[Bldg-sim] [Ibpsausa] DOE Job Task Analysis for Energy Modelers: Open for public comment until Nov. 28th

Nick Caton ncaton at smithboucher.com
Thu Nov 17 15:46:25 PST 2011


Daniel, 

 

Thank you so much for this clarification!  I have to sympathize with Mr.
Hittle in that, despite the apparent efforts to "spread the word," I too
feel somewhat unsure of what the real implications will be for myself
and my colleagues in the energy modeling world.

 

My current impression is that the results of this study will ultimately
manifest as some sort of new licensure/certification/PDH requirements
for modeling services in future LEED and/or military/government
contracted work (i.e. DoD/GSA contracts)...  does that sound right?

 

Maybe an illustration would be helpful... This is from the comment
document:

 

"JTA is traditionally used by secondary and postsecondary educators,
test developers, and business, industry, government, and military
trainers to help identify core knowledge areas, critical work functions,
and skills that are common across a representative sampling of current
practitioners."

 

Can you provide an example of what JTA's have accomplished for those
working in the above industries?  

 

For better or for worse, my concern is this study is going to add
additional layers of beauracracy to the job description... Great news
(enforced business) for those in the licensing/training industries I
suppose, but will there be a net benefit for the actual practitioners?
Are my concerns unrealistic or missing the point?

 

Thanks again for your time and efforts!

 

~Nick

 

 

 

NICK CATON, P.E.

SENIOR ENGINEER

 

Smith & Boucher Engineers

25501 west valley parkway, suite 200

olathe, ks 66061

direct 913.344.0036

fax 913.345.0617

www.smithboucher.com 

 

From: bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org
[mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Studer,
Daniel
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 3:56 PM
To: Doug Hittle; Roth, Amir (HQ)
Cc: Building Simulation; ibpsausa at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: Re: [Bldg-sim] [Ibpsausa] DOE Job Task Analysis for Energy
Modelers: Open for public comment until Nov. 28th

 

Mr. Hittle,

 

My name is Daniel Studer and I am an engineer at the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. I also happen to be the project lead for DOE's
commercial job/task analysis development work.

 

I can assure you that we have conducted extensive outreach to ensure
that persons who operate in the spaces targeted by these JTAs are fully
aware of the work being performed, including ASHRAE.

 

The energy modeler JTA itself was created over the course of three days
by eleven practicing energy modelers who were guided through the process
by a professional psychometrician. The names and associated
organizations of each of these folks are listed at the back of the JTA,
in case you are curious. DOE and NREL had zero input into the content of
this document. And to ensure that the document is truly reflective of
the industry, DOE has decided to make the documents available for public
comment. That way, individuals such as yourself can provide DOE with
constructive feedback to ensure that the document content is both
appropriate and valid.

 

The intent of the project, as stated on the project website, is to:

Provide a basis for developing and comparing new and existing training
programs in the commercial building sector. This will help individuals
identify opportunities to enhance their professional skills, enable
industry to identify an appropriately skilled workforce, and allow
training providers to ensure that they are providing the highest quality
product possible.

 

In short, we are trying to document the job as it currently exists so
that training/certification providers can ensure that they are providing
high quality products in line with industry's identified needs.
Additionally, gathering this information using the objective approach
that we have also has the side benefit of creating a sort of baseline
document that can be used to help a training/certification end user
better understand how their current skill set and existing
training/certification options fit together.

 

I totally agree with you that items identified such as "time management
skills" are not very measurable, and in fact seem both excessive and
irrelevant, in the context of developing a training program or
certification around this material. However, such information is very
valuable in other contexts, which is why it is included in any JTA which
utilizes the "developing a curriculum" (DACUM) method. The idea is that
all aspects of the job should be documented so that the resultant
analysis can be used for multiple purposes. For example, an individual
wishing to develop a job posting may look at the JTA and include items
such as "time management skills" or "spatial skills" in the job posting.
They could then structure interview questions to better understand that
person's abilities in those areas to make a more informed decision about
a candidate.

 

In other JTAs that were developed under this project, SMEs also
identified physical attributes necessary to perform the job (e.g., lift
X lbs over head, see X feet). While these may also seem silly, they
become very important when developing high risk assessments, such as
licensure exams, in these spaces.

 

The real meat of each document is the DACUM chart located at the back of
each. These charts identify the specific domain areas, tasks, and steps
that the SMEs identified were necessary to perform the specified job. It
is this content specifically that is of most use to
training/certification providers, which is why DOE asked for comments on
this specific chart in the Federal Register notice.

 

The proposed content blueprint tables (located near the front of each
document), contain the SME's proposed weights for how often, and how
important, each of the identified tasks is to the job. Such weights
provide valuable context to training/certification providers by serving
as guidelines for how much time should be devoted to each topic.

 

As part of this project, NREL will be facilitating a "survey validation"
which will provide industry with the opportunity to adjust these
weighting factors. However, to avoid the confusion that would occur with
two "comment periods" occurring at once, this will not happen until
DOE's public comment closes at the end of November.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.

 

Thanks,

Danny

 

 

From: bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org
[mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Doug Hittle
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 1:17 PM
To: Roth, Amir (HQ)
Cc: Building Simulation; ibpsausa at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: Re: [Bldg-sim] [Ibpsausa] DOE Job Task Analysis for Energy
Modelers: Open for public comment until Nov. 28th

 

I would like to be grandfathered in please. Who is scrutinizing this
document (proposed regulation?) at ASHRAE headquarters? Have you had any
input from ASHRAE?

If you were to do a jta for President of the United States it might not
be so lengthy as the one for building energy modelers. (And, a lot of
folks in the current primary would be automatically excluded). Is it
possible that we have the cart before the horse? Perhaps we need a jta
for building architects and building design engineers of which energy
modelers could be a subset.  I am sure that if DOE proposed a regulatory
test procedure for architects and engineers there would be plenty of
comment. 

I've looked at the document. What caught my attentions was the list of
"skills and abilities." These included such thing as "time management
skills," "critical thinking," and  "spatial skills."  Assuming that the
goal is to define measurable skills, we might want to give energy
modeler want-a-be s the SAT again. 

Then I saw "common sense" and "patience" as skills and abilities. Now,
not withstanding the jta, I consider myself a competent modeler of
buildings and their energy systems. We don't need to vote on that but I
also am reasonably sure that "patience" has only recently kicked in as a
personal skill (maybe I am being optimistic). How are we going to
measure the "common sense" of someone who wants to apply to be an energy
modeler?

Dr. Roth, it is not clear that very many in the building sciences field
are aware of your project, its history, and potential impact. Perhaps
you could get on the agenda at an upcoming ASHRAE meeting and explain
the process and your intent for the project outcomes.

Respectfully,
Doug Hittle





On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 11:45 AM, Roth, Amir <Amir.Roth at ee.doe.gov>
wrote:

Apologies for cross-posting,

 

The DOE has put together a job task analysis (JTA)--job description plus
required knowledge and skills--for building energy modelers.  The draft
document, created by a group of 15 energy modeling professionals, can be
found here: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/pdfs/energy_
modeler_jta_comment.pdf 

 

DOE is accepting comments on this draft until November 28, 2011 at this
URL: http://www.nrel.gov/ap/buildings_workforce_feedback/. Very few
comments have been received so far. I urge you to review and comment on
this draft as the final document will provide the foundation for future
education, training and certification programs and will likely have to
be complied with going forward by existing programs, e.g., ASHRAE BEMP.
In addition to constructive critique, positive comments, e.g., "perfect,
don't change a thing", are also welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

-Amir

 

============
Amir Roth, PhD 
Building Performance Simulation Tools, US DOE/EERE 
Ph: 202.287.1694

 


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