SBC staff, Author at Smart Buildings Center

10/30 Tool Time Lunch and Learn: Identifying Opportunities for Operational Improvement

October 19, 2026 By SBC staff

Join us on October 30th for a Lunch and Learn event at the Smart Buildings Center at Pacific Tower! We’ll be talking about diagnostic and monitoring tools including acoustic imagers, loggers, thermal cameras and more. You’ll also have the opportunity to get hands-on with the tools themselves. This opportunity is brought to you at minimal cost thanks to generous contribution from Seattle City Light, so don’t miss out! You can register for the IFMA Member Rate at: Oct 30, 2026 IFMA Lunch & Learn: Tool Time

Download the fliers below with this link to help us spread the word.

10/21 and 10/23 Qualified Energy Manager Training

October 13, 2026 By SBC staff

The next virtual Qualified Energy Manager Training is coming up this month!

The Qualified Energy Management (QEM) course is designed to equip building professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to comply with the Tier 2 requirements of the Washington State’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS). This course is brought to you by the Smart Buildings Center in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Commerce. This comprehensive training is ideal for building operators, energy managers, and facility staff.

Upon completion of the Qualified Energy Management (QEM) course, you will be able to:

Establish the energy use intensity target (EUIt) according to Section 7.
Calculate the building’s measured energy use intensity (EUI) by completing Form C according to Section 5.2.
Submit forms as specified in Normative Annex Y documenting compliance.
State in writing on Form A that the Energy Management plan and Operations and Maintenance program requirements have been developed, implemented and maintained.
Submit and sign Form A.
Dates: 10/21 and 10/23Time: 8:30 am to 12:30 pmYou will need to participate both days as each day covers different content.Register

Q3 Quarterly Recap

October 12, 2026 By SBC staff

SBX ‘26

SBX Registration is OPEN – Smart Buildings Exchange Nov 9-10 2026 register today and use this link to direct your colleagues to the registration site.

We’re excited to announce our agenda for this year’s 2-day show. You can find all the details on our agenda page at the official website here.

You also won’t want to miss out on SBX+, our year-round SBX webinar series that brings the exchange to your device with topics that dive into real world applications of technologies and solutions. All webinar recordings are available now with the final webinar taking place later this week on the 16th. Get all the details or register here: SBX Plus Virtual Series

Building Operator Certification – Fall & Winter Courses

Registration is now open for our Fall & Winter BOC courses. Building Operator Certification® (BOC) is the leading training and credentialing program for Operations & Maintenance and energy management professionals looking to make their buildings more comfortable, efficient and environmentally friendly, all while reducing energy bill costs. Find training here. Or watch an our informational webcast to see what BOC training can do for you (and your building)! Come with questions, leave with answers. Watch On Demand Here.

Behind the Benchmarking Help Desk

Are you familiar with the help desk? Every year, Seattle building owners and property managers turn to one place when they have questions about energy benchmarking: the Smart Buildings Center’s Benchmarking Help Desk. Behind that resource are two Building Potential staff members, Jessica Cherry and Shino Severson, who provide the technical assistance that keeps building owners on track with the City of Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking ordinance.

Meet the team that’s helping you Benchmark your buildings with our meet the staff post here.

Operator of the Year 2026

Each year, BOC requests nominations for people working to improve the energy efficiency of their work environment using skills they learned in the BOC program. We received many impressive 2026 nominations detailing how methods learned in BOC classes are helping people make improvements in their work environments, but this year Michael’s work stood out among the other candidates.

Meet our Operator of the Year, Michael Durham, and hear more about his story and the work he’s put in to meet his buildings energy efficiency needs in this post from the Smart Buildings Center. And remember, we’ll be looking for nominees for 2027 before long!

Tool Lending Library

The TLL continues to offer a wide array of tools to service professionals in Washington and Oregon. You can always find an updated list of tools here along with instructions on how to request a tool and videos and guides for tool use and care.

A New Event Calendar and Call for Shared Content

We are always looking for new posts, listings, news and content to share on our blogs and newsletters. Please reach out to us using this form with any content you would like to see shared on TheBOC.info, SmartBuildingsCenter.org, or BuildingPotential.org. We’d love to hear from you and help get the word out!

10/30 Tool Time Lunch and Learn: Identifying Opportunities for Operational Improvement

October 7, 2026 By SBC staff

Join us on October 30th for a Lunch and Learn event at the Smart Buildings Center at Pacific Tower! We’ll be talking about diagnostic and monitoring tools including acoustic imagers, loggers, thermal cameras and more. You’ll also have the opportunity to get hands-on with the tools themselves. This opportunity is brought to you at minimal cost thanks to generous contribution from Seattle City Light, so don’t miss out! Register today: Oct 30, 2026 IFMA Lunch & Learn: Tool Time

Download the fliers below with this link to help us spread the word.

Western Washington Job Opportunities: Building Operations Experience for Project Leadership

October 1, 2026 By SBC staff

Are you looking to make a change this season? Our friends at Hoover Commercial are looking for Building Operations experience for Project Leadership positions! For more about Hoover read below or click the links to be redirected to the job postings.

HVAC Project Manager

Refrigeration Project Manager

Hoover Commercial is looking to connect with experienced building operations professionals interested in moving into project leadership.

Steve Hoover founded Hoover in Mount Vernon in 2011. Since then, we’ve built the company around long-term partnerships, practical problem-solving, clear communication, and doing what we say we’ll do.

We’re especially interested in people with hands-on experience in building systems, HVAC or Refrigeration, energy management, and coordinating contractors or projects.

The goal is straightforward: bring that field experience into a project role supporting multiple facilities and long-term partners across Western Washington.

WA Commerce: CBPS Information Gathering Survey

September 25, 2026 By SBC staff

The Clean Buildings Team at the Washington State Department of Commerce is currently seeking feedback from industry professionals about your experience with the Clean Buildings Performance Standard. We would like to hear from you about how you or your organization’s workforce has been impacted by the Clean Buildings Performance Standard.

Please complete the following survey at your convenience and to the best of your knowledge: Workforce Development Survey.

Survey responses will be used to inform our team’s understanding of the Clean Buildings Performance Standard impact and anonymous results may be communicated in Clean Buildings Performance Standard reports. Please note that survey responses are anonymous, unless you specify that our team may contact you with follow-up questions.

Thank you in advance for your participation. If you have any questions, you can reach out to [email protected].

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