O&M Training Leads to Real Energy Savings and Environmental Sustainability
“Our agency is going through major energy efficiency changes and since sending employees to Building Operator Training, our energy score cards — which include water, electric, and gas — are much better than last year. No question it had a big impact.
Among graduates of the program, I’ve seen a lot more work orders for things like caulking up windows, replacing weatherstripping on exterior doors, and improving insulation of exposed pipes. They’re doing daily visual inspections of the boiler and mechanical rooms — rather than weekly — so they’re staying on top of any issues that might occur.
Under the rebate program, we’ve installed 15 offset Tekmar controls on our boilers — we won’t see the effect until heating season begins, but I’m sure we’ll notice the changes in the energy bills this winter.”
— Joe de Jesus, Maintenance Supervisor, Riseboro Community Partnership
“I’ve been a super for 22 years and I learned a lot — especially about things like renewables and solar — but I know the young ones did too! Building Operator Training inspired us to keep learning.”
— Oliver Ford, Superintendent, Covington Realty Services
Oliver Ford at the Covington Realty Services Building Operator Training graduation reception, June 2017.
“…you guys have managed to put together a great program, in my opinion, this should be a required course for anyone looking to become a building superintendent.”
— Alvaro Barrera, Resident Manager
“I’ve been a super for 18 years now — and before that I was a carpenter for 14 years. But this class gave me one learning opportunity that I’ve been searching for – and that’s solar energy and green energy. When I saw that that [in the curriculum], I knew that’s what would make me grow in my job.”
— Oswyn Allyne, Superintendent, Covington Realty Services
Oswyn Allyne receives his Building Operator Training Certificate from Jessica Vicuna, BPL’s manager of the program.
“As an affordable housing developer, getting utility spending under control is really important — it decides whether buildings are cash positive or not. Considering that utilities are such a big part of our expenses, the energy savings potential of Building Operator Training was a huge priority in deciding to send staff to the course. We know that our operators, supers, and porters are the eyes and ears of our buildings. Implementing strategy at my level is fine but it doesn’t guarantee results if you don’t have buy-in from the guys in the field. Training is essential for ensuring that the things you want to get implemented do get implemented.”
— Ryan Cassidy, Director of Property & Construction Management, Riseboro Community Partnership
Building Operator Training Emphasizes Teamwork and Real World Exercises
“One of the most important things we learned was to document everything — writing memos to management, keeping checklists, and maintaining a logbook. We got to practice that for homework each week.”
“I’ve been with Covington for 15 years and what I found best about this program was the teamwork. We were in class with other supers as well as plumbers, and I learned so much from them — not just the instructor. It was like a brand new world opened up to me!”
— Dave Carter, Superintendent, Covington Realty Services
Dave Carter at the Covington Building Operator Training graduation reception.
“The most important thing I took from this class was the ability to pick my fellow supers’ brains and to learn the things that they know and try to incorporate it into things that I know in order to make my job easier and more efficient. Because efficiency is time and time is money!”
— Andre Vanderhall, Superintendent, Covington Realty Services
Building Operator Training is Just the Beginning
“We sent our employees to this training because see the possibilities — this can open up a lot of doors. And when you open a door you have to go through, right? So we’re offering everybody — every super who works for Covington — to come through. We want them to know that education and information is important to us.”
— Bridget Beatty, Property Manager, Covington Realty Services. Ms. Beatty organized the Building Operator Training for Covington staff and took the training herself.
Bridget Beatty receives her Building Operator Training certificate.
“My view of my job is more inspiring [since completing Building Operator Training]. I see the difference I can make in the environment if all the parts of the building come together and operate correctly. Energy efficiency saves money — but really, it’s for future generations.”
— Superintendent, Riseboro Community Partnership