The LEED Pilot Credit Library Webinar I participated in today was long overdue and much appreciated. I applied for the Pilot Credit program back on 11/18/2009 and it took until 8/6/2010 before I received confirmation of participation. It appears with the webinar, and the documentation recently updated on 9/15/2010, the Pilot Credit Libary is officiallly available for use. Visit this website for all the details - http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2104
I pursued Pc5 on a school project where LEED certification was required because the project received state funding. Because The Neenan Company is a design-build architectural firm, our integrated design process helped us meet the requirements of this credit. My one frustration with the requirements is that they appear different between what is stated in the Pilot Credit Library posted on July 2010 and what I see on LEEDuser. For instance, no mention is made of the Owner’s Project Requirements on LEEDuser, where it is clearly stated in the credit requirements. This is similar to what happens between submittal templates found on LEED Online and the requirements as stated in the reference guide. It is imperative that requirements of a credit are fully understood at the beginning of a project. Hidden surprises usually add costs to the project, can jepordize credit attainment and make for unhappy clients.
I look forward to continued use of the Pilot Credit Library on future projects. I think attaining all of the Innovation in Design points should be possible on any project if you pursue a few of the Pilot Credits. Don’t let LEED Online fool you, you can pursue more than one pilot credit on a project. One more tidbit of information, currently you only need to document the process to achieve a pilot credit point. You do not need to meet the requirements, though you should make a good faith effort to do so.
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11478 thumbs up
October 19, 2010 - 5:36 pm
Hi John, I"m the editor for LEEDuser. I want to understand your comment that LEEDuser doesn't mention Owners Project Requirements. The OPR doc is mentioned above in our posting of the credit language. Can you clarify what you see as missing? Thanks.
John Drigot
Design/LEED SpecialistThe Neenan Company
185 thumbs up
October 19, 2010 - 6:37 pm
Tristan,
Sorry, I should have been clearer and looked at the tab "Credit Language". I do see that the exact same language is used there as that which is used in the Pilot Credit LIbrary. What confused me is that under "Bird's Eye View" tab there isn't a reference under "Pilot Credit 5" to the OPR. Hope this helps you understand how I could have misinterpreted the requirements. Keep up the good work.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11478 thumbs up
October 19, 2010 - 6:55 pm
Thanks for clarifying. The language above under Credit Submittals is straight from USGBC. I couldn't say exactly why it differs from the credit language (which is also straight from USGBC), except that often in LEED, not all credit requirements are represented as required documentation, and vice versa.
Joanna Rodriguez
36 thumbs up
November 9, 2010 - 2:17 pm
I just uploaded the required documentation for the Pc5 credit. When I clicked "Complete" I received a message that a documentation form was missing. However, it is my understanding that there is no standard documentation form for the pilot credits. Is this just a default message? Also, I participated in the survey but there was no way to print and scan for upload when completed. Is it safe to assume that there is some way for the pilot credit reviewer to verify my participation?
John Drigot
Design/LEED SpecialistThe Neenan Company
185 thumbs up
November 9, 2010 - 2:33 pm
Joanna,
I received an email saying I had completed the survey, so I would expect you would receive the same. I submitted this email as part of my documentation package. I would agree, there is no standard documentation form for Pilot Credits, so I would say this is just a quirk with LEED Online. I submitted my documentation on 10/22 so I expecting comments back by the end of November.
Gluck (good luck),
John
Joanna Rodriguez
36 thumbs up
November 9, 2010 - 3:16 pm
Thanks for the feedback, John.
Batya Metalitz
Technical Director, LEEDUSGBC
LEEDuser Expert
318 thumbs up
November 9, 2010 - 3:45 pm
The documentation required for pilot credit submittals is not one standard form, as mentioned above. For each pilot credit, you should submit the following information:
1. confirmation email from pilot registration
2. confirmation email from survey completion
3. project specific documentation (outlined in each pilot credit document)
If additional information is needed, the reviewer will let you know during the review.
Joanna Rodriguez
36 thumbs up
November 10, 2010 - 11:16 am
Do you know how long it usually takes to receive email confirmation for the survey? I completed the survey yesterday but have not yet received confirmation. I am ready to complete the submittal - that is the only piece missing. Thanks.
John Drigot
Design/LEED SpecialistThe Neenan Company
185 thumbs up
November 10, 2010 - 11:22 am
Joanna,
My experience was that I completed the survey at 2 p.m. and had the email confirmation by 3:30 p.m. the same day. I just went out and checked the pilot credit website and it looks like they just added another 30 pilot credits.
John
Christina Macken
Assistant Project Manager, LEED v4U.S. Green Building Council
141 thumbs up
November 10, 2010 - 11:33 am
Joanna, regarding your question, the Pilot Credit Library staff sends confirmation on the surveys every couple days when we pull the surveys from the database. We will get you your confirmation soon, so as to not hold up your submittal process.
John is correct, we now have a total of 41 credits available for pilot testing, which coincides with the 1st public comment period for rating system development. We're testing all proposed new and substantially modified credits throughout the course of public comment periods (spanning 2011 at minimum) so we can receive additional feedback to help evolve the credits. More information on the continued development of the LEED rating system can be found here: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2360
Joanna Rodriguez
36 thumbs up
November 10, 2010 - 11:37 am
Thanks Chrissy and John - I appreciate the prompt replies.
Teresa Cheung
8 thumbs up
January 10, 2011 - 5:14 pm
Hello,
I have a question regarding the two credit specific requirements for Pilot Credit 5. We are asked to provide the following:
- List of decisions proposed during the design charrette, compared with the final design decisions
- List of paid/contracted team members, along with the dates for meetings/construction/participation
For our submittal, we intend to include meeting minutes/agendas that outline design options and decisions made during various phases of design. Also recorded are the names of team members who participated in meetings. The documentation will cover key meetings and milestones for the design phase, but will not be comprehensive of the entire process. Is documentation as described sufficient, or is USGBC expecting us to summarize everything in an actual list? Since the design process was a rather complex one over an extended period of time, this could end up being a very tedious task. We would really appreciate feedback on how other projects approached these two requirements.
Thank you!
teresa
John Drigot
Design/LEED SpecialistThe Neenan Company
185 thumbs up
January 11, 2011 - 11:39 am
Teresa,
The requirements have changed slightly from when I first started pursuing this credit. I think you are covered with the second requirement - team members and key meetings. I would just make sure you list what design decisions were made in regards to LEED during the design charrette and which of those decisions were actually implemented. I found it easier to understand what was required of me by looking at the actual requirements of the pilot credit I was trying to achieve, in my case PIc5. I see four requirements - Preliminary Rating Goals, Integrative Project Team, Owner's Project Requirements and Design Charrette. Hope this helps.
Batya Metalitz
Technical Director, LEEDUSGBC
LEEDuser Expert
318 thumbs up
January 11, 2011 - 11:44 am
I would agree with John. The submittals are not set in stone for this credit. What we're looking for is the simplest proof that the project has an integrated process for identifying synergies and issues.
Teresa Cheung
8 thumbs up
January 11, 2011 - 12:31 pm
Thank you both for the helpful feedback :)