The Professional Alternative to RESNET®

Have you ever wished you could have a choice?

Now you do.

Here are 30 features and 42 benefits of the Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co’s home energy rating system Quality Management System and business model.

EPA-recognized HCO

Recognized by EPA as ENERGY STAR Home Certification Organization (just like our competitor, RESNET®)

You have confidence our Quality Management System works— we went through rigorous review & approval by the EPA.

FREE Training & Certification

You get FREE certification training and CEUs. ‘Nuff said.

Integrity

You are in the integrity business and just happen to do energy ratings. So are we and we just happen to do quality management on energy ratings.

Your videos are easy to follow and go back to for reference. Instructions are clear and easy to follow.
Cathy Smith, Energy Modeling Analyst

Focus on Improving the Quality of Your Business

You know Quality Management is NOT about rules & regulations- that’s what amateurs think. Professionals know it is ultimately about improving the process and your business that does the work.

Business Help

You get access to weekly Zoom calls with other energy rating business leaders who are there to support each other and provide you a different perspective. All facilitated by us…

You get marketing pieces you can customize, from flyers to emails. Or we can do the customization for you if you want at no additional charge.

You get a weekly email on what’s going on and how you can improve your marketing efforts…from a trained marketer, not some bloody amateur.

Expert Support for When Experts Get Stuck

When you have a technical question, you can reach us by phone, text, or email.

When you have a software question, there is a chat function in the tool so you can chat directly with a developer.

I’ve been pretty satisfied with my service and the costs, and since you’ve started these weekly Zoom calls— I feel like I’m getting more than I paid for! You guys are my secret weapon!
Kevin Burk, CEO, RK Burk Consulting

Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two- and only these two- basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are ‘costs’.
Peter Drucker

For any questions or training in the building industry, my go-to folks are over at Building Science Institute (BSI). Their expertise is vast, and I can rest easy knowing that the information I receive from them is accurate and reliable. Any time I reach out with questions or concerns, they are very responsive, and they operate with integrity. The most valuable tool I have in my toolbox is the Building Science Institute as a resource for building science, building code, quality control, and training staff.
Melissa Brewer, Water & Energy Efficiency Services Team Leader, Plummer

Publicly Available Information

You know what information we make public. And we share our data (freely) with other registries so your work gets more publicity.

Our clients OWN the data, we are merely caretakers.

Full Transparency on What We Do (And How We Do It)

You know exactly what we do for you, because we include ALL our obligations to you in our contracts.

Everyone Treated the Same

You get treated the same, and we love you differently. Because you’re unique…

A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity
Dalai Lama

Client Focus

Your energy rating business is our only customer. And others like yours. Not builders, manufacturers, trade associations, or anyone else.

Transparent Quality Management

You know exactly what we do in our 9 layers of Quality Management (most of which happens behind the scenes, but we think you ought to know anyway).

Common Sense Field & File Quality Control

You get 1 field assessment per Verifier per year (unless a problem crops up) and file reviews based on statistically significant sample sizes…cuts down on the time wasted doing useless work.

You provide a level of service that sets the bar very high. You create value that is meaningful and allows me to share knowledge to others who are not even in our industry. Whether it be through mentoring or simply sharing with others what I have learned from your team, I assure you that your mission of making a difference in people’s lives is being executed by me as I feel as though I am an extension of BSI. So….thank you, you are appreciated!
Christopher Flores, Managing Director, Eco-Synergy Advisors, LLC

BSI has very friendly and helpful staff. They are super knowledgeable and will take time to help you out. BSI is fast in responding and responsible. I highly recommend them!
Jorge Maldonado, Owner, 92 Lion Group

Independent Quality Council

You are ensured we don’t act with fear or favor on certifications.

You get improvements in the quality of the BSI Quality Management System.

Our intent:
– Greater consistency in training
– Dramatic reductions in inadvertent operator errors
– Greater confidence homes earned certification
– Greater consistency in ERI outputs
– More collaboration with clients & stakeholders

Impartiality & Objectivity

Your work needs to be impartial & objective. So does ours. We require impartiality and objectivity from both of us. We even put it into our contracts…so we are legally accountable to you.

Fairness & Objectivity

Your performance is evaluated based on objective evidence, not opinion or interpretation.

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

Annual Organizational Performance Gap Assessments

You want to have a business that thrives, not just survives.

We are here to help you do that through our benchmarking performance gap assessments.

You get the help you want to build a better business. After all, that is the point of professional Quality Management Systems!

Field & File Conformance Reviews

Your performance isn’t rated. Remember our common sense approach? It also happens to be the professional one… 40 years of psychrometric research definitively proves that 61-62% of one person rating another person’s performance reflects the rater, not the person being rated.

To ignore that lovely bit of evidence in favor of an opinion is, frankly, stupid.

In the professional world, you either conform with the referenced standard requirements or you don’t.
That’s what we document…and we provide you the benchmark criteria from the very beginning.

Competency-Based Certifications

You know computer games and standardized tests are horrible ways to determine whether someone can do the job or not. Professionals have known this since 1917… so we use competency assessments to tell us whether you can do the job right the first time.

You only have to take outside certification tests when required by external programs such as ENERGY STAR® or ICC.

More than half of the variation in a manager’s ratings could be explained by the unique rating patterns of the individual doing the rating— in the first study it was 71%, the second 58%, the third 55%.
Marcus Buckingham

These tests are too crude to be used, and should be abandoned.
Frederick J. Kelly, President of University of Idaho & Creator of multiple-choice tests

Fair Follow-up

You get to tell us what you intend to do to correct any non-conformances, and when you intend to do it. Our job is to help you keep your word to us, not tell you how to run your business.

Fair Process in Disputes

You get treated fairly anytime we have a difference we can’t resolve like decent human beings. We rely on arbitration instead of secret committees (or ones stacked against you), or expensive lawsuits. We put that in our contract with you because we think a balance of power is a good thing.

Blame Free

When you make a mistake, it shows us a flaw in our process that signals us to make improvements.

Our job in life is to make a positive difference, not prove we’re right.
Peter Drucker

Collaboration on Improvements to Our System

You get a voice in how we can become better and what other services we can provide to help you build a better business. We use a platform that allows you to see what others have suggested, so you can riff off their ideas or come up with your own…plus you can see the progress we make on these improvements. You deserve to have your voice heard inside our company on everything, not just the things we want.

Performance Gap Assessment Reports

You get a clear, concise, complete and accurate record of our annual organizational conformity assessment. If you have any disagreement with our performance gap report, you get the last word in it…unedited. We think it’s fair to have both sides of the story told.

Directions on How to Perform a Professional Root Cause Analysis

You know it’s NEVER Fred’s fault. Well, hardly ever. Most of the failures in a process are NOT the fault of the operator, but lie somewhere else. We tell you exactly how to discover the real reason things went pear-shaped. This saves you time & money when you treat the real cause, not symptoms.

Manage the cause, not the result.
W. Edwards Deming

Professional Sampling Program

You get to use a sampling protocol based on professional sampling standards (yes, they actually exist). This is clear and concise, so you know exactly how to do it.

Professional Code of Ethics

You get the advantage of a professional Code of Ethics that applies equally to BSI and you, from the American Society for Quality and ISO 19011-2018

Secondary Interest Disclosure

You aren’t afraid of sunshine. Transparency creates trust, but only when it applies to everybody…
BSI, our Quality Council members, and your company (and the rest of our client companies) complete this form.

Secondary interests can lead to conflicts and are generally resolved through disclosure, recusal, or removal.

Integrated Energy Modeling & Inspection Software

You save time— you don’t have to transfer data from one app to another…even pictures, unless you choose a different option.

You don’t have to worry about people screwing up data transfers

You save money— the as-built home data goes into the energy model directly, and reports to builders & code officials sent straight from the app.

You save more money— operators are provided a task list of everything they need to do for each inspection. Totally customizable to fit your workflow, naturally.

You have the ability to schedule & assign jobs, right in the same app.

Your work is supported by documentation uploaded right to the app…blueprints, specifications, cut sheets, HVAC documents, and inspection photos. And anything else you want to throw in to support your builder has built a better house.

EnergyPlus Calculation Engine (OS-ERI and OS-HPXML)

You get reduced frequency of changes to the ERI. This trusted core calculation engine is developed and maintained by the DOE through NREL. No black boxes here and…it gets updated only 2x per year.

Streamlined QM

You don’t waste time sending us information we already have— because of the full transparency baked into our software, we report to you…not the other way around.

The difference between where we are and where we want to be is created by the changes we are willing to make in our lives. When you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done to get it.
John C. Maxwell

According to the American Society for Quality, a professional Quality Management System delivers:

Higher profitability

Reduced costs & better cost management

Increased customer loyalty & retention

Adaptability to changing or emerging market conditions

Higher productivity

Strengthened competitive advantage

Improved employee focus & satisfaction

Improved employee morale

Higher employee engagement

Enhanced market image

Elimination of defects and waste

Improved customer focus & satisfaction

Enhanced shareholder & stakeholder value

Improved & innovative processes

Apply to Become a Client

And join the Professional Quality Management Organization for the Energy Rating Industry!

PLEASE NOTE: Any use of “RESNET®” or other registered trademarks by Building Science Institute, Ltd. Co. does not indicate ownership, sponsorship, or endorsement by the registered trademark owners. Any use of registered trademarks falls under informational, editorial, or comparative use.