The Department of Energy has released Energy Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines that are aimed at strengthening and streamlining commercial building workforce training and certification programs for workers in energy auditing, building commissioning, building operations, and energy management.
The DOE, National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), and a group of energy and building industry professionals developed the standards under the guise of the Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council.
“By creating nationally recognized standards for competency-based certification programs, these guidelines can ensure that workers have the skills they need to do their jobs effectively, while helping cut the pollution and energy costs that come from the country's commercial building sector,” the DOE says.
The guidelines “offer credentialing bodies a framework that will help their certification programs meet the needs and standards identified by the experts in the industry,” the DOE says. This type of quality assurance is especially important in jurisdictions that require energy audits or retro-commissioning of buildings.
Related Stories
| Mar 8, 2012
Green buildings more resilient than conventionally built structures
A new study by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning suggests that structures built to green standards can advance building resiliency.
| Mar 1, 2012
LEED Platinum standard likely to mean net-zero energy by 2018
As LEED standards continue to rise, the top level, LEED Platinum, will likely mean net-zero energy construction by 2018.
| Mar 1, 2012
EPA beefs up stormwater discharge rule from construction projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now finalized its 2012 construction general permit (CGP) that authorizes stormwater discharges from construction projects that disturb one or more acres of land in the areas where EPA is the permitting authority.
| Mar 1, 2012
Regulators investigate structural failures during construction of two Ohio casinos
Regulators with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and the city of Cincinnati are investigatingthe collapse of the second floor of Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino as workers were pouring concrete.
| Mar 1, 2012
Is your project too small for LEED? Consider other green standards
There are many other recognized national, state and local programs that offer a variety of best management practices and sustainable design, construction and operating strategies.
| Mar 1, 2012
California bill aims to cut costs for commercial building energy retrofits
A bill in the California Assembly would allow the state to pool together property owners’ energy-retrofit loans.
| Feb 29, 2012
Carvalho appointed Shawmut Safety Director
He has been a driving force behind multiple safety-orientated initiatives at Shawmut, including Safety Week, the creation of an online safety manual, and the implementation of a new safety reporting and tracking system.Â
| Feb 23, 2012
Federal budget cuts put major building projects on hold
A plan to build the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas is among several major building projects in jeopardy after the Obama administration’s 2013 budget was unveiled. The budget would cut all construction spending for the facility.
