CSI...Who?

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Author Message Russell W. Wood, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: woodr5678 Post Number: 127 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 10:01 am:    Last week about 10 of us from our firm attended a multi-day LEED Training seminar in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The seminar was given jointly by the USGBC & the University of Florida. During registration, the architects in attendance signed up for their CEUs, the Engineers signed up their CEUs. When I told the CEU chair that I need CEUs for CSI...she didn't have a clue who or what CSI is, never heard of them. So much for being a well know, well respected organization. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 299 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 11:39 am:    CSI as in the CSI format? the one with the Division 17 where the LEED exam expects you to put control systems? Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 856 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 12:12 pm:    I think it just points out how the LEED exam doesn't really prepare people to actually work on, like, a real job. Lynn Javoroski CSI CCS LEEDŽ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 828 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 01:44 pm:    And has anyone even heard of LEED Miami or LEED New York? NO! Anonymous   Posted on Friday, November 14, 2008 - 03:27 pm:    Well yes actually, there's a big article about the Broward & Dade LEED chapters in the current edition of SE Construction magazine. Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 342 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Monday, November 17, 2008 - 09:38 am:    So what is the strategy for CSI Institute level and Chapter level to recover a portion of the industry's available membership numbers, income stream, and volunteer time that the USGBC has drawn away from CSI? "Saving the planet" engages people's emotions. "Reducing claims and disputes" ... doesn't have the same ring. It's a tough challenge. Successful Chapters hold dialog with A/E firm marketing leaders. It's the marketing directors and partners that sell their firms' capabilities to clients. They're the ones who have pushed the firms to get LEED AP'd staff. They often don't know enough about their own services to know how important the quality of A/E's instruments of service are to clients. The Institute and the Chapters need to constantly teach A/E firms about this, so that CDT, CCS, and CCCA become valuable bragging points. A single avoided client dispute is worth a lifetime membership in CSI. Until the A/E firms view the involvement of their staff in CSI as a valuable component fo their professional development, CSI membership will continue to be of mixed interest to A/E firm managers; they may pay for one individual to belong, but it may not occur to many of them to pay for several memberships and actively promote chapter activities. Further discussion on CSI's Strategy should be here where I added this posting - Colin http://discus.4specs.com/discus/messages/25/4195.html?1226949143 Joel McKellar, LEED AP Senior Member Username: joelmckellar Post Number: 35 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 - 11:36 am:    Anne, to say the LEED exam is meant to prepare someone for an architecture/engineering job is unfair... Though people frequently misinterpret the meaning of LEED AP, the point is to verify a basic knowledge about the LEED processes and procedures. Knowledge of your respective trade is certainly not included in the scope of the exam. Though I feel I know a fair amount about LEED specifically, I'm the first to point out how much I have yet to learn about architecture and specifications (as past posts clearly show!). I consider myself lucky to have very knowledgeable co-workers and forums such as this one to learn from. As a local USGBC branch, we're spending 2009 having joint meetings across all of our allied organizations, including CSI (though nothing is firm yet). The intent is not only to raise awareness among those organizations about our branch, but also to inform our diverse membership about the resources that are available in the more trade specific organizations. I can't speak for other branches and chapters, but I would suspect many would be open to similar partnership opportunities. I suspect that on the whole our members will learn more about the allied organizations than the other way around. For all their faults, the USGBC is a well oiled marketing and awareness machine... Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 142 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 - 11:53 am:    Joel, I say this will all due respect. A good start for you would be to attain CDT and CCS certification, followed by LEED AP. Then your business card will read Joel McKeller, CDT, CCS, LEED AP. I am not a LEED AP but I am a CCS (1990). However, I write LEED requirements in my project manuals for almost every project but in my opinion my CCS trumps LEED AP every time. I am far more dangerous without a CCS than I am without LEED AP. There are lawusits galore resulting from bad specs but I know of only one lawsuit concerning LEED and it was about expectations, not about vague and ambiguous language or forgetting a LEED credit. I am sorry , but I stand behind Anne's comment. Wayne Kris Kennedy Junior Member Username: kris_kennedy Post Number: 2 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 - 12:28 pm:    To go back to what I understand Russel's question to be... Yes, CSI was lagging behind on counting CEU's. They seem to have gotten on the bandwagon lately with the CEN - http://www.education.csinet.org/ (I use AIA as my predominate site for counting CEU's, I don't know how well this is working.) It might be too much to ask to have the host fill out forms for AIA, Engineers, CSI, EIEIO's... Joel McKellar, LEED AP Senior Member Username: joelmckellar Post Number: 37 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 - 01:29 pm:    Wayne, I should have been clearer earlier. My point was not to say that LEED AP means you're qualified to write specs, or perform pretty much any job for that matter, and in that sense I agree with you and Anne as well. I would never compile contract documents on my own with the experience I currently have, LEED AP or no. On the other hand I review and comment on specifications language written by qualified specifiers to make sure we haven't missed any requirements related to LEED specifically. If your job is to write specifications then CDT and CCS designations should most definitely be earned concurrently or first, and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. The LEED AP designation should be in addition to, not a replacement for, proper training and certification in people's respective trades. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 143 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 - 02:14 pm:    Joel, Well said.