The National Environmental Balancing Bureau’s Commissioning Process Professional (CxPP) certification was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings® Workforce Guidelines (BBWG) program.

Administered by the National Institute of Building Sciences Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council, the BBWG program requires that, to be recognized, certification programs first attain third-party accreditation available through ANSI, which involves a rigorous process of demonstrating compliance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 17024. Once accredited, the certifying body applies to DOE for formal BBWG recognition — a designation that demonstrates the program is "high quality, industry endorsed, and nationally recognized by DOE."

NEBB officials said its CxPP Certification Program was developed to respond to the need for a commissioning-based protocol to be deployed in new construction and retro-commissioning projects. CxPP aims to create added value by comprehensively addressing the energy efficiency of building systems and their ongoing operations.

NEBB's CxPP certification program is available to industry professionals who build, manage, and continually improve energy performance in commercial buildings. It is based on specific processes and energy management protocols to be used in new and existing buildings, including retro-commissioning and energy retrofit projects.

CxPP certification applicants are required to go through an application process prior to sitting for the exam. Requirements include education, commissioning experience, and general management experience. Applicants must demonstrate competency in:

Planning effective commissioning protocols;

* Managing documents;

* Implementing the commissioning program;

* Managing budget and finance;

* Providing ongoing commissioning.

For more information on NEBB's CxPP individual certification program, visit www.nebb.org or email certification@nebb.org.