Professional Design/Build Designation Program Established

The Washington, DC-based Design/Build Institute of America and the Design-Build Education and Research Foundation have established the Designated Design/Build Professional program. This program creates experience, education, and knowledge standards for practitioners who possess a qualified and quantified level of expertise in Design/Build. Individuals who successfully complete the requirements of the program will be recognized as a Designated Design/Build Professional, and will earn the right to display DBIA after their names identifying them to Design/Build end-users and the community at-large as professionals in the Design/Build field. In addition to experience, higher education, and other requisites, candidates earn contact hours toward their designation through DBIA-approved educational courses, conferences and seminars. Credit is provided for DBIA courses taken after January 1, 1999. Program requirements include participation in two core courses: Successful Design/Build Project Delivery (12 CHs) and Principles of Design/Build Contracting and Risk Management (12 CHs). Successful completion of the 101 Certificate Program at DBIA’s Professional Design/Build Conference may be used to fulfill the Successful Design/Build Project Delivery course requirement. Candidates must also write an exam that will test both content and application knowledge. The exam is being developed by the Design-Build Education and Research Foundation and will be available in February 2003. Although DBIA is the primary designation offered, two additional lifetime designations have been endorsed: The Honored Design/Build Professional (HonDBIA), which may be conferred upon non-designated individuals who have significantly contributed to the successful implementation of Design/Build projects and methodologies, and the Fellow Design/Build Professional (FDBIA), to be conferred upon Designated Design/Build Professionals whose careers have focused on industry leadership and the advancement of total integrated project services. The joint DBIA/Foundation oversight Designation Committee has proclaimed 2002 as a charter designation year. Says Dorwin A. J. Thomas, designation committee chair, “In this charter year, designations will be conferred upon worthy candidates who have met one or more of the requirements for becoming a charter DBIA.” Successful charter candidates will have core course and exam requirements waived. Charter requirements are: • Demonstrated DBIA leadership, • Measurable involvement in DBIA, the foundation, and the chapters, • Contribution to the industry, • Contribution to the design-build knowledge base • Experience on successful design-build projects. The first-ever Designated Design/Build Professional convocation ceremony took place in Washington, D.C. April 18. Several prominent HVAC contractors, including Steven H. Clay, TDIndustries, Dallas, TX; Joe Critchfield, Critchfield Mechanical, Inc., Menlo Park, CA; Mark Shambaugh, Shambaugh and Sons, Inc., Ft. Wayne, IN; and Michael Moore and Andy Fimiano, Southland Industries, Long Beach, CA, were among the professionals who were conferred the Designated Design/Build Professional designation in the charter year of this new program. Additional information about the program requirements and eligibility for charter status in the Designated Design/Build Professional program is available on the DBIA website: www.dbia.org or by contacting Tina Elsner, director, membership and professional development at 202/682-0110.