The Operations and Performance Management Professional Certification program from the Atlanta-based American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc. helps earners demonstrate their knowledge of the management of facility operations and maintenance and the impact of these things on HVAC&R systems’ performance.

The program will launch at the ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Chicago, Jan. 24-28; testing will be available via electronic testing centers worldwide starting in March 2009. The program is intended for those working in facilities operations, management construction, design or consulting, as well as experienced professionals in facility operations and performance. For more information, e-mail certification@ashrae.org. In other news, ASHRAE and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, Arlington, Va., have released a standard that will ensure a consistent minimal level of HVAC&R maintenance and inspection to preserve a system’s ability to achieve acceptable thermal comfort, energy efficiency and IAQ in commercial buildings. ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180-2008, “Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems,” addresses inspection and maintenance of HVAC systems. For more information, visit www.ashrae.org.