ATLANTA - Two sessions to assist contractors in construction management and high-performance building are being offered by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) at the 2010 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) this January.

“The bottom line is that we’re all striving to deliver excellent service for our clients and to do that more effectively,” said Billy Austin, chair of ASHRAE’s task group on contractors and design build firms that is sponsoring the sessions. “These ASHRAE sessions will bring together all members of the building team to learn new skills and to explore ways to work more closely together. With contractors representing 25 percent of Expo attendees, ASHRAE seeks to bring their knowledge and expertise into these sessions as well as to help shape the Society’s future activities in contracting and design/build.”

The sessions, which require no conference badge or fee for AHR Expo attendees, are Construction Management, 2-3 p.m., Monday, Jan. 25, and Cost/Benefit Analysis Methodology and Tools Needed by Owners, 2-3 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Both sessions take place at the Orange County Convention Center, site of the 2010 AHR Expo, Jan. 25-27, Orlando, Fla. The ASHRAE 2010 Winter Conference also takes place in Orlando, Jan. 23-27, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel.

Construction Management addresses two key contractor-related topics to help improve the quality of their work: whether systems commissioning will improve the contractors’ ability to perform well and preconstruction management basics for mechanical engineers and contractors on design-build/design-assist projects.

Cost/Benefit Analysis Methodology and Tools Needed by Owners provides an understanding of high-performance building cost-benefit analysis with a focus on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Several topics are addressed, including cost/benefit project setup, fiscal metrics, constraints and length of analysis.

For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/orlando.

Publication date: 11/16/2009