BCxA Family & Friends,
This is your current BCxA President Dan Forino, coming to you from an airport hotel room, AKA my new office for the time being as I, like most of you probably, manage the balancing act of maintaining our family, friends and general public safety and well-being while working hard to support our clients, community and industry. I’d like to take this opportunity in between writing a field report from an Integrated Systems Test and doing my laundry in a Rubbermaid Tub in the hotel shower (#covidmacgyver) to reach out to all our members for an update.
It should be safe to say all our personnel and business lives are being impacted by the COVID-19 virus and its restrictions on our daily lives. The BCxA is working hard to try and identify the greatest value for our members during these times while being transparent regarding the current state of the Building Commissioning Association.
Before the escalation of this outbreak I was on a personal mission to reach out to every company and individual who had not renewed for 2020, to listen to what you need from the BCxA and how can we get you to renew your membership. This has since been put on hold as I am probably the last person you want to hear from, asking how can we get you to renew, as we work to maintain our businesses and daily lives.
That said, now is a better time than ever to be a BCxA member so you can reap the benefits we have to offer, including some of these noteworthy examples:
Career-Worthy Training
This probably won’t be the first or last email you get referencing “now is the time to stock up on Continuing Education Units (CEUs),” but the BCxA’s current library of Webinars (recorded and live), Online Training, and TechTalks is the premier source on all things commissioning, presented by the leaders in our industry. We welcome the conversation on how we can support your training needs during these times for all needing remote training. Please do not hesitate to contact us (info@bcxa.org).
Travel and gathering restrictions have put a hold on planning any in-person trainings for the next few months; we will make announcements as these restrictions are lifted. We are doing our best to identify in-person training, including tentative dates and locations, for those who have asked for it, but it’s still too early to get anything on the calendar.
Networking and Industry Partnerships
I think most of us would agree that the longer the impact to our industry, the bigger the rush-to-catch-up-once-we-are-all-systems-go will be. The networking you can do as a member involved in a regional or international chapter, may just be the extra boost you need to help support your efforts as we look to ramp back up into daily activities.
Additionally, with member firms throughout the U.S., this may be an opportunity to partner with local representation if you are unable to get on that plane to the factory test, or need help supporting a project outside of your typical regions. Let us help connect you to a Certified Commissioning Firm (CCF) or Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP) that can support your business activities while giving you the confidence you are being supported by individuals who have promised to adhere to the BCxA’s Best Practices.
Volunteerism
Always wanted to get involved in a BCxA committee, participate in a review of the best practices or publish a blog post? Now is the time to utilize your downtime and unique expertise to help move the industry forward. If you are interested in contributing or getting involved in a committee please reach out, we would love to have the support and welcome individuals from all specialties and experience levels.
BCxA Annual Conference
Currently, it appears that all related industry events scheduled for the Spring/early Summer have been canceled or postponed. As our conference is still scheduled for September we are taking stock on the best path forward to meet the needs of our members and the Association.
As of right now, the BCxA Annual Conference has not changed as we look to determine how we will be impacted while navigating the contracts and requirements of executing a conference in today’s climate, even if it is 6 months away.
We are investigating and gauging interest in potential alternatives to the in-person conference such as a virtual conference or a hybrid approach.
Career Opportunities
We are currently looking into ways of supporting our impacted members who may have been furloughed or have had a major disruption to their business practices. Remember we have jobs posted in the Careers section of our website. We also are investigating how we could source BCxA member resumes for individuals impacted, or who are independent consultants available for remote work. As this is uncharted territory for the BCxA, we will gauge member interest and provide an update on how we can support these impacted individuals.
At the end of the day, we have to remember we are a volunteer non-profit organization 501.c.6, with no stream of revenue outside of membership and our education, training and conference offerings to members and the commissioning industry. During these tough times we look forward to learning how we can support you and hope that, in return, you will help support us.
Sincerely,
Dan Forino, PE, CCP, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
BCxA President