What Employers and Operators Are Saying
Mark Stein, Chief Facilities Officer at Bethlehem Area School District, and Sean McKenna, the school district’s Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, discuss how BOC training helped the school district meet their energy efficiency goals and put millions of dollars back into their classrooms.
Jess Miller, Director of Facilities and Security at Umpqua Community College, discusses the impact of BOC’s holistic approach to building management and why it is “absolutely critical to help you improve.”
Tom Javins, Associate Director of Engineering and Utilities at the University of Montana, recommends BOC training because “in our industry, if you’re not learning, you’re falling behind.”
Tom Coles, Facilities Maintenance Supervisor at Boise Airport, talks about the BOC’s hands-on approach and the immediate applicability of his training at one of his 123 facilities.
Dennis Bursell, Facilities and Maintenance Manager at Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains, Montana, talks about his BOC training and the value of certifying his staff.
Don Larson, director of engineering at a major medical center, tells how BOC training builds a competent and confident workforce.
Teresa Rogers, journeyman building engineer, talks about how Building Operator Certification (BOC) training helped advance her career in building operations and maintenance.
Chris Hunsaker, HVAC Lead and Building Engineer at Safeco Field in Seattle, WA tells his story of how an energy efficient upgrade project to his facility’s boiler system saved the organization a quarter of a million dollars in less than six months.
“The BOC Program offered through Lane Community College provides a comprehensive and unique opportunity in learning. The instructors are a collection of highly experienced professionals, many at the engineering level with years of field experience working directly with Facilities Managers and Staff. The instructors’ ability to convey the advanced curriculum quickly and effectively was amazing. Combined with the input and questions from the other students (peers from my region whose facilities were different, but systems and struggles were very similar) made this program great. The only problem is that I should have taken the course years ago.”
Richard Smutz, Blue Mountain Community College
“The BOC information is an investment in better maintained buildings, better educated building operators, and gratified customers. The cost of the coursework is worth every penny because the knowledge and quality of the instructors is second to none. The knowledge gleaned from the coursework will only improve a person’s ability to perform building maintenance.”
John M. Haran, California State University Northridge,
Physical Plant Management Department Safety/Training Coordinator
“I found BOC to be one of the most knowledgeable learning experiences I have had in a classroom setting. At that time, I had decided to send my department and they all could not say enough about the classes,”
Noreen McKinley, Chief Engineer, Marriott Santa Clara, California
“My introduction to the BOC came in 2007 when I enrolled in the level one course. That course was a career-changer for me. I learned that to take care of a building correctly, you have to be a scientist, mathematician, detective, communicator, and an advocate. The BOC gives you the understanding of how those professions blend to form a “Building Operator”. That alone would be appealing to most every organization that has a maintenance department. However, there is more: you save energy, and money along with it. After completing level I, I went back and made things happen, I even formed an Energy Management Team. A year later, I completed level II. The result: my organization went from a budget of $270,000 dollars for electricity to $185,000. When your building is performing well the entire organization enjoys the benefits.”
Rick Meinking, Consultant, RM Services & Energy Efficiency Maine
“Vancouver Public Schools (VPS) has been actively engaged in the BOC program since 2001. With the blessing and support of the VPS facilities manager, I enrolled myself and all 35 of the district’s lead custodial staff in the BOC program in 2001. Since graduation of the initial class in 2002, Vancouver Public Schools has continued its involvement in this certification training. On completion of the class of 2010, we will have sent a total of 59 active and retired Building Operators, Custodial Supervisors and HVAC technicians through BOC training. As a direct result of participation in the BOC training, graduates have contributed to over $300,000 per year in energy savings to our school district. Additionally, our school communities benefit from having certified operators in each facility that have a significant understanding of the building components and systems necessary to the maintenance of high performing environments for the students, staff and patrons of Vancouver Public Schools.”
John Weber, Interim Custodial Maintenance Crew Leader, Vancouver Public Schools, Washington
“BOC is the type of program that produces real benefits for our communities. City staff who go through this training and certification are well prepared to improve operational efficiencies in municipal facilities.”
Jane Cummins, Senior Staff Associate, League of Oregon Cities
“A hospital customer of PSE was participating in a commissioning project. Its building operators, some of whom are BOC participants, were an integral part of the commissioning crew. Now that their building is tuned up, they are taking pride in operating at an efficient level. In fact, they are using some of the things they learned about the building to improve operation beyond the commissioned state.”
Bill Steigner, Senior Energy Management Engineer, Puget Sound Energy, Olympia, Washington
“After I took the training several years ago, I interviewed for a position with three other qualified candidates. The only difference between us was my BOC certification. I’m not saying the BOC was solely responsible for me getting the job but it was a very significant factor in me being chosen over the other two candidates. At my current position with Granby Public Schools, I had my lead mechanic take the course.”
Santi Camarotti, Director of Facilities, Granby Public Schools, Granby, Connecticut
“The program is the best thing that has happened to public facilities maintenance people in years. Whether you are an experienced journeyman or, as in my case, have limited trades skills, the BOC has tremendous value. On the surface, you would think that having one- or two-day classes in a technical area such as electricity might not be very useful to those with no background in the area. For the experts in that area, you might think the instruction is going to be too simplified, and too much of an overview. Well, you will be wrong on both counts!”
Duncan Crump, Senior Facilities Planner, Washington State General Administration
“BOC certifications bring a level of trust for the customer that we have training and expertise that can help them in areas where they need utility assistance. The knowledge the staff members gain about building systems is value-added in term of their audit reporting capabilities and the training is also an opportunity for energy efficiency staff to talk with customers directly and explain our programs.”
Tom Lienhard, Lead Energy DSM Engineer, Avista Utilities, Spokane, Washington
“By taking the BOC courses, I was able to learn about in-depth real world equipment and scenarios. While you may learn theory in a lot of classes, I was able to come away with a better picture of a multitude of disciplines used in a building and tie them together overall.”
Rick Gideon, Data Center Facilities Engineer, King County, Washington