How to Standardise Commissioning Across Multiple Sites or Teams

When you're commissioning equipment or systems across multiple sites, or managing multiple teams, the stakes get higher. Each location might have different personnel, local conditions, subcontractors, or customer expectations. Without a consistent approach, quality slips, timelines stretch, and support becomes reactive instead of proactive.

That’s why standardising your commissioning process is essential. It allows you to scale operations with confidence, reduce rework, and ensure that no matter who’s on-site or where the job is happening, your standard of delivery never drops.

Here’s how to build and roll out a consistent commissioning approach across your organisation or customer base.

1. Start with a Repeatable Commissioning Framework

Before you can scale consistency, you need to define it.

• Develop a commissioning framework that outlines:
• Required steps (e.g., pre-checks, installation validation, functional testing, performance verification, handover)
• Roles and responsibilities at each stage
• Documentation and approvals required

This framework becomes your baseline—something every team, site, or customer can build from.

🛠️ Tip: Use the same terminology, structure, and formatting across all sites. Confusion around naming is one of the biggest sources of errors.

2. Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Templates

Even the best frameworks fail if they’re left open to interpretation. Support your process with clear SOPs and reusable templates for:

• Installation checklists
• Functional and safety test procedures
• Punch lists and defect logs
• Handover and sign-off documentation

These documents should be version-controlled and easy to update as your product or process evolves.

🛠️ Tip: Include visual aids or photos to show what “good” looks like in the field. This reduces reliance on tribal knowledge.

3. Digitise Your Commissioning Process

Paper-based systems make it nearly impossible to track progress consistently across sites. They're hard to standardise, prone to errors, and difficult to audit.

A digital commissioning tool like HINDSITE allows you to:

• Deploy standardised work instructions to every technician, anywhere in the world
• Track job status and task completion in real time
• Capture issues, photos, and changes from the field instantly
• Generate automated reports for QA or customer records

🛠️ Tip: Look for platforms that work offline and on rugged devices - essential for remote or heavy-industry environments.

4. Train and Enable Your Teams

Even the best process will fail if people don’t understand why it matters.

Hold training sessions, virtual or on-site, that walk through:

• The commissioning framework
• How to use SOPs and digital tools
• Expectations around documentation and quality

Encourage feedback from field teams to refine and improve your approach over time.

🛠️ Tip: Appoint commissioning leads or champions at each site to help drive adoption and maintain standards locally.

5. Monitor Quality and Continuously Improve

Use data from each commissioning project to track:

• Task completion rates
• Common issues or failure points
• Time-to-completion per phase
• Customer feedback

Over time, this will show where processes are breaking down—and where you can improve.

🛠️ Tip: Share performance insights with teams. When people see the impact of following the process, they’re more likely to own it.

6. Align with Customers or Contractors Early

If you're working with customers or partners, get alignment on the commissioning process early. Set expectations around:

• Roles and responsibilities
• Required documentation
• Site readiness and access
• Approval gates

Make your standard process a selling point - it shows maturity, reduces disputes, and builds trust.

🛠️ Tip: Provide customers with a digital view of commissioning progress - they’ll appreciate the transparency.

Why Standardisation Pays Off

When you standardise commissioning across multiple sites or teams, you unlock:

✅ Faster, more predictable delivery
✅ Reduced rework and troubleshooting
✅ Easier onboarding for new staff or contractors
✅ Higher confidence from customers and stakeholders

You don’t just “get it done” - you get it right, every time.