Local Building Officials Complete Energy Training at Lake-Sumter Community College

**The following information was provided by Lake-Sumter Community College**

LEESBURG - A delegation of Lake County building management officials recently completed six days of advanced facilities operations training at Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC).  The program was part of their certification process under the International Facilities Management Association’s (IFMA) Sustainability Facilities Professional (SFP) program, and was provided by LSCC under its current partnership with Lake County on the County’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) project. 

This IFMA/SFP training program is the fourth in a series of Lake-Sumter Community College educational programs designed to promote energy efficiency and conservation, while enhancing the quality of Lake County’s workforce. The training specifically targeted facility management professionals interested in optimizing the performance of their physical plant and office facilities, while identifying opportunities to save energy and implement sustainable business policies and practices within their organizations. Fourteen facilities professionals, with responsibility for roughly 15 million square feet of conditioned floor space in Lake County, are taking advantage of this unique skills enhancement opportunity.

Presented in a dual-format (with self-study and instructor-led portions) the program was launched in mid-August 2011 and is scheduled to conclude in January 2012, at which point the participants are expected to have completed the three final assessments leading to their qualification for the SFP credential.  The self-study component explores the alignment of sustainability principles with organizational strategies, the development and implementation of economically maintainable policies and programs, and the management and operation of sustainable facilities.

The instructor-led portion of the program was presented by Fairfax, Virginia-based Facilities Engineering Associates (FEA), an IFMA affiliate with over 200 years of applied experience in the design, management, and operation of building systems. FEA’s instructors used practical experience to expand the material provided in the course, using case studies and examples of best practices to further illustrate the core competencies of facilities management.

“The participants in this program offering under the EECBG grant are responsible for a large portion of the County’s commercial and industrial building space,” observed Lori Barnes, Sustainability Planner for Lake County. “For that reason alone, the IFMA/SFP initiative promises to make a substantial contribution to the energy savings and sustainability goals set for the County.” Barnes also noted that the SFP credentialing process recognizes the effort the participants are making to further their organizations’ contribution to energy conservation and environmental sustainability.

IFMA, with nearly 20,000 members worldwide, is the largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers. The organization’s mission is to promote the facility management profession through education, credentialing, government relations, leadership opportunities, publishing, recognizing excellence, research, and standards development. 

For more information on this LSCC’s training programs, contact Lucy Torman at (352) 365-3530 or email at [email protected]. For information on Lake County’s EECBG grant, contact Lori Barnes at (352) 343-9503, or email [email protected].