The Washington Association of Maintenance and Operations Administrators (WAMOA) and the Building Operator Certification (BOC) Program are excited to announce Britton Vanness with North Franklin School District (NFSD) in Connell, WA as the first recipient of the joint WAMOA/BOC scholarship for completing the BOC training and certification program which will begin in Spokane, WA this fall.
WAMOA is an organization of educational facilities maintenance professionals in Washington State whose mission is to promote diversity and foster the highest degree of professionalism in its members engaged in the management of maintenance and operations in educational facilities; to enhance the professional competence of members through education.
BOC is the leading competency-based training and certification program for building engineers and maintenance personnel in Washington State and across the country. BOC Program graduates help fulfill one of the overarching missions of schools across Washington state: to provide comfortable and safe buildings to foster learning. BOC teaches operators to find practical, low-cost, and no-cost efficiency solutions by working with existing systems. They also learn how to create a preventive maintenance program that improves the building environment and prolongs the life of equipment. BOC graduates can better communicate with occupants so they can improve comfort while maximizing facility efficiency. Schools and districts appreciate the bottom-line savings graduates deliver and recognize them as a professional who cares about quality and efficiency.
After serving in the U.S. Naval Construction Force as a builder, Britton began working at NFSD in March 2010 and is currently the Facility Maintenance and Operations Supervisor. He directly supervises fourteen custodial staff and two maintenance staff. Due to the small size of the district and vast coverage area spanning three rural communities, it is vital that NFSD conducts many of their improvements in-house. Over the past 10 years the district has been able to build a new elementary school and renovate and modernize a middle school along with adding new additions and upgrades to an older high school and elementary school. With these improvements they have also added new energy efficient controls from HVAC to lighting.
Britton believes that BOC training will enable him to better identify areas for improvements in operational efficiency, assess the needs and begin documenting the scope of work to be performed. Having a well-informed BOC certified employee who can help with the decision-making process in the ever-changing and complex areas of energy efficiency and building management will benefit the NFSD and reduce out-of-house contracting costs. Britton has worked on multiple projects in the district improving facilities for usage and modernizing spaces to better suit the needs of the students. He’s excited to take the next step in advancing his knowledge of energy efficiency and building management so he can continue to improve the facilities for the students and district.
The WAMOA/BOC scholarship illustrates both organizations commitment to professional development in the field of facilities management for WAMOA members. WAMOA and BOC congratulate Britton on receiving the scholarship and for his commitment to advancing his career and bringing further improvements to the NFSD.
To learn more about WAMOA, please visit www.wamoa.org. To learn more about the BOC program, please visit www.theboc.info.