Wow, that's alarming! I haven't heard of it happening or seen it myself but I'm asking around. I assume you've been in touch with GBCI? Has this happened more than once, at different times? How many credits?

If you haven't seen it already, you might start with the MPR Supplemental Guidance document, particularly pages 12 -19 that discuss the Minimum Program Requirement #3, Site Boundary:
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6473

I budget similar amounts of time as mentioned above on mid to large scale LEED projects with the caveat that I'm finding the preliminary reviews to be more intensive than they have been in the past and am therefore having to allow for more time in documentation review and clarification response.

Does anyone have experience working on smaller projects (under 5000 SF)? It seems to me that it would still take upward of 250 hours, which relative to the budget is significant.

Other Standards are only accepted when prooven to be as stringent or more stringent than those given by LEED. Proving this already means that you have to check against 2 sets of standards, which practically means conforming to local standards and submitting LEED conformance documentations since you have to check it anyway and may as well submit with something the reviewers are familiar with.

There exists (to my knowledge) no USGBC approved list of equivical international standards...THERE SHOULD and there probably will in the future, but as of now we have to battle on without.

There are specific equivalences that are known to have passed through the review process for specific items such as filter classes for air handling units, but no laws have been set.

Complete code equivalency is unlikely, because different countries have different sets that don't overlap on the same scopes.

That would be like saying BREEAM is equivalent so LEED...they have several overlaps, but not everything.

A quick search in the Professionals Directory at www.gbci.org (https://ssl27.cyzap.net/gbcicertonline/onlinedirectory/) gave several results for Sweden (you could narrow the search further). I would advise a building engineer or MEP engineer as they are most affected by code compliance in LEED. I don't see anything exactly right, but try contact:

Maria Nordberg or Johanna Nordstrom at Skanska Sweden AB

You could register at gbci to send them a message or google for their contacts.

I would advise you contact these professionals as they would most likely have jumped through some of the loops before regarding code compliance and comparisons.

In the past, the published schedule for Design Phase preliminary review has been a minimum of 25 business days (about 5 weeks) and a minimum of 15 business days (3 weeks) for the Final Review. The design team is given one month after the Preliminary Review to respond to the reviewer's questions. At times, there have been delays of up to 6 weeks for one or both phases, but those have been reduced in the past several months.

With recent changes to the Certification Bodies and other GBCI procedures, it's hard to know for sure, but that may give you an idea. Three to five months would be a rough estimate.

Not an easy question to answer, as there are many variables that can affect the amount of work that goes into managing the certification process. What country or region are you working in? I'll offer an estimate for a project in the USA as a starting point and hope others chime in.

For an experienced LEED AP, working with a design and construction team that is familiar with LEED requirements and procedures, anywhere from 300 to 500 hours would not be uncommon for a mid-sized commercial project. We've also been hearing that for projects less than 60,000 square feet the amount of time and effort for documentation doesn't go down significantly for smaller projects. It would be great to hear other people's estimates of the time they've spent.

For projects outside the US & Canada, there may be less "existing infrastructure" of people and companies familiar with LEED requirements and procedures. Factors that can add to the time and effort:

- Any contractors and product suppliers who are unfamiliar with LEED will need some coaching on what new information they need to provide for MR and IAQ credits;

- Extra time for the LEED AP to finding out if materials and systems meet LEED requirements if there are few LEED projects previously done in your area;

- Commissioning: For CxA new to LEED, extra time to develop the Cx plan and procedures;

- Energy Modeling: LEED documentation format and requirements may differ from standard practices in your region;

- Other factors that can also add to your time and effort: multi-use buildings or a non-typical program, higher level of LEED being pursued, a fast schedule needing close coordination, team members who are un-enthusiastic about LEED...

Many firms have experienced a fair amount of extra time, effort, and frustration on their first LEED project, but after going through that the first time the experience can benefit your future projects and help establish your credentials.

Factors that can help your effort:
- Forming a local or regional user group of LEED AP's or people working on LEED and green projects to share information, lessons learned;

- Contacting World Green Building Council in your region for contacts, information, or resources in your area;

- Working with a foreign or local LEED consultant familiar with your area can save a lot of time and effort on research and backtracking; they also help guide you through the steps;

- Using the LEEDUser forum and resources!

By the way, you mention pursuing Core and Shell for a residential building - not sure if that's been done for a residential project, which is usually has most of the interior walls and finishes; CS is usually used for speculative office buildings that have few of the interior office walls or finishes other than core bathrooms and service areas. Check the BD&C Rating System or Reference Guide introductions, and MPR Supplemental Guidance document.

Greg, may I recommend posting this question on the specific LEED credit forum where it's relevant? You can see a list of LEED credits and associated forums here:
http://www.leeduser.com/leed-credits
Starting a new thread like you have done is better for more general topics.
thanks!

Eliot,
Happy to throw our name in the ring. We're (YRG) the primary content providers for this site, have done a few hundred LEED-NC projects, including work with the military. I can be reached at 720-883-3153.

Thanks,
Josh

Jordan, have you checked out Jenny Carney's LEED-EBOM webinar recording, which provides some key tips on performance period management? I would recommend it.
Part of the reason I am deferring to that resource is that I don't have an answer to your question that I feel really certain about. However, my understanding is that in general it's important to schedule activities during the performance period, otherwise you may not get credit for them.
I am pretty confident that "years later" won't fly. Perhaps "months later" might fly, in some energy-related credits. But the requirements are pretty specific so this is not necessarily the case.

My understanding is that if you're doing a split design/construction review, if a credit is rejected at the Preliminary Construction Review, you can submit new information, perhaps even new credits, for a Final Construction Review. Information that from GBCI is here. It seems logical that this may cost more from GBCI, but their publicly posted fee structured doesn't indicate that it does. I would check with GBCI post back here what you learn.