AGC Begins Development of Unique Course on LEED for Contractors

AGC has hired an accomplished firm with unique expertise in green building practices to develop a full-day course for construction professionals that identifies the contractor’s role on a project seeking certification under the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.

AGC expects the final course curriculum to be completed by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. in early 2008, and the Association will roll out the programs at its upcoming 2008 Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. AGC will then provide this standard course curriculum to interested AGC Chapters and other organizations to use when delivering local educational programs for contractors on the LEED rating system.

AGC intends this course to help construction professionals prepare for the LEED accreditation exam, remain competitive in an increasingly “green” market, and more fully understand their role on a LEED project. The course will explain how the various aspects of the LEED rating system impact—

• Estimation decisions and project cost,
• Scheduling activities, durations and logic,
• Project administration and documentation,
• Contracts and agreements, and
• Field operations and subcontractor management.

The course will be strongly based on research recently completed by Michigan State University (MSU). In 2006, the AGC Education and Research Foundation granted the Klinger Award to MSU to study the impact of LEED-NC projects on construction management practices.

About Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
Founded in 1972, Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) has experience developing green building products and guidelines and with a focus on integrating sustainable strategies into the “whole building.”  The firm also offers LEED consulting and certification services, as well as comprehensive energy performance modeling and assessments.  SWA managed the development of the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG)—a complete Internet resource on building-related design guidance, criteria, and technology, online at http://www.wbdg.org.  The firm lectures and trains individuals and groups on the principles of whole building design and on the WBDG as a tool to support the whole building design process. 

For more information on the course, please contact AGC’s Melinda Tomaino at (703) 837-5415 or tomainom@agc.org.

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