Benningfield Certified as LEED Commissioner

Chuck Benningfield, owner of McTab Inc. of Bentonville, recently gained certification as a Commissioner of Buildings by the University of Wisconsin School of Engineering.
Benningfield, now a member of the Building Commissioning Association, is the first in Northwest Arkansas to earn this accreditation that is required for all LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects to gain certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. He passed his course after a five-day trip to Las Vegas for 12-hour-a-day classes.
While working on a recent commercial project in Bentonville that was seeking LEED certification, Benningfield saw the need for a commissioner in Northwest Arkansas. There are currently only five in the state — all in Little Rock.
“They were all busy in Little Rock, so we had to bring a guy from Memphis in to be commissioned, and he’s had to make five trips up here,” Benningfield said. “So there really is a need.”
Commissioners basically follow a project from the basis of design to a year after its delivery date to ensure it meets LEED requirements. Projects are usually checked once a week.