Building Sales With Certification - Retrofit Installer Technician

BUILDING SALES WITH

CERTIFICATION Part Two: Retrofit Installer Technician April 25, 2012

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Four-Part Webinar Series Part One - Energy Auditor

Wednesday, April 18 - Archived

Part Two - Retrofit Installer Technician

Wednesday, April 25 at 12:00 pm PDT

Part Three - Crew Leader

Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00 pm PDT

Part Four - Quality Control Inspector


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Continuing Education Units – CEU’s

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SUSTAINABLE IDEAS


Retrofit Installer Technician

A Retrofit Installer Technician is a residential energy efficiency professional who installs energy efficiency upgrades in single-family homes, and small multi-family housing (2-4 units).

The Energy Auditor produces building information as a report and makes recommendations to the customer.

The Retrofit Installer Technician installs the customers selection.

Benefits of Building Performance

This presentation will examine how growing a building

performance company can be aligned with nationally

recognized professional certifications as a business

model, and as a marketing program.

Homeowners able to recognize and trust quality energy

upgrades will tell their neighbors at the backyard

grill. Contractors able to adapt will hire more certified

crews and grow business.

Make a Strategic Plan

Today - It’s already over

Next Month – Will be here tomorrow

Next Year – It’s a good place to start

Build your business

like bears fish.

Go where the fish are!

Are you here wondering…

Who moved my salmon?

How do…

Home energy business owners

plan for strategic success looking

to the future of their industry?

How can…

Employers ensure they are hiring

people who can offer home energy

upgrades in a complete and

efficient manner?

How will…

Customers and homeowners know

they are getting a highly-qualified

person to work in their home?

Answer…

Certification!

Benefits of Certification:

•Competitive Edge

•Assurance of Quality

•Employee Value

•Quality of Work

•Reduce Call-Backs

• Improve Profitability

•Consistency

•Homeowner Trust

Important Point!

Certifications

put you

where the fish are!

Today’s Panelists

• Julie Hughes, U.S. Department of Energy

• Bruce DeMaine, Building Performance Institute

• Chris Jones, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

• Randy Bates, InOrOut Smart Energy

1 | WAP Training & Technical Assistance Tools and Resources

eere.energy.gov

Julie Hughes

Sr. Policy Advisor

April 25, 2012

DOE Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals: Using the New Home Energy Certifications to Gain a Competitive Edge


eere.energy.gov 2 eere.energy.gov

• Tools for private and public sector contractors

• Built off input from 2,000 home performance industry members and 30+ years of DOE Weatherization experience.

• Three components:

1. Guidelines for Quality Work

2. Guidelines for Effective Training

3. Guidelines for Professional Certifications

DOE Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals Project



Four New DOE Home Energy Certifications

Inspector

Auditor

Crew Leader

Installer



• Frequently heard obstacle expressed by program administrators and the public:

Lack of access to Skilled Workers:

“Too few skilled workers and green entrepreneurs to expand weatherization and efficiency retrofit programs on a national scale.”

---Recovery Through Retrofit, Oct 2009

Demonstrate, Differentiate, and Promote Yourself

Inspector

Auditor

Crew Leader

Installer



• Largest proportion of the workforce in energy efficiency

• Unskilled workers jeopardize: – Quality of the work; depth of the energy savings

– Company reputation and perceived integrity

– Safety (of worker and client)

– Ability to stay on-budget and deliver on-time

– Profit margin of the job

– Likelihood of future sales

• Skilled installers lead to: saved time, satisfied customers, future sales, scalability of the business and industry

Retrofit Installers Seriously Impact the Industry



• Use as a marketing tool – for yourself, your company

• Assuage customer doubt – build confidence, close deals

• Differentiate yourself from less-skilled workers

• Design your own career path

• Increase marketability to EE program administrators

• Use as a quick indicator when hiring new employees

Benefits of the Certification to You



Job Description for “Retrofit Installer” (from JTA):

“A Retrofit Installer installs energy-efficiency measures to single-family or 2-4 unit-homes using a variety of building science best practices to improve safety, comfort, durability, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency.”

JTA also defines the tasks performed on the job—and the knowledge, skills and abilities required to complete them.

All 4 JTAs—including Retrofit Installer—can be found here: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/certifications.html#jta

What Is a “Retrofit Installer”?

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/certifications.html

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/certifications.html



Certifications Are Built on a Strong Foundation

Standard Work

Specifications

Defines the work

Job Task Analyses (4)

Defines how the

work is done correctly

Training Curriculum

Provides a foundation to teach the right way to do the

work

Training programs

Teaches the right way to do the work

4 New Certifications

Exam verifies that the worker has

learned the right way to do the work

Good accreditation aligns these four sections



Be a First Mover: Register Early

Pilot exams offered in June 2012

Applications accepted NOW.

Those who apply now and pass will be certified months before others –

early adopters have market advantage.

For more information and to register: http://www.bpi.org/tools_downloads_pilot.aspx



Please Contact Us for More Information or Questions

Julie Hughes

Senior Policy Advisor

P: 202.586.1603

E: [email protected]

BUILDING PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE

http://www.bpi.org/pilot

Home Energy Professionals Certifications Pilot

www.BPI.org/Pilot www.BPI.org/Pilot

Home Energy Professionals Certifications Pilot


Prerequisites

Required prior to taking the certification exams:

GED/high school diploma

1,000 hours of relevant experience: including one of the following

Crew lead in a weatherization

Building science trade auditor under supervision

Be an energy auditor

Verifiable completion of 15 comprehensive whole house audits

Collect 20 points from completion of activities below:

Building Experience: max 10 pts, 5 pts = 1,000 hrs

Completion of industry specific : max 10 pts, 5 pts = 40 hrs

Industry certifications: max 10 pts, 5 pts per certification

What is BPI? Standards

Certification

Accreditation

Quality Assurance BPI

Who

BPI

Works

With

BPI

Test Centers & Proctors

Utility Programs,

State & Federal

Government (GSA )

Quality Assurance Providers

BPI Accredited Contractors

BPI

BPI Certified

Professionals

Home Owners

BPI Governance Structure

Personnel Certification

(ensures competency) Related to an individual not a company

Measures competence of the individual through

prerequisites, written and/or performance exams

On-going certification maintenance requires CEUs and

subsequent exams

Very little ability by Certification Body to monitor work

performed by the individual – most instances a complaint

must be filed by consumer against individual

Accredited Contractor

(reduces risk, benefits consumer) Related to a company not an individual

Company commits through a contract with BPI to: Carry insurance, be licensed, no outstanding BBB complaints

Employees certified in at least two BPI designations

Perform work to specified safety criteria and standards

Maintain complete documentation of every job performed

Have customer survey and dispute resolution systems in place

Work monitored through independent, third-party quality assurance

audits

BPI/DOE/NREL

Certifications

Update

BPI/DOE/NREL Certification Development

BPI working with the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) and the U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) to develop 4 new certifications

Energy Auditor

Retrofit Installer Technician

Crew Leader

Quality Control Inspector

Major Milestones March and April

SMEs perform test item writing and field exam development

May Applications due by May 1st for pilot exams taken in June

June Pilot exams take place

July– August Cut score panel convenes makes determination of minimum passing

scores

Cut scores reviewed by Certification Scheme Committees

Psychometric analysis of test responses

Successful/Unsuccessful score reports sent to candidates

September Exams become available to everyone

FAQs About the New Certifications Will the Energy Auditor (EA) certification replace the

Building Analyst (BA) certification?

EA certification is not replacing the BA certification

It will be the next step in the career ladder from BA

The BA certification verifies that the worker has a foundation in

diagnostic and analytical building science

The EA certification will be specifically tailored to the job task of

energy auditing. Verifies through prerequisites that the worker has

software modeling skills, previous work history in doing energy

audits, and can develop a scope of work to implement home

performance measures in the home

FAQs About the New Certifications What is the difference between BPI’s existing Residential

Building Envelope Whole House Air Leakage Control

Installer (RBE-WHAL-CI) certification and the new Retrofit

Installer certification?

The RBE-WHAL-CI is an entry level certification

Evaluates a candidate’s ability and fundamental level of skill in the

selection and installation of appropriate materials used to reduce air

leakage in a typical home

The new Retrofit Installer Certification is geared toward experienced

technicians who have been in the field and can demonstrate a wider

range of skills than just air leakage control

FAQs About the New Certifications What is the value of the QC inspector certification?

BPI sees two primary roles for the QC inspector

The first is within contracting companies whereby QC

inspector on staff to verify the home performance job is

completed according to BPI standards

The second role is as a true third party QC inspector,

performing quality control on behalf of a government or

utility energy efficiency incentive program or financial

lenders

FAQs About the New Certifications Will the four new certifications be required to maintain a

company's BPI accreditation?

No changes to the accreditation program at this time.

We are discussing various options, one of which is to cycle the new

certifications into BPI’s accreditation program over a 3-year period

As an accredited company's employees' certifications come up for

renewal, they could choose to upgrade from the BA to the EA

certification, for example

BPI is convening an Accreditation Management Board that will be

considering this topic, among others

FAQs About the New Certifications How can certification candidates prove their training and/or

work experience to meet prerequisite criteria?

Letter from the training organization on company letterhead

Documenting the name of the class taken, when the person attended

the class, and a brief summary of the class curriculum.

The letter should be signed by a representative of the training

organization

BPI accepts a letter on company letterhead from current and/or past

employers documenting work experience

FAQs About the New Certifications What if I am self employed how do I document work

experience to meet prerequisite criteria?

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) or other documentation

showing how long your company has been in business

Number of jobs completed over the last year, including customer

contact information and a brief description of each job, i.e. energy

audit, air sealing, insulation

BPI will randomly contact customers to verify information given

For those documenting energy audits completed, include

documentation showing us PO of blower door and pictures of

equipment, along with some completed examples of the reports

issued to the customer for the energy audit

FAQs About the New Certifications What are the requirements for Test Centers to administer

these new Home Energy Professional exams?

Must be a BPI approved Test Center and a BPI approved proctor

Proctors will be required to attend a training session specific to the

field exams they wish to provide services for

BPI will be scheduling various training sessions across the country

Proctors must attend and get signed off in order to proctor exams

during the pilot period

BPI Test Centers may need to assembled new props for the pilot

exams. They will be given drawings and/or pictures of what the new

props should look like so they can be assemble prior to offering the

pilot exams.

FAQs About the New Certifications In some cases the trainer/proctors are not current

practitioners in the field. Will trainers and proctors have to

meet the same experience prerequisite criteria in order to

take these exams ?

Training will count toward prerequisites if the content is varied and in

combination with other activities

Trainers and proctors will need to show through documentation that

the classes they provide and the exam sessions they proctor show

enough variability and include current technology as would be found

by practitioners in the field

Pilot Exam Applications

For more information and applications to take the

pilot exams visit:


Questions

Bruce DeMaine, [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

GREATER CINCINNATI ENERGY ALLIANCE

http://www.greatercea.org/

Home Energy Professional Certifications

Part 2: Installer Technician

April 25, 2012

Chris Jones, Operations Director

1

Public/Private Partnership

• Greater Cincinnati Foundation

• Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant – Hamilton County, OH

– City of Cincinnati, OH

– Kenton County, KY

– Boone County, KY

– Campbell County, KY

– City of Covington, KY

– City of Florence, KY

• DOE Better Buildings Neighborhood Program – 1 of 25 recipients nationwide

2

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/betterbuildings/neighborhoods/

Residential Program Design

Home Performance with Energy Star Program • Customer Engagement

– Energy Alliance marketing

– Contractor marketing

• Request assessment through web portal – $50 energy assessment ($400 value)

• Assessment report delivered to homeowner

• Customer invests in home energy upgrade – 35% retrofit cash incentive

– 6.99% unsecured, 10-year loan, up to $20,000

• Quality assurance

• Payment to contractor

3

Workforce Development

• $500,000 investment in a Building

Performance Training Center at Cincinnati

State Technical & Community College

– Tuition Assistance Program (TAP); 50% discount

– 6 required certifications (BPI-BA, BPI-EP, BPI-I&AS,

IGSPHA Installer, IGSPHA Driller & NATE)

– Additional courses (Technical, sales/marketing, etc.)

– Quality Assurance Inspections

4

What is being done now?

• Installer Technicians:

– BPI-Insulation & Air Seal certification

– In-field consulting during the Upgrade

– Formal feedback from the QA Inspections after

the Upgrade is completed

5

What’s Next?

• Continue to educate and train the Installer Technician in the local area (less than 2 years experience)

• Communicate the DOE National Certification program to the contractors and the benefits of having national certification (being on “short list”)

• Determine how to participate in the Pilot Phase as a local Program and Training/ Testing facility (Cincinnati State)

6

Contact Info

Chris Jones Operations Director

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

200 W. 4th St., Suite 600

Cincinnati, OH 45202

W: 513.621.GCEA (4232)

www.greatercea.org

facebook.com/greatercea

twitter.com/greatercea

[email protected]

INOROUT SMART ENERGY

http://www.inoroutsmartenergy.com/index.html

United States Department of Energy/ National Renewable Energy Laboratory Home Energy Professional Certification Part One - Energy Auditor

Homeowners and contractors are confused with the multiple certifications available today.

Between B.P.I., RESNET L.E.E.D. and the myriad of other certifications in the market today, homeowners and contractors find it difficult to know which certification to trust. Some of these certifications may only generally apply to new homes or towards specific types of local state or federal retrofit programs. How do Home Energy professionals differentiate with nationally recognized ANSI certification programs?

Raising consumer confidence in our industry is one of our biggest struggles.

The growth of our industry depends on quality work.

Our number one marketing tool is reputation in this value driven economy.

CURRENTLY

Variety of certifications

Multiple opinions about how to do the job

Basic training requirements with limited work scope requirements

NEW PROCESS

Nationally accredited certification

Minimum requirements for high-quality work and the conditions necessary to achieve the desired outcomes of a given energy upgrade

Training providers are able to access the JTAs and KSAs to develop curricula and course content. These documents are also fundamental to the development of certification examinations.

Clearly defined standards provide tools for homeowners to scrutinize proposed work and estimates

Educated homeowners raise the value of quality work

Our Industry has tremendous growth opportunities and there are many opportunities to define the best practices in these areas of growth.

Stand on the front edge of the energy efficiency wave with proven practices

WHEN:

New Hires have prior definable experience and skills Current employees are able to develop themselves and

others We have a recruiting criteria for growth in other regions GROWTH GETS A LITTLE EASIER

http://www.inoroutsmartenergy.com/

http://www.inoroutsmartenergy.com/

Next Webinar

Building Sales with Certification

Part Three – Crew Leader

Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00 pm PDT - $10 - Register

A Crew Leader is a residential energy efficiency

professional who is responsible for supervising the

retrofitting activities specified in a scope of work.

http://www.ableideas.net/SustainableWebinars.html

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Upcoming Webinars

Part Two - Retrofit Installer Technician

Wednesday, April 25 - Archived

Part Three - Crew Leader


Part Four - Quality Control Inspector


Contact Us

Stephen Michael Self

Post Office Box 20896

Boulder, Colorado 80308

[email protected]

www.AbleIdeas.net

mailto:[email protected]

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Building Sales With Certification - Retrofit Installer Technician

Documents

energy auditor

home energy upgrades

new home energy certifications

energy efficiency upgrades

trust quality energy

inorout smart energy

retrofit installer technician

quality work