Suffolk Design in Action: Commissioning with MBTA

Transportation is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about one-third of all U.S. emissions. To reduce its carbon footprint, the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority (MBTA) is converting its bus fleet to zero-emissions vehicles over the next several decades. The goal is to electrify its entire fleet of 1,150 buses by 2040.  As part of this initiative, the MBTA is modernizing all bus maintenance facilities to accommodate zero emissions technology and improve conditions for the workforce to support their efforts to keep bus service competitive and reliable for MBTA passengers.

Suffolk is currently building the first of these facilities. The new Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2026, is a state-of-the-art, 293,000-square-foot facility that will accommodate and maintain up to 120 buses. It will also feature battery electric bus charging equipment, including pantographs, chargers, and plug-in dispensers, charge management software, a proposed electrical switching station, and two substations. The facility will also house repair, service, maintenance, and wash bays, a bus barn, facility storage, building equipment, and more.

As building technology advances to meet rigorous sustainability goals, commissioning becomes an even more vital part of the project lifecycle. Commissioning is a systematic process to ensure that the project meets the owner project requirements and operates as designed. Through its in-house design management firm, Suffolk Design, Suffolk has certified commissioning agents on board to support these technical needs, ensuring all systems are properly, installed, tested, and operational.

For the Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility, Suffolk Design’s in-house certified commissioning agents are responsible for managing the overall commissioning process. The team leverages technology, such as Procore, to centralize and streamline pre-functional testing, functional testing and corrective actions processes. The Suffolk Design team also integrates key milestones and processes to mitigate risk and ensure efficient project delivery. These include building management system graphic mock-ups, systems integration, trend and alarm matrices, detailed automatic temperature control submittal reviews and off-site pretesting.

With this expertise in commissioning, Suffolk Design is ensuring that the Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility will operate at peak performance, contributing to the MBTA’s sustainability goals and supporting a more efficient public transportation system.