7104 Peach Court, Brentwood, TN 37027   Phone: (615) 373-4126   Fax: (615) 373-9207 
History-Commissioning-FSI
 

Historical Roots & Current Drivers of Commissioning

The notion of commissioning is said to have been born in the shipbuilding industry, and first instituted in the U.S. Navy “Commissioning the systems of their ships”. The Navy developed test procedures for both their New Ships and submarines to the fleet and test procedures to the existing fleet.

FSI President, James Stephen Penix (Steve), started his career at Vanderbilt University as Chief Mechanical Engineer working on both the Campus and Medical Center. Part of his passion in the 70’s was to create an Energy Program. Later Steve worked as Chief Engineer of Opryland Resort and Convention Center before officially starting FSI in the 1990’s.

Steve Penix


During the 1980’s Steve came up with various test methods he would constitute into the projects he was working on as a Building Owner. The test methods he developed coincided with what was emerging within the buildings sector market in the late 1980s, with emphasis on indoor air quality and reconciling mechanical system performance with design intent. Only in the past decade has commissioning been routinely applied to energy-related considerations. Results from the Energy Edge program in the Pacific Northwest were one of the first significant “wakeup calls” that energy efficiency measures did not often work as well in practice as suggested by
engineering calculations.

Steve Penix has been one of the leaders and founding members of modern day Commissioning Cx practices before LEED and Green Buildings were even discussed in the public market place. The knowledge and history of the various Design, Construction, and Building Operation theories he has implemented thru his career provides a successful tract record for all FSI clients.
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