Structural Pressure in Commissioning: A Cross-Role Analysis of Engineering Project Delivery

Commissioning marks the final transition from construction to operation in engineering projects, yet the workplace pressures faced by commissioning engineers remain under-examined in construction governance research. This study investigates whether commissioning engineers experience distinct structural pressures relative to other engineering roles. A global cross-sectional survey of engineering professionals (N = 335) was conducted, including a commissioning subsample (n = 81). Universal pressure and organisational culture measures were compared across roles using Mann-Whitney U tests with effect sizes, and a commissioning-specific behavioural module captured late-stage integration conditions. Commissioning engineers reported significantly higher structural pressure than other roles, particularly for extended working hours (86.4% vs 54.7%, r = .42) and role expansion (81.5% vs 60.2%, r = .29). Commissioning-specific data revealed near-universal exposure to documentation incompleteness and out-of-sequence execution. Despite an elevated workload, no significant differences in psychological distress emerged, whereas perceptions of leadership support and communication transparency were significantly lower. The pattern is consistent with lifecycle compression being absorbed through labour intensification during system activation rather than resolved structurally. The findings position commissioning as a governance-relevant integration phase; aligning documentation maturity, sequencing readiness, and milestone controls with activation requirements may reduce reliance on discretionary labour during late-stage delivery. This study provides rare cross-role empirical evidence, positioning commissioning as a structurally exposed phase within construction delivery systems and extending lifecycle governance discussions beyond early-stage decision-making.