From left to right: Josh Carpenter, account executive, Trane Hawaiʻi Area Office; Don Mitchell, director of strategic solutions, Trane Northwest – Hawaiʻi District; Scott Lagana, Hawaiʻi area manager, Trane Northwest – Hawaiʻi District; Sherry Proper, director of strategic initiatives, UH West Oʻahu; Rockne Freitas, former chancellor, UH West O’ahu; Laurie Komatsu, associate director, corporate and foundation relations, University of Hawaiʻi Foundation.
The Ingersoll Rand Charitable Foundation has awarded $25,000 to support the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu facilities management program. This funding will be dedicated to a pilot certification program for facilities managers to achieve a Sustainable Facility Manager certification through the International Facility Managers Association (IFMA).
“Commercial buildings are complex facilities. To a hospital, corporation or education system, the actual building itself is a critical asset for them to achieve their mission. The technical skills required to manage these buildings are changing as technology evolves and people’s expectations around energy efficiency and indoor comfort increase,” said Scott Lagana, Hawai‘i business leader for Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand. “As an industry, we need to address this skill gap by partnering with educational institutions to introduce this field to students. By doing so we can demonstrate the impact facility managers have – not only the overall productivity of the organizations they support -but world issues like energy efficiency and climate change.”
Buildings and facilities of all types have become much larger and more complicated. Computerized building control systems, networks and equipment devices have significantly increased the need for expertise in technical facilities management.
Two facilities management concentrations will be offered at UH West Oʻahu – one in the business administration division and a transfer pathway option for community college students into the bachelor of applied science program at UH West Oʻahu. Both options are designed to prepare students and working professionals for positions in the building and facilities management fields. Participants will learn about topics including building operations, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system design and optimization, LEED™ building design, capital and operational budget planning and personnel management.
“We are extremely grateful to the Trane and Ingersoll Rand Corporations for this generous support of our facilities management initiatives,” said UH West Oʻahu Director of Strategic Initiatives, Sherry Proper. “This sponsorship will enable us to further connect our facilities management curriculum with industry needs. Specifically, we will run a pilot program in May 2016 to provide a continuing education course in energy-efficient, sustainable facilities practices using the International Facilities Managers Association (IFMA) Sustainable Facilities Professional (SFP) curriculum that leads to professional IFMA SFP certification.”
UH West Oʻahu is the first university in Hawaiʻi to offer a bachelor of applied science with a concentration in facilities management and one of just nine universities across the country to offer the program.
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