Individuals can now register for LEED AP O+M v4 Training. Everblue is the ONLY training organization with LEED AP O+M v4 training available, so reserve your seat now and benefit from an intense, interactive exam prep experience that you won’t find anywhere else!

We wanted to thank all of you who signed up to be on our waiting list for LEED AP O+M training. We hope that you will consider our online training.

Everblue’s webinars contain the same exam prep content that you would find in a live classroom course. The only difference is that we present the material over the Internet! You’ll have an experienced and enthusiastic instructor available on the other end who can answer your questions in real time.

Please note: You should be a LEED Green Associate before you pursue a LEED AP specialty designation, such as LEED AP O+M. LEED Green Associate is the starting point for everyone. While you can sit for both exams at the same time, you might risk the opportunity to earn your specialty designation if you fail the Green Associate level. We recommend that everyone enroll in LEED Green Associate training first and complete the testing process for Green Associate before moving onto the LEED AP O+M designation.

Assuming you have already earned your LEED Green Associate accreditation…

The Value of LEED AP O+M

While the LEED Green Associate level provides a broad introduction to green building, the LEED AP Operations and Maintenance specialty focuses on the ongoing logistics and energy consumption of a building. It’s one thing to design a building with sustainable features and to project an annual savings of X dollars, but project teams working under the LEED for Existing Buildings rating system seek to put their knowledge to practice by ensuring consistent operational efficiency. The LEED EBOM rating system is crucial for showing the real and tangible impact of LEED certification. With the successful implementation of sustainable features and the ongoing audits to ensure savings, a LEED AP will have legitimate numbers to show progress and energy savings.

A LEED professional with an Operations and Maintenance specialty has four key objectives or tasks:

LEED Project and Team Coordination

A LEED AP with O+M is responsible for determining which LEED Rating System is most applicable to a project (BD+C, ID+C, or O+M) and should be especially astute at knowing when it is most appropriate to pursue either BD+C or O+M. This individual is also responsible for gathering and interpreting client needs and priorities as they affect LEED certification. This will help define the parameters and goals of the project.

We’ve long talked about the importance of project management skills in pursuing LEED certification; LEED APs are project managers who assemble the proper infrastructure for a project, from supervising team members and delegating their roles to identifying pertinent resources and overseeing project requirements and timelines.

LEED Certification Process

LEED Version 3, which launched in 2009, established a hierarchy of LEED professionals. The hierarchy starts with LEED Green Associate, which is the entry-level designation for LEED professionals. The next step is LEED Accredited Professional with Specialty, and the final step is LEED Fellow. As you can imagine, each tier comes with a range of responsibilities and knowledge.

LEED APs are generally viewed as leaders on a project. Among the responsibilities associated with pursuing LEED certification are: confirming compliance of minimum program requirements, registering a project using LEED Online, tracking LEED documentation, and reviewing completed forms. Due to this heightened level of knowledge, it is suggested that LEED APs have project experience under their belt. Nevertheless, a LEED AP with O+M must be well versed in the LEED certification process.

Analyses Required for LEED Credits

This might be the most important responsibility, specific to LEED Operations and Maintenance. A LEED AP must think beyond the simple pursuit of LEED certification and focus on ongoing energy-saving techniques. The LEED AP with O+M will be responsible for researching “green” operational strategies and products. It will be important to benchmark a building’s energy consumption and to audit the building’s progress. The heart of LEED AP O+M is coordinating these benchmark and energy auditing efforts.

Advocate and Educate for Adoption of LEED Rating System

Finally, LEED APs are responsible for identifying, communicating, and educating the values of sustainable operations and maintenance and the benefits of a green building to stakeholders. They help clients understand incentives to implement sustainable building practices and review costs. LEED APs are leaders in the sustainable building industry and encourage others to see the sensibility in this approach. 

LEED AP O+M v4 Exam Breakdown

The LEED AP O+M exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions and must be completed in two hours. These are the types (and quantity) of questions you will encounter on the exam:

• Pretest Questions (15)
• LEED Process (12)
• Location and Transportation (5)
• Sustainable Sites (9)
• Water Efficiency (13)
• Energy and Atmosphere (21)
• Materials and Resources (10)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (15)

As you can see, LEED AP O+M is a valuable specialty to aspire toward after earning your LEED Green Associate accreditation. If you work on LEED projects related to existing buildings and sustainable operations, this specialty is for you. Reserve your seat today, or give us a call at (800) 460-2575 to learn more.