USGBC Publishes Delay Information: Yay Transparency!

While preparing slides for a LEED training session I'm putting together, I stumbled upon a section of the certification information page that shows review delay estimates that are updated on a weekly basis (scroll down to the "Review Timelines" section). I've reported on this anecdotally in the past (June '08, August '08), but now you can view estimates straight from the USGBC.

As of 01.13.08 they report the following delays:

  • LEED-NC (All Versions): Expect 4 weeks, but there may be a delay up to 6 weeks.
  • LEED-Schools: Expect 4 weeks, but there may be a delay up to 6 weeks.
  • LEED-CI: Expect 5 weeks, but there may be a delay up to 6 weeks.
  • LEED-EB (All Versions): Up to 6 weeks.
  • LEED-CSv2.0 (Full Certification): Expect 4 weeks, but there may be a delay up to 6 weeks.
  • LEED-CSv2.0 (Precertification): Expect 3 weeks, but there may be a delay up to 6 weeks.

Note that these times are delays independent of the 25 business day normal review period. They also pointed out that the "USGBC is currently NOT accepting any requests for expedited reviews", so don't think you can throw money at this problem and fix it.

I would also like to take a moment to voice my support for the fact that the USGBC is providing this information at all. They could try to hide this problem from everyone, but instead they're acting responsibly by making these issues public so you can schedule accordingly.

Have the delays dropped significantly and I haven't noticed? Please share with your peers by leaving a comment!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was hearing a bit about why there's such a delay. They only allow companies which meet ISO standards to do the review. There's only about half a dozen companies doing the reviews. None of them are Architect or Engineering companies. Isn't that a bit like having football refs officiate Nascar?

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Anonymous said...

Doesn't it seem a bit arbitrary that they're ALL delayed 6 weeks? But, I'm with you - at least they're honest.

Anonymous said...

These delay notices that they post are pure crap. I've been waiting on a review for one project for about 5 months now. Another project of mine just hit the 4-1/2 month wait. I've been hearing from other people that the average review period right now is at about 5-7 months. How do you explain this to a client when the USGBC website isn't even honest about it?!

Anonymous said...

Great Blog!
I need to vent...
Our project's first review was to be completed about 60 days ago and I have had to tell the client 3 times now that the review is being delayed. The USGBC has put everyone working on certification in a bad spot professionally and I have a feeling that many of us will not drag another client thru this. Imagine if you paid someone almost $15,000 or even just $2000 and you cant even get them on the phone to discuss your project. The USGBC needs to take a class on customer service.
I cant even begin to say how terrifying it is that the reviewers are not even in the building industry. I wonder how many months they will spend just teaching them to review a set of drawings.

karina said...

Hi, does anyone know what the actual current delay for design reviews is?