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Performance Personnel
July 19, 2011
Ill-Defined Title Understates Role of Building Operators
Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) Canada recently conducted a Labour Market Research Study to assess opportunities for building operators, gauge the real estate industry’s need for expertise and identify training requirements. The following is an excerpt from the study’s findings – Editor.
There are a wide range of occupations that contribute to the efficient operation of buildings. Depending on the size of the facility, each position may be filled by one or more individuals. Building operators are part of an operations team that may include a VP of Operations down to custodial staff. These positions may be supported by facilities managers and staff responsible for the administrative side of building operations.
The role of building operator has its origins in the custodial occupations. Prior to the 1960s, building operators were typically responsible for general building maintenance. Eventually, building operators were assigned additional responsibilities related to building systems such as heating and ventilation. These skills were generally acquired on-the-job.
Over time, the building operator position has become more situated in the maintenance and operations of building systems, although most jobs continue to include custodial responsibilities, especially in the case of smaller buildings. The role has become more structured and complex in recent years with the introduction of regulations requiring certifications to operate various equipment, digital control and computerized systems and technologies, and dedicated education and training offerings for building operators.
There is no national definition of building operator and only Alberta and Ontario have recognized occupations regarding building operations. Alberta has developed an occupation profile for building operations, which states that: “building operators are responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operation of large buildings that have complex heating, mechanical and electrical systems.”
Historically, this has been limited to ensuring that these systems functioned and operated in accordance with prevailing regulations. Alberta’s profile expands on this to include “report[ing] problems and recommend[ing] changes to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs or comply with environmental, building and safety codes.”
However, current job postings suggest that few employers understand, appreciate and are seeking individuals who can fulfill this expanded role. Of 18 job postings reviewed, only three (all from the same employer) set out conservation related responsibilities and were limited to “supervising energy management practices for lighting and HVAC and seek to identify areas for improvement.” The remaining building owners and property managers did not identify such priorities for building operators in their job postings.
GENERALISTS WHO UNDERSTAND INTERRELATED SYSTEMS
Building operators are not necessarily experts with respect to each system, but understand their interrelationship and oversee the general maintenance, operation and interplay of systems. While intelligent buildings require an ability to work with computer based systems, the evolving role for the building operator does not necessarily mean a broader set of responsibilities, but rather a deeper understanding of the interrelatedness of traditional building efficiencies through equipment commissioning and systems optimization.
A wide survey of job postings for entry level building operators (level 4) as well as formal job descriptions provided by a major building management firm revealed a number of common responsibilities for building operators as well as a significant number of less common ones. The majority of job descriptions identified some or all of the following duties:
- providing minor routine and preventative maintenance and repairs on building systems, including HVAC, plumbing and electrical;
- responding to occupant complaints and performing repairs;
- performing building checks and maintaining operations and maintenance logs;
- liaising with contractors and trades; and
- monitoring, inspecting and testing environmental, safety and security systems.
Some postings specified one or more of the following additional responsibilities:
- experience operating building automation systems (BAS) such as Honeywell Delta 1000, Excel and Graphic Central;
- ability to read schematics and line diagrams;
- commissioning and troubleshooting systems;
- scheduling and prioritizing work;
- obtaining contractor estimates and costs:
- ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation and standards;
- providing technical advice and information on code related issues;
- participating in operating cost budget;
- coaching and training maintenance team members; and
- varying degrees of cleaning and custodial responsibilities.
Of all postings reviewed, only one employer explicitly stated that the position involved participation in and improvement on energy management practices.
PROFILE & TRAINING
There is no record of the number of building operators in Canada. This study attempted to estimate the number of building operators based on the number of commercial and institutional buildings and their square footage as reported in Natural Resources Canada’s Commercial and Institutional Consumption of Energy Survey 2005.
However, concerns regarding the accuracy and validity of the data made it impossible to provide an estimate with any acceptable degree of accuracy.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Calgary has estimated the average age of building operators in Alberta to be 55. Aside from this lone reference, no empirical data was available on the average age of the building operator workforce in Canada. StatsCan data on stationary engineers does indicate that this broader segment is aging rapidly with insufficient new entries to meet demand in the long term.
Historically, building operators have come from two primary educational paths. In many instances, building operators fulfilled a janitorial/custodial role and grew into the role of building operator on the job. These operators generally have no formal training, but apprenticed on the job.
The other stream originates through the certified trades of power engineering and traditional building trades. Educational and training programs are well established for these occupations and are regulated by provincial safety authorities.
Today, programs in post-secondary institutions offer certificates in building operations (i.e. building environmental systems programs) that focus on energy efficiency. Additionally, industry associations are also beginning to offer training directly relating to efficiently operating buildings (e.g. BOMA’s Systems Maintenance Technician program).
Although apprenticeship programs exist for stationary engineers in some provinces, no such program exists for building operators. Even where these training opportunities exist, employers’ lack of awareness and use of the programs make it challenging to understand if they are being successful at filling the needs of the industry.
Educational programs targeted specifically at building operators have existed since the 1970s with the creation of Seneca College’s Building Environmental Systems (BES) program. BES is well established and offered through career colleges across the country. BOMA later established Building Operator Training (BOT) courses modeled on BES. These two programs form the core of educational offerings for building operators in Canada.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the results of this study, ECO Canada suggests further research and efforts to generate:
- More quality and consistent data on labour market conditions, building operator demographics, educational statistics (uptake of educational and training programs, educational performance and competency assessments) and employment statistics.
- A nationally recognized framework detailing professional categories, qualifications and responsibilities of building operators that also addresses energy management and an appreciation of the building operator as an integral part of building operations planning and management.
- A nationally recognized accreditation and certification scheme for building operators that recognizes various educational and training programs and incorporates ongoing training and competency assessment.
- A detailed gap analysis of existing educational and training opportunities, including on-the-job training to identify their ability to meet the educational needs of building operators going forward.
- A survey of employers and building operators to determine preferred learning methods and to encourage a culture of learning within the industry.
- Greater employer recognition of and investment in building operators through fair compensation, training and advancement opportunities, good workplace conditions and incentives.
- Collective stakeholder effort to raise the profile of the profession and promote it to the labour market.
- Addressing under-representation of women and visible minorities in the profession, as well as barriers to entry such as language and computer literacy.
The complete text of the Building Operator Scoping Study, 2011, can be found at www.eco.ca/buildingoperators.
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