On February 24 & 25, BOMA San Diego hosted the second of two pilot “Train the Trainer” programs focused on building re-tuning. Developed as a partnership between BOMA International, the Consortium for Building Energy innovation (CBEI), and Penn State University at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the course trains building engineers and managers in low or no cost techniques that can improve building efficiency from 5-20% in buildings without building management systems. The course also includes a section on training techniques so that attendees are able to pass the information they learn on to other members of their or their clients’ organizations. BOMA San Diego looks forward to offering a condensed version of this training as a seminar to our general membership. Contact Katie Blizzard (Katie@FourSeasonsTC.com) for more information.

Katie Blizzard, Director of Marketing and Business Development
Four Seasons Tree Care

It was my pleasure this week to be invited and attend a prototype “training for trainers” focused on Building Efficiency Re-Tuning for small and medium commercial buildings. The subject matter was directed at basic practical behaviors for regaining the designed efficiency of your building and implementing improvements that are simple and clearly cost effective.  The analogy of “Teaching a man to fish vs giving him a fish” was evident in all of the building analysis methodologies in the program.  As building systems become more complex and maintenance budgets become increasingly constrained, the tendency to overlook or misdiagnose basic building efficiency issues becomes more prevalent.  This class provides an opportunity for building maintenance and facility staff to step back and see the bigger building efficiency picture, and sharpen their building efficiency diagnosis skills.  The program is basic, effective, and practical for any knowledge level.  The concepts contained in this program are not one time fixes or simply the generation of a report that sits on a shelf.  Instead they provide an opportunity to change the culture and perspective of the facilities group regarding the efficient operation of their facility. BOMA San Diego now has a wonderful building efficiency training resource that can provide both immediate and long term building efficiency and tenant comfort improvements for little or no capital cost.

Greg Carnegie, Energy Program Manager
Reno Contracting, Inc.