Operations & Performance Management Professional (OPMP)

1. Review eligibility requirements: Visit the ASHRAE OPMP certification page and confirm you meet the experience prerequisites — typically a combination of education and hands-on experience in building operations, facility management, or a related field.\n\n2. Create an ASHRAE account and apply: Register or log in at ashrae.org, complete the online application, and submit documentation of your professional experience and educational background for review.\n\n3. Pay the application/exam fee: Submit the required exam fee (ASHRAE members receive a discounted rate). Confirm your application is approved before scheduling the exam.\n\n4. Obtain the OPMP Candidate Handbook: Download the official handbook from ASHRAE's certification page. It outlines the exam content outline, competency domains, and recommended study resources.\n\n5. Study the exam content domains: Focus on the key areas covered by the exam — building systems operations, performance monitoring, energy management, maintenance strategies, and commissioning. Use ASHRAE publications, online courses, and webinars as study aids.\n\n6. Schedule your exam: Once approved, schedule your proctored exam through ASHRAE's designated testing provider. Choose between an authorized testing center or online proctored delivery.\n\n7. Take and pass the exam: Complete the computer-based, multiple-choice examination within the allotted time. A passing score earns you the OPMP credential.\n\n8. Maintain your credential: After earning the OPMP, track your continuing education (PDHs/CEUs) and renew every three years by submitting credits and paying the renewal fee through your ASHRAE account.

The OPMP exam evaluates competency across several core domains related to the operations and performance management of commercial and institutional buildings. While ASHRAE does not publicly publish exact domain weightings, the exam content outline covers the following primary areas:

Building Systems Operations: Understanding of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and building automation systems (BAS/BMS) — including how these systems interact, how to operate them efficiently, and how to diagnose performance issues.

Energy Management and Performance Monitoring: Ability to establish performance baselines, track key performance indicators (KPIs), interpret energy data, and implement strategies to reduce energy consumption and operating costs. This includes familiarity with energy auditing methodologies and benchmarking tools such as ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

Maintenance Strategies and Reliability: Knowledge of preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance approaches. Candidates are expected to understand how maintenance practices affect building performance, equipment longevity, and occupant comfort.

Commissioning and Recommissioning: Understanding of the commissioning process — including ongoing commissioning (OCx) and retrocommissioning — as a tool for verifying and improving building system performance over time.

Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance: Awareness of sustainability frameworks, green building standards, and applicable codes and regulations that affect building operations. This includes understanding how operational decisions contribute to environmental goals and compliance requirements.

Occupant Health, Safety, and Comfort: Knowledge of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors, including thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, and acoustics, and how operations management affects building occupants.

The OPMP occupies a focused niche within the broader building operations and facility management credentialing landscape. ASHRAE is one of the most respected technical societies in the built environment, and its certifications carry strong credibility among engineers, facility managers, and building owners — particularly in North America. However, ASHRAE's certification portfolio (which includes the BEAP, BEMP, HBDP, and BCxP) is smaller in total certified holders compared to mass-market credentials like IFMA's CFM or BOMI's RPA, reflecting ASHRAE's more technical and specialized positioning.

The OPMP is particularly relevant in the context of growing demand for building performance optimization, driven by corporate sustainability commitments, energy codes, and ESG reporting requirements. As building owners and operators face increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and demonstrate operational efficiency, credentials that validate performance management skills are gaining traction. The OPMP aligns well with this trend, especially in sectors like commercial real estate, healthcare, higher education, and government — all of which manage large, complex building portfolios.

Compared to alternatives, the OPMP competes most directly with IFMA's Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) and AEE's Certified Energy Manager (CEM). The CEM has a significantly larger holder base and broader name recognition in energy management circles, while the CFM is the dominant general facility management credential. The OPMP differentiates itself through its ASHRAE technical pedigree and its specific focus on the intersection of operations and measurable building performance — making it a strong complement to, rather than a replacement for, broader facility management credentials.

ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) launched its formal certification programs in the early 2000s as part of a broader effort to professionalize the building systems industry and validate technical competency. The OPMP certification was developed in response to growing industry demand for professionals who could not only design efficient building systems but also manage and optimize them over their operational lifecycle — a gap that became increasingly apparent as energy codes tightened and building performance expectations rose.

The OPMP was introduced in the mid-2010s, building on ASHRAE's existing credentialing infrastructure and its deep library of technical standards (including ASHRAE Standard 100, which addresses energy efficiency in existing buildings). The certification was designed to complement ASHRAE's other credentials — such as the Building Energy Assessment Professional (BEAP) and Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP) — by focusing specifically on the operational phase of the building lifecycle. Over time, ASHRAE has refined the exam content outline to reflect evolving industry practices, including the integration of smart building technologies, advanced metering infrastructure, and data-driven performance management approaches.