Our Beliefs Are Our Beacon to Help Us Navigate the Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, and Ambiguous World

When others may have lost their way, we held fast to what we believe and made the best decisions we could to build a better future for the energy rating industry.

We still hold those beliefs and continue to build that future.

That’s why we created the Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co. and the innovative Quality Management System we operate, a Quality Management System that reflects our core principles and values, contributes our expertise that produces actionable insights, and leverages technology to do what others only dream about.

Our beliefs about people, work, life, and what’s most important are the heart of our Quality Management System. We know these things are true and they anchor us through the storms of life and business, and show us the way when things get difficult.

We Believe

We believe in truth, justice, and freedom. 

We believe a business that controls clients to increase revenue is a soul-stealing monster, a parasite.

We believe a business that demands loyalty from their customers doesn’t deserve either.

We believe the purpose of capitalism is to improve society. That’s why we are a business.

We believe the purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. That’s why we focus on innovation and marketing.

We believe our business is a vehicle to help the people who work here increase their value to their families, communities, and world.

We believe the purpose of technology is to make our work better and our lives easier.

We believe you should have the freedom to do what you do as long as you don’t harm yourself or anyone else.

We are warriors who fight for the life we want to live…and the freedom for others to do the same.

We believe it is our duty to defend those who can’t defend themselves. We must oppose tyrants, speak truth to power, and sacrifice what we must to build a better world. Then we will be a good ancestor.

We know the only way to make the world better tomorrow is to have the courage and wit to face up to reality today. The brave build only on truth.

We believe we have a moral obligation to do what we must, even when everyone else sits on the sidelines.

We believe people with purpose make all the difference in the world.

We know work is something you learn to love so it becomes your calling, not a career.

We know the crazy, wonderful, weird uniqueness of each individual is a mess worth engaging with.

We know the lives of the people within an organization are more important than that organization’s identity and sanctity.

We believe that most people want to become better at who they are…those who don’t want to can go away. Time’s too precious to waste on them.

We know our people are the only sustainable competitive advantage we have— and we treat them that way.

We know our clients are our lifeblood— they chose us and we honor that choice with our work.

We believe our clients reward us because they love what we do for them, not because we force them.

We believe we have to earn our way in this world every day. To live off yesterday’s victories wastes the only moment we have to build our future.

We are hard on our work and easy on each other.

We believe to do the wrong thing well is stupid. So we are effective, not just efficient.

We inspire, motivate, and cheerlead our clients to do more, have more, and become more.

We believe a life full of meaning is more important than a bank account full of cash. So we put our family ahead of our work.

We know the real difference between professionals and amateurs isn’t the pay.

We never stop getting good.

We believe the only way to assess competence is through demonstration, not exams. It’s more important to be able to do, not talk about doing.

We work as much as possible at the limits of our strength zones, and outside our comfort zones.

We make mistakes. We own them, fix them, and share the learning. We change our minds when the evidence suggests we’re wrong.

We don’t spin our results. Only the truth leads to growth.

We dare to innovate. And execute that innovation with excellence.

We know the combination of capability, behaviors, and the right culture creates wins.

We believe that “Not bad” isn’t good— we pursue excellence in what we do.

We put our faith in evidence, not dogma—there is no dogma in proper science.

We know emergent patterns are always wiser than received wisdom.

We know “That’s not how we do it here” is the trigger to keep doing it, only more, faster, better, and with as many people as possible.  Only Challengers create change.

We tell the truth as we see it, and we see the world as it is…not the way we want it to be.

We do the right thing, even when it’s painful or inconvenient, because that’s who we are. 

We know loyalty and respect are earned, not demanded.

We do what we say. It may not happen when we want it, but it will happen.

We encourage constructive dissent. We know that we become better when we have a wider perspective.

We don’t question goodwill, effort, or intent. We question premises, assumptions, and strategies.

We lock in the things that must be and leave everything else loose until we can figure out how it can get done.

We focus on behaviors, not outcomes. We can only control what we do, and can’t control anything else.

We know some things aren’t for sale. Like honor, integrity, and character.

We make decisions based on what’s right, not what’s expedient.

We know we only have this moment to make a difference.

We believe that homes aren’t just bricks and sticks, but also the lives of the people who dwell within.

We believe intensity brings clarity, and clarity is the answer to anxiety.

We believe that as long as we have breath, we have hope. Not that our circumstances will change, but that we will have the courage to change ourselves.

We’re NOT For Everyone

Odds are pretty good that IF you DON’T believe these things are true, we are NOT a good fit for you. Stick with the current system that’s been around since 1995…

After Working With Us

After working with the Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co., verification organizations experience:

• reduced costs & better cost management
• adaptability to changing or emerging market conditions
• increased customer loyalty & retention
• higher employee engagement
• higher productivity
• elimination of defects and waste
• strengthened competitive advantage
• improved customer focus & satisfaction
• improved employee focus & satisfaction
• enhanced shareholder & stakeholder value
• improved employee morale
• improved & innovative processes
• higher profitability

Along the way, we deliver reduced risk, which provides you peace of mind. You help your builder clients maintain their integrity, and we help you keep yours.

The Benefits of Our Quality Management System

Our Quality Management System provides:

• Greater consistency in training
• Dramatic reduction in inadvertent operator errors
• Greater confidence that homes earned their certification
• More transparency through the entire system
• Greater consistency in ERI outputs
• More collaboration on Quality Management with stakeholders

IF you do NOT want that experience and benefits, STOP wasting your time and ours. Don’t even bother reading any more. You are NOT a good fit for us and we are NOT interested in working with you. Energy rating companies like yours already have a home, and you’re welcome to stay in it.

What We’ve Done to Make This Happen

We eliminated the concept of Providers. That archaic system has baked into it the inconsistencies that everyone complains about, inconsistencies that CANNOT be solved with more rules and iron-fisted controls.

So we went straight to the source of the problem and eliminated it.

All certification training is provided by the Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co. through our Building Science Education platform. While that took care of the inconsistent training problems…

We eliminated the entire concept of Providers. No longer does a rating company need to submit their files to another outfit for review, which then get handed off to the self-appointed “regulatory body” for yet another round of review.

We cut out the middle man.

This provides consistency in the application of our Quality Management System. Everyone is subject to the same set of policies, processes, and procedures which are spelled out in…

Our contracts. 

Our contracts clearly spell out what we are obligated to do, what you are obligated to do, and what we are jointly obligated to do. You give us the authority to help you build a better business when you sign the contract, which only takes place after we’ve had a meeting of the minds and agreed to a proposal.

No references to policies which may change without your knowledge.

No secret tribunals or kangaroo courts…if there’s a dispute, our contracts call for arbitration following the nationally accepted rules for arbitration. After all, that’s what professionals do.

We leverage HouseRater™ technology to integrate software analysis and field inspections in one app to reduce the number of mistakes made by the operators.

With built-in reminders of what they are supposed to do, and built-in signals to the Quality Management team when they don’t do what they’re supposed to, the technology allows the Quality Management team to target their efforts to improve the process where they are needed.

By the way, this eliminates up to 60% of the time currently wasted on high-effort, low-return activities that are baked into other systems.

When a home gets certified in our Quality Management System, it has had well over 300 data validation checks made behind the scenes, with coordinated efforts between the operators and Quality Management team to ensure the data collected in the field is well-documented and remains unchanged through the process.

But that’s not all…

We have the guts to pick a winner.

HouseRater isn’t just our inspection tool. It collects field data and data entered based on plans and specifications and pushes it through to NREL’s EnergyPlus-based calculation engine to produce the unadulterated Energy Rating Index.

An ERI calculated on the actual equations found in Standard 301…

An ERI that is trustworthy…

With a calculation engine that meets the tighter acceptance criteria of ASHRAE Std 140…something other folks talk about, but just can’t seem to get done.

We deliver consistent ERIs that create a level playing field. 

Consistency that leads to stability.

And shorter times between final inspections and certifications.

So builders get what they need faster.

Our single platform for energy modeling, inspections, certifications, and quality control lets technology make your work better and your life easier.

With complete transparency through the entire system.

In real time.

Code officials can see, if they want to, what supports the verified performance documented by code compliance reports.

Even the trade contractors can upload their documents into your project through HouseRater so you don’t have to wonder if their work is ready or not…you get to see it, and can verify for your client they got what they paid for. 

This kind of transparency has never existed before…

Transparency that builds trust.

No longer do rating companies have to invest in building and maintaining their own tools (another source of inconsistency) to capture data…

Wasting a ton of money…

And time…

Our technology provides the flexibility you need for your optimized workflows, and the structure needed to ensure the integrity of the industry.

Now you get to compete on the one sustainable, strategic competitive advantage you have: your people.

They are the only real source of distinction and differentiation in your market.

“The only real difference between one organization and another is the performance of its people.”

Peter Drucker

And because we work collaboratively with our clients to improve their businesses, and with stakeholders to improve the process, we provide you actionable insights into your business to help you build a better one.

That is, after all, the whole point of professional Quality Management. 

IF you DON’T like what we do, you are definitely NOT a fit for us. For the love of all that is good and decent in the world, stop torturing yourself and stay where you are.

The Future

By the way, we won’t stop here to rest on our laurels. A wise man once said, “If you rest on your laurels, you’ll get thorns in your ass.”

We go beyond this business model innovation in ERI Quality Management.

In our product pipeline, we have disruptive innovations scheduled.

Innovative products that will generate more business through new clients.

Instead of fighting over the same small pile of crumbs under the table, you’ll feast off the main course at the table.

We know the real value of energy efficient construction lies in the process of actually building energy efficient homes that are independently verified, NOT in the distracting pursuit of a lower number that has zero correlation with the energy consumption of the home.

Instead of looking to the past, we build for the future.

Because that’s what professionals do.

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

W. Edwards Deming

IF you are NOT interested in building a more profitable business in the future, we are like chalk and cheese. Don’t waste any more of your most precious resource, your time, on this.

The Professional Difference

Our policies, processes, and procedures are taken from international Quality Management standards, not something cobbled together by amateurs.

This Quality Management System is overseen by a select group of industry professionals, our Quality Council. The Quality Council has the independence to report to our stakeholders if we don’t fulfill our obligations, and final approval authority over those documents.

Documents we embedded into our contracts to ensure you get the best we have to offer.

Contracts that require us to act with integrity, fairness, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, and take an evidence- and risk-based approach.

Easy for us to do, because that’s what we believe.

We also believe that people are at the center of every business.

They must be accountable and responsible for the work they do.

They must have the means to carry out their work in a professional manner.

They must know what they are supposed to do and when they are supposed to do it.

They must know whether what they are doing is what they’re supposed to be doing.

They must be able to change what they are doing IF it doesn’t conform with what they are supposed to do.

Professional quality management is about preventing mistakes from being made, not about finding them out when it’s too late to take meaningful action. That’s what amateurs do…

“Inspection with the aim of finding the bad ones and throwing them out is too late, ineffective, and costly. Quality comes not from inspection but from improvement of the process.”

W. Edwards Deming

Professional quality management improves the process and system.

We help our clients become better, not make them bitter.

When You Work With Us

Above all else, you are treated with respect and fairness.

You also get lower operating costs & better cost management, the ability to adapt to changing or emerging market conditions, increased customer loyalty & retention, higher employee engagement, higher productivity, elimination of defects and waste, strengthened competitive advantage, improved customer & employee focus & satisfaction, enhanced shareholder & stakeholder value, improved employee morale, improved & innovative processes, higher profitability, and reduced risk.

These outcomes are the result of greater consistency in training, the reduction in inadvertent operator errors, greater consistency in ERI outputs, our collaborative approach to professional Quality Management with stakeholders, and more transparency through the entire system. 

This gives you the confidence you need that homes earned their certification, confidence needed as more government agencies and publicly-traded builders rely on your work to meet their Environmental, Social, and Governance goals.

The confidence you get when you work with professionals.

The confidence you get when you work with the Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co., the professional quality management organization for the energy rating industry.

IF you are NOT interested in this, don’t even bother applying to work with us. We won’t get along and no amount of money is worth that kind of misery.