FTE?

I have a similar question. On PI Form 3, Occupant and Usage Data, our average occupancy from Table PIf3-2 is 77%. Do we use 77% of our FTE to account for the percentage of survey respondents? That is, if our FTE is 120 and the percentage from the table is 77%, are we required to provide at least 120 x 0.77 = 92.4 x 0.30 = 28 responses to the survey? Or, are we required to provide 120 x 0.30 = 36 responses? Thanks.

John, you should be fine with 11 responses since that is more than 30% of your total staff members. When you document this credit, just be sure to indicate the number of people that are considered regular occupants; defined as people with a permanent workstation and who typically spend at least 10 hours/week in the project building. Cynthia, PIf3-2 accounts for the percent of the building that is occupied, not the percentage of FTE that are regular building occupants. Therefore, I don't think it is appropriate to use the average occupancy of 77%. If all 120 occupants are full time employees, then use the FTE number of 120, requiring 36 responses.

Ok. Here's the problem. During the performance period the owner opened up the last remaining floor raising the FTE count from 100 to 120. The occupant comfort survey had been done before that, with 30 responses gathered. It may not be a big deal to get 6 more people to fill out the survey before the end of the performance period...but if it is, will this explanation be acceptable to USGBC ?

Cynthia, the survey must be conducted at one time, so acquiring 6 more responses well after the original survey was administered is not allowed. However, I would use the FTE number of 100 in the LEED template, since that was the correct FTE count on the date that the survey was conducted. Just be sure to write an explanation of why the number of regular building occupants for this credit is lower than the FTE number of 120.

Are janitorial staff or maintenance technicians part of the scope of the credit if they do not have workstations, offices, desks etc. The questions and intent of the credit would be a stretch to include these groups that are so transient throughout the day. Thanks!

The credit language in the reference guide indicates that "regular occupants" should include persons with permanent workstations and those who spend an average of ten or more hours in the building per week, so the janitorial and maintenance staff should be included. Consider wording the question on the survey about building location in a way that allows you to understand that the respondent experiences multiple parts of the building on a regular basis so that you can take that into account when you are analyzing your results.