H‑Infinity

Commissioning is the bridge between construction and operation. It's the process of proving that every switchgear bay, every cable, every relay, and every control loop works exactly as designed before the system is energized and handed over to operations. Skipping commissioning steps is one of the most costly shortcuts in electrical construction — the savings at construction are dwarfed by the rework, downtime, and safety risks that follow. Our commissioning services give you confidence that your electrical system is ready.

01What Do We Test?

Commissioning covers every element of the electrical system:

▸Switchgear Testing — Mechanical operation tests, interlock verification, CT/VT ratio and polarity checks, insulation resistance measurements, and breaker timing tests for MV and HV circuit breakers.
▸Protection Relay Testing — Secondary injection testing of all protection relays (overcurrent, earth fault, differential, distance, directional) to verify trip characteristics match design settings.
▸Cable Testing — Insulation resistance (Megger) testing, high-potential (hi-pot) testing, continuity verification, and sheath testing of control and power cables.
▸Control Loop Checks — End-to-end verification of control signals from field instruments through I/O cards to SCADA/HMI indication, alarm, and response.
▸Interlock Testing — Functional verification of mechanical and electrical interlocks, sequence of operation, and fail-safe positions.

02Why Commissioning Matters

Poor commissioning leads to operational problems that persist for years:

▸Protection Failures — A relay wired incorrectly or with wrong settings may fail to trip during a fault, causing catastrophic equipment damage or cascading outages.
▸False Trips — Overly sensitive or incorrectly set protection causes nuisance trips, resulting in unnecessary production losses and equipment wear.
▸Cable Defects — Damaged insulation or poor terminations that pass initial tests can fail within weeks or months under operating voltage and temperature.
▸Operational Confusion — Without proper loop checks, operators cannot trust HMI indications, leading to delayed responses during emergencies.

03Our Approach

We follow a systematic, documented commissioning process:

1. Pre-Commissioning

Verify installation completeness — mechanical alignment, cable connections, termination torque, labeling, and visual inspection before any energization.

2. Cold Commissioning

De-energised testing — insulation resistance, continuity, relay injection, and interlock verification without applying power to the system.

3. Hot Commissioning

Energised testing — voltage checks, phase rotation, load testing, functional testing with process fluid, and performance verification under operating conditions.

4. Handover

Complete commissioning register, test reports, as-built settings, punch list close-out, and operational training for maintenance and control room personnel.

04Scope of Testing & Commissioning

Our commissioning services include:

▸Commissioning Plan — Detailed procedures with test steps, acceptance criteria, safety requirements, and responsibilities for each system.
▸Relay Injection Testing — Primary and secondary injection testing using calibrated test sets (OmniTest, Argus, DCMV) for all protection relay types.
▸System Integration Testing — Full loop verification including field devices, cabling, panels, protection relays, SCADA/HMI, and interlock logic.
▸Performance Testing — Load testing, temperature rise verification, and system performance under actual operating conditions.

05Standards & Compliance

✓IEC 61850 — Communication Networks

✓IEEE C37.90 — Relay Surge Withstand

✓IEC 60255 — Relay Testing Standards

✓IEEE 300 — Substation Testing

06Why H-Infinity

Our commissioning team has worked on dozens of projects across the GCC — from 400 kV transmission substations and gas-fired power plants to petrochemical facilities and waste-to-energy plants. We use calibrated test equipment, follow documented procedures, and deliver comprehensive commissioning registers that give our clients confidence at handover. We understand that commissioning isn't just about passing tests — it's about ensuring the system performs reliably for decades.

Testing & Commissioning