WELL Certification
Projects may become certified or compliant if a sufficient number of features are satisfied. To maintain WELL Certification, spaces must be recertified a minimum of every three years because building conditions can deteriorate over time to the point of adversely affecting the health and wellness of occupants.
The full process for WELL Certification and WELL Core and Shell Compliance is outlined in the Certification Guidebook.
Project Registration
Projects seeking to achieve WELL Certification or WELL Core and Shell Compliance must be registered with IWBI through WELL Online, the official online registration and project management system for WELL. Project teams may register at any point as they progress through the design and development process. However, it is advantageous to register as close to the beginning of the process as possible so that strategies to meet the WELL Building Standard® can be integrated from the very beginning.
WELL Accredited Professionals
IWBI oversees the WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP) program. WELL APs are trained on the conceptual and applied frameworks of WELL and experienced in its application on registered and certified WELL projects and can help guide projects to successful certification or compliance awards.
Documentation Submission and Review
Verification that the requirements of the WELL Building Standard have been met necessitates detailed documentation. Project teams are expected to provide various documents attesting to the satisfaction of certain parts of features (See Appendix D for more information).
Performance Verification
Since large parts of the WELL Building Standard are based on building conditions, IWBI uses Performance Verification as a process for on-site assessments. These inspections and measurements include tests related to air and water quality and sound and light levels. It is a process distinct from traditional building commissioning, and assures that the building is performing as intended in accordance to the WELL Building Standard.
Performance Verification is completed by an authorized WELL Assessor who will usually spend one to three days in the building to validate the project’s design documentation and to complete a series of performance tests, spot-checks and measurements spanning all WELL Concepts. Testing is completed according to IWBI’s sampling protocols based on the size and type of the project, and samples are sent to third-party labs for analysis.
Any WELL feature is subject to verification on-site by a WELL Assessor during Performance Verification—even those accounted for by documentation. The assessor may therefore provide additional documentation generated during spot-checks or spot-measurements for final consideration, in the form of an inspection document.
Scoring
In evaluating adherence to the WELL Building Standard, a project’s assessor will grade each Concept independently on a numerical scale. While this Concept-by-Concept analysis is used initially to ensure that all Preconditions per Concept are met, the final WELL Score is calculated based on the total Preconditions and Optimizations achieved across the board—not as a function of averaging independent Concept scores.
Failure to achieve any Precondition in any Concept will preclude the award of WELL Certification or Core and Shell Compliance. If all Preconditions are satisfied, higher levels of certification award are possible. In evaluating award levels, all Optimization features are treated equally.
Concept scores are calculated as follows for the number of WELL features applicable to a specific typology:
Total Preconditions = TP
Preconditions Achieved = PA
Total Optimizations = TO
Optimizations Achieved = OA
Wellness Score = WS
Scoring calculations may be affected by whether or not certain Optimizations are applicable to the project scope. For example, some Optimizations deal specifically with food service or mechanically circulated air. If such concerns are not relevant to the project, then these Optimizations are excluded from the Total Optimizations (TO) count. See WELLCertified.com for more information and tools for assisting in scoring calculation.
The example below shows an office that successfully meets the requirements of the New and Existing Buildings typology. With all Preconditions met and 29 Optimizations met (assuming all Optimizations are
applicable to the project), it will receive the scores calculated as shown.
| CONCEPT | PRECONDITIONS | OPTIMIZATIONS | CONCEPT SCORES | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APPLICABLE | ACHIEVED | APPLICABLE | ACHIEVED | ||
| Air | 12 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 5 |
| Water | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Nourishment | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| Light | 4 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
| Fitness | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Comfort | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
| Mind | 5 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 9 |
| Total and WELL Score | 41 | 41 | 61 | 29 | 7 |
Lower scores (0 – 4) comprise the compulsory Precondition features; a score less than 5 would denote failure to meet the Preconditions in that Concept and thus failure for overall certification or compliance. Silver scores (5 – 6) mean that all compulsory Precondition features have been met in the Concept. Gold scores (7 – 8) and Platinum scores (9 – 10) comprise the non-compulsory Optimizations.
WELL Scorecard
The WELL Scorecard is the aggregate of all of the WELL Scores for each Concept. The scorecard shows Gold level certification for the previous building example.
Recertification Requirements
After a maximum of three years, WELL Certified™ projects must undergo Performance Verification again and apply for recertification to verify that the building continues to perform in accordance with the requirements of the WELL Building Standard. During this period, annual data must be submitted for the features that require more frequent reporting. WELL Core and Shell Compliance is a one-time etermination, and as such recertification is not applicable to WELL Core & Shell Compliant™ buildings.
Project scores may change at the time of recertification if additional improvements have been made or if WELL features have not been properly maintained. It is possible for the building’s certification to be revoked if the quality of the interior environment declined considerably since initial certification. Projects may also submit evidence of achievement of additional features to improve their certification level at this time.