAS access, point lists and trend capability for the systems in scope.Facilities team reviewing site status in a plant control roomPhoto Added
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What’s in this checklist.

11 sections · 52 questions · 16 to 30 minutes · Free

    1. Record the building, its use, floor area and the systems included in the RCx scope.

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    2. Record the RCx objectives, such as comfort, energy use, reliability or ventilation.

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    3. Confirm the owner's current facility requirements are documented, including occupancy hours and space conditions.

    4. Record any previous commissioning or retro-commissioning and its findings.

    5. Record the RCx team, including the owner's representative, commissioning provider and building operators.

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    1. Collect as-built drawings, equipment schedules and control drawings where available.

    2. Review the documented control sequences and note where they are missing or out of date.

    3. Review O&M manuals, maintenance records and open work orders for the systems in scope.

    4. Collect the available utility and energy use history for the building.

    5. Confirm BAS access, point lists and trend capability for the systems in scope.

    1. Walk the building with the operators and record known operating problems.

    2. Record comfort complaints by area, and whether they are recurring.

    3. Record changes in occupancy, space use or operating hours since the systems were designed.

    4. Record the condition of major equipment observed during the walkthrough.

    5. List equipment running in hand or manual mode, and any disabled or bypassed controls.

    1. Check air handling units, including dampers, economizer operation, coils, filters and fan operation.

    2. Check VAV boxes for damper operation, airflow and reheat operation in a sample of zones.

    3. Check chillers, boilers, pumps and cooling towers for operation matching the intended sequence.

    4. Check that outdoor air ventilation matches the current occupancy and design intent.

    5. Record any heating and cooling operating at the same time in the same space or system.

    1. Compare setpoints for temperature, humidity, pressure and supply air with the owner's current requirements.

    2. Compare occupancy schedules in the BAS with actual building hours and holidays.

    3. List active overrides, with who set them and why, where known.

    4. Check critical sensors against a calibrated reference and record any drift.

    5. Confirm reset strategies, such as supply air or chilled water reset, are enabled and working.

    6. Review alarms for nuisance or ignored alarms and for BAS communication faults.

    1. Set up trends for key points and collect enough data to cover normal operating conditions.

    2. Review trends for short cycling, unstable control loops and equipment running outside schedule.

    3. Functionally test each sequence in scope and record whether the system responds as intended.

    4. Check airflow and hydronic performance where the scope includes testing or balancing checks.

    5. Record the result of each functional test.

    1. Record scheduling opportunities, such as equipment running in unoccupied hours.

    2. Record control optimization opportunities, such as resets or improved sequences.

    3. Record low-cost and no-cost measures separately from measures that need capital funding.

    4. Estimate the operational impact of each opportunity using the method agreed for the project.

    1. Describe each observed problem, the system affected and the evidence, such as a trend or test result.

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    2. Record the likely root cause, not just the symptom.

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    3. Record the operational impact on comfort, energy use, equipment life or ventilation.

    4. Record the priority of the finding.

    5. Record the recommended corrective measure and the responsible party.

    1. Record each measure implemented, such as a setpoint, schedule or sequence change, calibration or repair.

    2. Confirm the owner approved each measure before it was implemented.

    3. Confirm control program changes are backed up and documented.

    4. Record the status of each measure.

    1. Retest each corrected sequence or system and record the result.

    2. Compare trend data before and after the correction.

    3. Confirm overrides removed during RCx have not been reinstated.

    4. Record any issue that remains unresolved and the reason.

    1. Compile the final findings, completed measures and remaining recommendations.

    2. Update control sequences, setpoint schedules and system documentation to match the corrected operation.

    3. Confirm operators are trained on the changes and on how to keep them in place.

    4. Record the ongoing monitoring plan, such as trends or periodic checks, to catch problems returning.

How the Retro-Commissioning checklist works.

Three steps, about 16 to 30 minutes.

  1. Work through each section

    Section by section, one check at a time.

  2. Log every finding

    Tap Fail, add a photo, assign who fixes it.

  3. Sign off and share

    The report is ready the moment you finish.

Same checklist, two ways to run it.

Paper for a one-off check. The app when every finding needs fixing.

Printed PDF

  • Pen on paper
  • Photos in your camera roll
  • Report typed up later

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What is a retro-commissioning checklist?

Quick answer

A retro-commissioning checklist guides the process of finding and fixing operating problems in an existing building that was never commissioned. It covers documentation review, a building walkthrough, HVAC systems, BAS setpoints, schedules and overrides, trend analysis and functional testing, then records each finding with its root cause, the corrective measure and a retest.

A retro-commissioning checklist takes a building team through retro-commissioning (RCx) step by step: agree the scope with the owner, gather what documentation exists, walk the building with the operators, and then test how the systems actually run. Most problems RCx finds are not broken equipment. They are schedules that no longer match occupancy, overrides nobody removed, sensors that have drifted and sequences that fight each other, such as heating and cooling running at the same time.

RCx is sometimes grouped under existing building commissioning, and ASHRAE Guideline 0.2 covers that process where a project follows it. Unlike an energy audit, which estimates savings from upgrades, RCx corrects how the existing systems operate and then proves the fix with a retest. Targets such as setpoints and schedules come from the owner's current facility requirements, not from this checklist.

Why do building systems drift from how they should run?

A tenant complained about a cold office two winters ago, so someone overrode the AHU to run around the clock. The complaint went away, the override stayed, and nobody connected it to the rise in the energy bill.

Without trend data and a record of each finding, the same problems get fixed by feel, then come back. Retro-commissioning replaces that with evidence: what is wrong, why it happens, what was changed and whether the retest proved it.

Before and After InspectWrk

Before InspectWrk

  • Overrides and schedule changes pile up with no record of who made them or why.
  • Comfort complaints are fixed by adjusting a setpoint instead of finding the cause.
  • Corrections are made once and never checked again.

After InspectWrk

  • Every finding is logged with trend or test evidence, a root cause and an owner.
  • Corrective measures are approved, tracked and retested against the before data.
  • Operators get updated sequences and a monitoring plan so the fixes last.

Why is a retro-commissioning checklist important?

Buildings drift from how they were meant to run. A structured RCx process helps you:

  • Find the cause, not just the complaint: each finding records the evidence and the root cause behind it.
  • Use data, not opinion: trends and functional tests show how systems really behave across a normal week.
  • Prove the fix: every corrective measure is retested and compared with the before data.
  • Keep the gains: updated sequences, operator training and a monitoring plan stop old problems returning.

What should be included in a retro-commissioning checklist?

A complete retro-commissioning record moves from assessment to handover:

Assessment

  • RCx scope, objectives and the owner's current facility requirements
  • Existing drawings, control sequences, O&M records and utility history
  • Operator interviews, comfort complaints and changes in building use
  • Equipment in manual mode and any overridden or bypassed controls

Diagnosis

  • AHU, VAV, chiller, boiler, pump and cooling tower operation
  • BAS setpoints, schedules, overrides, reset strategies and sensor calibration
  • Trend analysis and functional test results for each sequence
  • Findings with evidence, root cause, impact and priority

Correction and handover

  • Approved corrective measures and their status
  • Retest results compared with the before data
  • Updated sequences and documentation
  • Operator training, final report and ongoing monitoring plan

How do teams use a retro-commissioning checklist?

Work through the RCx process in order:

  1. Agree the scope, the objectives and the owner's current facility requirements.
  2. Review documentation and walk the building with the operators to list known problems.
  3. Check HVAC and BAS settings, set up trends and functionally test each sequence in scope.
  4. Record each finding with its evidence and root cause, then implement the approved measures.
  5. Retest, compare before and after, update the documentation and train the operators.

See how this checklist fits into Facility management software.

This checklist runs as a mobile inspection app that works fully offline on site, with AI-powered defect detection on every photo. To see it on your own workflows, talk to our team.

AI-Powered Features for Your Field Workflows

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01 / 05Photo to formVISION AI

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02 / 05Voice to textVOICE AI

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The moment an inspection is submitted, AI summarises the findings and builds a branded PDF report and an Excel sheet for you.

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04 / 05IntegrationsINTEGRATIONS

Connect Your Existing Tools.

InspectWrk integrates with the tools your team already uses, including Zoho, Microsoft 365, and SAP.

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05 / 05Live dashboardLIVE DATA

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Your operations team sees completion rates, open issues, and compliance scores across all sites in real time.

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  • Collaborate

    Collaborate with your team anytime, anywhere

    See which checklists your team has in progress across every site, jump into the same inspection with one tap, and keep field, supervisor, and back-office views in sync without sending screenshots on WhatsApp.

    • Organise inspection data by site, team, and date
    • Assign checks to the inspector or vendor responsible
    • Track completion across every location in one view
    • Keep field and back-office in sync in real time
    • Comment on findings without leaving the inspection
  • Custom Reports

    Custom reports that guide your decision making

    Every team reports differently. Build the report your operations, quality, or compliance leads actually want to read, share it as a branded PDF, and schedule delivery to the stakeholders who need it.

    • Branded PDF and CSV export from any completed inspection
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    • Share to email, Drive, Teams, or Slack in one click
    • Filter findings by site, severity, or corrective-action status
  • Powerful Analytics

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    See completion, pass rate, and recurring findings across every checklist and every site, without pulling spreadsheets together at the end of the month.

    Powerful dashboard
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    Always in sync
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    Embedded analytics
    Explore checklist data with charts and breakdowns that stay tied to the underlying inspections, without exporting to spreadsheets.

Retro-Commissioningquestions

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Retro-commissioning, often shortened to RCx, is a process for improving how an existing building's systems operate when they were never commissioned before. The team reviews the documentation, walks the building, checks the controls, collects trend data and functionally tests each sequence. Problems such as poor schedules, stuck dampers, drifting sensors or simultaneous heating and cooling are traced to their root cause and corrected. Each correction is then retested, and the operators are trained so the building keeps running the way it should.

New building commissioning verifies that systems in a new building are installed and work as designed before handover. Recommissioning repeats commissioning on a building that was commissioned before, usually after some years of operation. Retro-commissioning applies the same discipline to an existing building that was never commissioned, so there is often no baseline documentation to start from. That is why the first sections of this checklist focus on gathering documents, interviewing operators and establishing the owner's current requirements before any testing starts.

No, although they are often done together. An energy audit looks at how much energy a building uses and identifies improvements, often capital upgrades, with estimated savings. Retro-commissioning focuses on how the existing equipment and controls are operating, and corrects problems such as poor scheduling or broken sequences, usually at low or no cost. The RCx findings can feed into an energy audit, and audit results can help decide which systems to include in the RCx scope. Many owners run RCx first, because it fixes operation before money is spent on new equipment.

Most RCx projects focus on HVAC and controls, because that is where operating problems usually hide. This checklist covers air handling units, VAV boxes, chillers, boilers, pumps, cooling towers and ventilation, together with the BAS setpoints, schedules, overrides, sensors, reset strategies and alarms that run them. The scope can also include lighting controls or other systems if the owner wants them assessed. The first section records exactly which systems are included, so the findings and the final report match the agreed scope.

Your team records the walkthrough, BAS checks and functional tests on a phone or tablet, with photos and notes attached to each system. Findings become tracked items with a root cause, priority, owner and status, so nothing is lost between the assessment and the retest. Managers see open findings across buildings in one dashboard. When the work is complete, the checklist exports as a single report with the findings, corrective measures and retest results, ready to share with the owner and operators.

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