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During a 24-year service in the military, Troy Kunas ensured that U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker ships were in top operating condition. He now uses the same process for buildings.

鈥淵ou’ve got to look at a ship as nothing more than a building that stands by itself and moves between places,鈥� said Kunas, who recently became commissioning director with Tigard-based Northwest Engineering Service Inc. 鈥淭he only difference between a ship and a building is I have more headroom in a building than on a ship.鈥�

Since retiring from the Coast Guard in 2003, Kunas has parlayed his military experience into a civilian career in building commissioning. This includes providing quality assurance through design, construction and occupancy of numerous public and private projects.

鈥淓verything we had on a ship we have in a building,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bottom line is commissioning is a process (of) determining a path to verify that everything works. It’s the same process that you’re doing.鈥�

Prior to joining NWESI late last year, Kunas worked for more than a decade with design and engineering firm Heery International. He started as a commissioning agent, and later managed the firm’s Tacoma office before serving as a Portland-based operations officer for commissioning. He initially landed a position at Heery after connecting with the firm’s director of commissioning, a British navy veteran.

鈥淚 was able to speak the same language as him,鈥� Kunas said.

Joe Helm, NWESI president, said he was also impressed by Kunas’ military career when the firm hired him to manage all of its commissioning and energy-related services in Oregon and Idaho. Building commissioning can trace its origins to the military, Helm said.

鈥淭he concept really started in the Navy with ships,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don’t want to be 1,000 miles offshore and have something go wrong.鈥�

Kunas said his experience in the Coast Guard has often been an advantage to his work in building commissioning. Among the most valuable experiences was work on a four-year project to replace the propulsion systems for Coast Guard icebreakers. He was also involved in commissioning construction in the late 1990s of the Coast Guard’s Healy icebreaker in New Orleans. When he retired from the Coast Guard, he was chief engineer on the Seattle-based Polar Star icebreaker.

鈥淥ne of the big things I brought to the (building) commissioning world is I understand power generation and government work,鈥� Kunas said. 鈥淚 understand where the government was coming from and it made it easier to work with the federal government as a contractor.鈥�

Another aspect of the military he’s translated into building commissioning is preparing for a worst-case scenario. It’s on his mind in providing guidance to building maintenance and operations staffers on ensuring a structure is as efficient as possible, but also what to do if part of the mechanical system fails.

鈥淥ne of the things we do in the naval service is we have lots of drills,鈥� Kunas said. 鈥淲hat to do in the case of a casualty to a piece of gear.鈥�

After leaving the Coast Guard, he worked on a half-dozen federal government contracts at Heery International as well as power plant and aviation projects. Kunas’ current work at NWESI includes helping oversee various higher education and K-12 school projects as well as work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Portland International Airport.

Along with his management responsibilities, Kunas said he’s been working to diversify the firm’s portfolio to include more project types. He also is seeking potential clients.

鈥淚’ve been changing our philosophy about how do we go out and identify the type of work we pursue,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’m more proactive. I’m about, 鈥楲et’s get out in front and get to know people.’ I’m a firm believer in becoming a trusted adviser to every client.鈥�

Helm said this trait made Kunas an attractive candidate for the commissioning director position.

鈥淎 lot of engineers tend to be introverts and Troy is not an introvert,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e’s very good at interacting with potential clients.鈥�

Kunas said commissioning work first on ships and then on buildings has always been a good fit for him. He thrives on the challenge of first finding a problem or inefficiency and then figuring out the root cause and how to fix it.

鈥淚’ve always been inquisitive and never accept that that’s how it’s always been,鈥� he said.