About Us
Built by Mission-Critical
Commissioning Practitioners.
Four Knots Consulting is a commissioning technology firm that combines hands-on field experience with purpose-built software. We believe mission-critical facilities deserve better tools, cleaner documentation, and honest readiness reporting.
Our Story
Four Knots was founded on a problem that every mission-critical commissioning engineer knows but rarely talks about: we are doing the most demanding infrastructure work in the industry with tools built for something else.
Our founder's path into that problem ran through the Navy, the generator field, and the data center world. He spent 9.5 years as a Nuclear Electrician's Mate — starting with two years in nuclear training, four aboard a fast attack submarine where he reached EMN1(SS), and the final years as a Navy recruiter focused on bringing the next generation of nuclear operators into the service. That last role taught him something different than the plant did: how to connect with people, understand the problems they were facing, and communicate across a wide range of backgrounds. It is where the soft skills caught up with the technical ones.
After the Navy, he spent two years with MTU/Rolls-Royce as a Senior Field Commissioning Technician — work that blurred the line between equipment specialist and commissioning agent, and built a ground-level understanding of generator systems that most commissioning engineers only know from submittals and specs. From there, he moved into a Project Commissioning Engineer role with an international electrical contractor that has built a serious reputation in mission-critical and data center work — and where he still operates today.
That is where the problem became impossible to ignore. The facilities demanded rigorous standards across every discipline. The tooling did not rise to meet them. Test scripts assembled by hand in Word documents. Source document conflicts discovered during witness testing instead of during prep. Readiness status tracked in email threads. Tools designed for retail and commercial commissioning applied to Tier III and Tier IV data centers where the margin for error is effectively zero.
CxScript Pro is what we built to fix it — not a generic project management tool with a commissioning skin, but a platform designed from the ground up around five commissioning levels, 19 system types, and the specific standards (NETA, NFPA, IEEE, ASHRAE) that define how mission-critical systems get tested and turned over.
The name “Four Knots” comes from the Navy — the speed at which submarines conduct their slowest, most deliberate operations. The moments where precision matters more than speed. Commissioning is exactly that kind of work: methodical, high-stakes, and unforgiving of shortcuts.
Founder
Zach Durig
Founder & CEO
I spent 9.5 years in the Navy as a Nuclear Electrician's Mate — starting with two years in nuclear training, four aboard a fast attack submarine where I reached EMN1(SS), and the final years as a Navy recruiter focused on bringing the next generation of nuclear operators into the service. That last role taught me something different than the plant did: how to connect with people, understand the problems they were facing, and communicate across a wide range of backgrounds. It is where the soft skills caught up with the technical ones.
After the Navy, I spent two years with MTU/Rolls-Royce as a Senior Field Commissioning Technician, doing the kind of hands-on generator work that most commissioning engineers never get close to. That role gave me a systems-level understanding of the equipment that now shapes how CxScript Pro handles generator commissioning from the ground up.
I currently work as a Project Commissioning Engineer with an international electrical contractor specializing in mission-critical and data center facilities. That is where the limitations of existing tooling became undeniable — and where the idea for CxScript Pro went from frustration to conviction. Four Knots is what I built in response.
Background
- U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program — Nuclear Electrician’s Mate (EMN1/SS)
- Fast attack submarine — nuclear propulsion plant operations & maintenance
- MTU/Rolls-Royce — Senior Field Commissioning Technician
- Mission-critical & data center commissioning (Tier III & IV)
- Generator paralleling & UPS system startups
- BMS integration & controls verification
- NETA, NFPA, ASHRAE, IEEE standards application
Our Mission
Raise the standard of commissioning delivery.
We believe commissioning should be predictable, transparent, and grounded in verified data — not best guesses and institutional memory. CxScript Pro is how we make that real.
Rigor
No shortcuts. Every test step traces to a standard. Every result is documented. We carry the same discipline from nuclear operations into commissioning.
Transparency
Readiness data should be clear, honest, and accessible to every stakeholder. If a system is not ready, everyone should know why.
Practitioner-Led
CxScript Pro is built by someone who has written these scripts by hand, on real projects, under real pressure. Every feature comes from field experience, not assumptions about how commissioning works.
Simplicity
Complex projects need simple tools. We reduce friction and eliminate busywork so engineers can focus on what matters.
Why work with Four Knots?
Consulting + Software
We are not just a software vendor. We are a commissioning firm that builds its own tools. That means the software actually works the way projects do.
Nuclear-Grade Discipline
Our founder's Navy background brings two things most software companies cannot replicate: the procedural rigor and verification culture of nuclear operations, and the people skills built recruiting and developing the next generation of those operators. The result is a platform that is rigorous enough to trust and practical enough to actually use.
Mission-Critical Focus
We focus exclusively on mission-critical and data center commissioning. Every system type, every standard, and every workflow reflects that specialization.
Ready to raise the standard?
Whether you are looking for commissioning consulting, a better way to manage scripts and readiness, or just want to talk through what CxScript Pro could do for your projects — I am easy to reach and always willing to have that conversation.