Archive for January, 2011

Self-Paced LEED Project Management Experience

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Becoming a LEED AP is an excellent step to remain competitive in the job market and positioning yourself for a sustainable future. While the accreditation process may be tedious and complicated, PTL Exam Prep is doing their best to make it easier. They’ve developed a course that allows participants to work at their own pace in an online environment, from any computer. It’s a fantastic and flexible alternative to 6 or 8-hour courses which require travel and a significant time commitment.

This course is designed to fulfill a major prerequisite for the Green Associate accreditation exam: to complete a green educational program that addresses green building principles.

PTL Exam Prep’s program covers the basics, but takes it further and begins to explore the LEED program in depth. The course explores an Eco-Charette, the very first step in beginning a LEED certification process. The Eco-Charette is designed to determine how each attempted credit will be fulfilled, and is an essential part of the LEED process.

Next, the course shows the steps necessary for LEED project registration, and walks students through the LEED project certification process. The instructor shows us the registration and certification process on the USGBC website, as if participating in the projects themselves.  This can be immensely helpful when working on a project to ensure all requirements are met and all forms are filled out correctly.

PTL Exam Prep offers several of these courses for the different areas of LEED AP accreditation. The Green Associate course was created to allow those interested in becoming a LEED AP the opportunity to fulfill the very first prerequisite. Training courses are also available for each AP specialty, including Building Design and Construction or Operations and Maintenance, Interior Design and New Homes. Also available are instructor-training courses that give current LEED APs the materials and know-how to teach their own courses.

Each of the specialty courses build upon the initial Green Associate class and explore more in-depth what it takes to get a building LEED Certified.  Prerequisites, Minimum Program Requirements and how to utilize the rating system to maximize the number of points earned are covered.  The classes are offered as both one-day online or in-person courses or participants have the ability to work at their own pace.

PTL Exam Prep’s online training courses are an excellent way to take the first steps toward accreditation, and learn the necessary information to pass many of the exams offered by the GBCI. Their experienced instructors and innovative online courses are designed to guide participants through the process from start to finish.

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LEED Project Management Experience Questions & Answers

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Customer Questions & Answers  

I’m planning to take the LEED AP OM exam as soon as possible. Currently I’m away from the US for a long vacation. Please verify that the experience program on Jan 21, 2011 is not requiring physical attendant. Will I receive the attestation letter at the end of the day? How long is the program (how long are each session and how many breaks)?

After getting my eligibility for the exam, I’ll be purchasing the exam prep package. Will I get a discount if I purchase the experience program and the prep package together? Regarding the prep package, will I really need the hard copy product? As I mentioned, I’m currently outside of US. Will I be able to pass the exam using only the online study? In average, how long do candidate need to prepare for the exam in order to pass (weeks? months?)

Thanks for the info. I’ll appreciate your prompt reply.

Hi Joseph,

You are correct – the class on Friday is an online attendance webinar, so you will only need to be at your computer to attend. You will need either a microphone and speakers or be able to call in to a toll number to teleconference, so make sure to have that on hand before the class. As soon as the course is finished, a Letter of Attestation will be e-mailed to you. The course tends to run about 6 hours or so, which includes a few breaks.

Actually, as part of the LEED Project Management Course, the online study materials for LEED BD&C are included. The hard copy is a convenience many students opt for, but in my opinion, it’s certainly not necessary. All the information is the same as what you get online, so there’s really no difference. Most students take about a month of study before attempting the exam, but it depends on the person. As long as you are able to memorize the various credit intents, requirements, and calculations, you should be fine.

And if you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail us and we’d be happy to help.

Sincerely,

Greg Dean

Webmaster, PTL Exam Prep

Greg,

Thanks for the info. One more question regarding the experience program. I understand GBCI occasionally audits the applications. Have they ever rejected the project experience from your course? After all, this is only a 6 hour course, not a real work experience. Will you refund the money if this happens? I’m asking this to make sure I’ll get the necessary eligibility to take the exam after I complete this course.

I’m planning to take LEED AP OM. Will it be possible to include the OM online study material with the project management course? Does the OM study material include both part of the exam? Thanks a lot for your help.

Joseph,

We actually invite you to LEED Online and ask you to complete credit assignments during the 6 hours. You will be a lifetime team member on this project and you can access and use the project templates as long as you would like. Your are right the GBCI audits 5-8% of all applications and when this happens our students have had no problems with this experience because it meets the prerequisite LEED AP specialty exam requirements of on going experience. Of course if there is a problem with GBCI we will refund your money and we offer a money back guarantee. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or concerns,

Greg Dean

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3 Reasons to become a LEED AP

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

LEED 2009 has been the de-facto standard for a year and a half now, and thousands of people have been rushing to join the green revolution by becoming a LEED AP with a specialty in Building Design & Construction, Interior Design & Construction, Building Operations and Maintenance, or New Homes. If you’re still on the fence about why you should become a LEED Accredited Professional, read below for 3 reasons why you should take the plunge.

  1. An instant credit for any project you’re on. This is the main reason most people elect to become LEED AP’s, and it’s a pretty good one – any LEED project you take part in can gain one extra point simply by having you on the team. This is an Innovation in Design credit that can help make the difference when trying to achieve a higher rating.
  2. Solid LEED Knowledge that others would struggle with. Simply by virtue of having gone through the rigorous LEED AP Exam, you have demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the LEED rating system that can speed up the certification process by helping your team avoid paperwork dead-ends and endless red tape.
  3. Job opportunities that would have been difficult to get otherwise. Many states now require all new construction for federal and municipal buildings to be at least LEED Silver certified. All these projects need to go through the LEED certification process, and you, as a LEED AP, would be able to fill a need that many contractors, architectural firms, and real estate owners have.

As you can see, becoming a LEED AP is a no-brainer. If you’re in the construction industry, you owe it to yourself to earn this valuable credential. Let PTL Exam Prep help you study for the exam with our award-winning exam preparation program, and get you on the road to being a LEED Professional!

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Testemonial for our LEED for EB:O+M Training!

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Recently, our instructor had the opportunity to train a number of Army National Guard Facilities Managers out in Phoenix, AZ. The four-day training covered the complexities of the LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance rating system, as well as a day of LEED Project Management Experience. One of the class attendees recently wrote us with this bit of thanks:

Hello Ed, I was at your LEED exam prep course in Phoenix.  Let me start by again saying thank you for the thoroughness you placed on going over the material and for the access to your training material.  I took the Green Associate Exam and passed with a 180.  I’m sure I could have not done it without your help.  I am now looking at the LEED AP EBOM.

Sincerely, Eric C.

We’re glad we could help, Eric! And don’t forget, folks… we provide group training like this to people across the country, preparing the next generation of Green Professionals for the LEED AP exam! If you would like us to come out and train you and your staff, contact us and we can set up a training class that works for you!

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