While the National Security Agency’s monitoring programs are controversial, there are times where keeping close watch is a good idea.

And that includes after a building is erected, according to speakers scheduled for a session next week during the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ winter meeting in New York City.

“Once a building has been commissioned and is operating efficiently, the goal is to keep it that way,” said H. Jay Enck of Commissioning & Green Build Solutions Inc. in Buford, Ga. “Even the most effectively commissioned building can go bad. That’s why it’s important to look for operational issues trouble and fix it before it becomes a costly issue.”

Enck will appear during “Effective Best Practices for Successful Building Systems Commissioning” at 11 a.m. Jan. 20.

Seminar chairman James Vallort, P.E., said the session reflects a growing construction trend.

“The concept of commissioning of buildings during new construction and renovation has grown across the globe in the past decade or so,” said Vallort, who works for Environmental Systems Design in Chicago. “This has paralleled the continued push toward improved designs for energy and water efficiency. Unfortunately, there has been less focus on helping to ensure that there is continued high performance after construction is complete. Monitoring-based commissioning is presented as a solution. In addition, this seminar explains the testing, adjusting and balancing functions, and describes the commissioning interface and cooperation with the balancing effort including review of specifications, qualifications and reports.”

Details are available at www.ashrae.org/newyork.

ASHRAE’s winter meeting overlaps with the Jan. 21-23 AHR Expo, which will take place at the Javits convention center in New York. More information on the trade show is at www.ahrexpo.com.