ASHRAE Journal - August 2011 - 24

Edward Tsui, Member ASHRAE, (left) says he can help ASHRAE by recommending the Society in other parts of the world, and Bjarne Olesen (right) says technical leadership is important to the Society in brief videos shown during the presidential address.

The third and final pillar of our leadership role is strengthening our industry. We have to as an industry deliver and maintain better buildings. We just simply have to do that. We can’t afford the price of what we’re doing now. We have owners and people that procure property and buildings that don’t get what they want or what they need. This means that engineers have to do a better job in their designs, contractors have to do a better job putting designs together, and commissioning agents need to make sure everything works as intended. And we’ve got to make the sure the owners are trained as well. We’ve got to go all the way to the end of the process to be successful. This is our responsibility and we need to bring our partners together to help. Remember, you don’t have to start every parade, you just sometimes have to be able to jump in front of it if it comes by, and that’s okay too in my book. I went to the SMACNA (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association) annual meeting last fall and had conversations with some of the contractors. They were intrigued by the idea of a quality initiative that starts with design and continues all the way to the operation, one which requires credentials, and thereby allows firms to differentiate their services from others. They’re going to have to demonstrate this through not only credentialization, but possibly experience, too. But everybody that signed up would be part of a group of people that could be selected by owners who were looking to make sure they got what they want. What we’re talking about is to be able to say we stand behind the mantra of “every job, every time, done right.” We can do this, and we must. So since we’ve challenged some of the committees to do some things, let me challenge the members to do something as well. We just approved the committee and the budget for the Building eQ, the building energy labeling program for ASHRAE. So what if in this first year of the program we could label 500 buildings? This is not an arbitrary number, it happens to be two per work day, about 250 work days per year, or three
24 ASHRAE Journal

per chapter this year. This could be done anywhere in the world. Now you’ll need to have a certified energy assessor certification to do this. So if you are not certified, you’d have to get certified. So I’m going to ask you the members to think about whether you’d be willing to step up to that challenge. I think that it helps us to establish the Building eQ program, it helps our certification programs, it puts ASHRAE’s name out there, it adds to your credentials, and I think it can help to enhance your business. Please take me up on this challenge and show the world what our members can do. So who will lead? I asked Bjarne Olesen, who is from Denmark and is a member of the Region-at-Large. Olesen appears on the video screen in the background, and says: ASHRAE is a technical organization, so technical leadership is very important for ASHRAE. Many ASHRAE members experience their first technical leadership as chairs of technical committees or standing project committees. Ron, I will be very happy to help your leadership with my leadership. Thank you, Bjarne. He’s here in the audience today as well. (Applause) So where do we go from here? Well, I need everyone’s help. And to facilitate that on your table is a card that allows you to tell me how you will lead. And before you leave, I’d like everybody to fill that out. Volunteer to do something, tell me what you’ll step up to. We need every single one of you here to do this. We’ve got a place where we can collect those in the back, I hope? Please take a moment to do that. Please tell me what you’ll do. I have a trip to Korea right after this meeting. I can read them all on the way over there. Help me make this organization be all that it can be. You can do it. We can do it. So I’m going to be always asking the question this next year, who among you will lead? So now to finish it off with my marvelous French, it’s going to be rough, “laissez les bon temps rouler.” In English, this means let the good times roll. So, during this next year, let’s let the good times roll, ladies and gentlemen! (Applause)
ashrae.org August 2011

ASHRAE Journal - August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - August 2011