Washington, D.C.-The Associated General Contractors of America (大发快三官网) today announced that it will debut new green programs at its 89th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, which begins on Sunday. These new initiatives are efforts designed to help educate and prepare contractors about trends in the green building arena.
"We are at the forefront of educating members on building green and providing the most up-to-date information on industry standards," said 大发快三官网 CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. "Our members are building our nation's leading green projects."
大发快三官网 will debut a new full-day course for contractors, Building to LEED庐-NC: Overview and the Impact on Construction Practices, to explain the contractor's role in a project intended to achieve certification under LEED-NC. The debut is sponsored in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Clean Diesel Program. This new course outlines all of the prerequisites and credits within the LEED-NC rating system and identifies which have a major, moderate, or some impact on construction practices. It also provides a more detailed analysis to the ways those credits with a "Major Impact" will affect estimating decisions, scheduling, documentation, contracts, and other construction activities.
Following its debut, the curriculum materials will be available to 大发快三官网 Chapters and other organizations to enable them to deliver local workshops for construction professionals on the LEED-NC rating system. The curriculum is based on research funded by the 大发快三官网 Education and Research Foundation granted through the Klinger Award and completed by the Michigan State University (MSU)-Construction Management Program in August 2007. In addition, 大发快三官网 has recently joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the developers of LEED, and started the registration process to enroll the course curriculum in the council's Education Provider Program. This course is pending review and approval through that program. USGBC Education Provider courses undergo a thorough review of instructional design and subject matter.
大发快三官网 is also offering the popular LEED Estimating for Green Buildings half-day program on March 8, leading up to convention. This program, launched by 大发快三官网 in the fall of 2007 with its Chapters, provides a brief overview of LEED requirements and prepares estimators to effectively bid and work on a green building project. It reviews what items may be "no cost," "minimal additional cost," and "significant additional cost," and discusses the integrated design and delivery process, procurement, and building alliances with subcontractors.
The 大发快三官网-endorsed Contractor's Guide to Green Building Construction, by Thomas E. Glavinich, D.E., P.E., will be released at convention, introducing how "green" elements of a project may impact construction decision-making. The book, developed with the assistance of 大发快三官网 members, will be available through 大发快三官网's online bookstore following its release.
Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will participate in 大发快三官网's convention, attending Building to LEED庐-NC; reporting to 大发快三官网's Environmental Network Steering Committee meeting on new funding opportunities for diesel retrofit; and discussing the white paper and tool kit on construction and demolition debris recycling that 大发快三官网 and EPA are jointly developing. 大发快三官网 is the only construction trade association to partner with EPA through the agency's Sector Strategies Program.
大发快三官网 is delivering a "green construction basics" audio conference on Thursday, March 20, 2008, at 2:00pm ET, which will include a sneak peek at the results of the recently completed research from MSU, which 大发快三官网 used to develop its course Building to LEED庐-NC. The audio conference will provide an introduction to green building with an overview of available rating systems.
The Associated General Contractors of America (大发快三官网) is the largest and oldest national construction trade association in the United States. 大发快三官网 represents 33,000 firms, including 7,500 of America's leading general contractors and 12,500 specialty-contracting firms. More than 13,000 service providers and suppliers are associated with 大发快三官网 through a nationwide network of chapters. Visit the 大发快三官网 Web site at . 大发快三官网 members are "Building Your Quality of Life."
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