Center of Excellence in High-Performance Operations and Maintenance Education and Training at Laney College
In partnership with Labs21, the Center of Excellence in High-Performance Operations and Maintenance Education and Training at Laney College will serve as a national resource for building technician education and training in high-tech facility operations and maintenance (O&M).
The work of the commercial building operator has changed dramatically in response to new technologies, integration of automated systems, and new requirements to meet energy efficiency goals. Along with technical and hands-on skills, critical thinking, problem solving, and troubleshooting capabilities, building operators are expected to understand and manage building energy use through sophisticated, analytical techniques. In the evolving world of technical education, community colleges have emerged as key institutions to deliver advanced technical training to prepare the 21st century workforce.
Through its Center of Excellence, Laney College plans the following activities:
- Develop and initiate research, education, outreach, and capacity-building activities involving laboratories with a focus on high-performance O&M.
- Identify constraints facing O&M personnel and investigate and encourage the implementation of education and training solutions to address these constraints.
- Demonstrate cost-effective O&M best practices directed at achieving sustainability.
- Establish a national resource and clearinghouse to develop and provide information and materials including technical tools, Web-based resources, and case studies to document the potential for building optimization through O&M best practices.
- Provide an educational outreach capacity to spread the word to other laboratory operators, academic institutions, governments, and organizations throughout the U.S. to foster more efficient, environmentally responsive, and cost-effective O&M practices in high-tech facilities.
Laney has commissioned the Building Intelligence Group to conduct research on the current situation and trends in building operations, including the gap between building technician capabilities and building automation technology requirements. This research will inform the Center of Excellence's strategic priorities.
Laney's 7,000-square-foot Environmental Control Technology Laboratory holds a full-size commercial hydronic HVAC system consisting of all major components including a boiler and chiller, air handling units, a cooling tower, variable frequency drives, variable air volume boxes, economizers, sensors, and controls. Laney recently installed a full-size, integrated multi-vendor building control system for its commercial laboratory. The different systems are fully integrated through an interoperable network, simulating the latest trend in building automation. Laney's 5,500-square-foot electrical department provides work stations and benches for teaching motors and drives, electricity and electronics, and photovoltaic installation. The Direct Digital Controls (DDC) test-bench laboratory is equipped with DDC trainers and software, teaching students how to wire, program, and network controls in commercial buildings. A high-tech environment for simulating laboratory conditions is in development. Laney's training facilities will serve as a resource and potential training site for the Labs21 Community.
About Laney College
Centrally located in downtown Oakland, California, Laney College is an urban community college campus serving 12,000 students each semester.
As part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Laney College has developed curriculum and laboratory resources to prepare a growing green building technician workforce with the complex skills and knowledge needed to become sustainability agents in new and existing buildings. The rigorous two-year Associate in Science (AS) degree and certificate in commercial HVAC systems presents a carefully laddered course sequence teaching theoretical knowledge and practical skills for optimizing building performance including courses in commissioning, controls, and data analysis for performance monitoring. In addition, the new two-year AS degree and certificate in building automation systems will offer advanced energy management courses for building automation and control systems technicians.
Laney College's industry and research partners include leading control systems and building performance firms, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, universities, utility companies, local and state government, and NSF Advanced Technology Education Centers.
Learn more about Laney's Environmental Control Technology Program and NSF-funded activities. 
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