What is the timeline and process for WELL performance verification?

WELL performance verification is a key milestone on the road to WELL Certification. While it occurs near the end of the project, successful testing requires preparation and coordination well in advance. The steps below outline what to expect—starting from early planning through receipt of your results.

Preparation: Determine your coordination path

The first step is determining how you will coordinate testing. Projects may either contract directly with an approved Performance Testing Provider or coordinate through IWBI.

Contract directly with a Performance Testing Provider

If you plan to contract directly, you may reach out to any approved Performance Testing Provider at any point in your project timeline to confirm scope, receive a quote, and schedule testing.

Coordinate through IWBI

If coordination occurs through IWBI, we recommend submitting your scheduling request at least six weeks before your ideal testing date. This helps ensure that an approved provider with the right availability, equipment, and staffing can be secured. You may request coordination even earlier if you would like additional buffer time.

Information the Performance Testing Agent will need

WELL Performance Testing Agents need a completed WELL Project Information and Performance Template (PIP) and a project scorecard or a copy of the Documentation Review Report in order to determine the testing scope.  

The Performance Testing Agent will also need floor plans as well as some other project specific documentation in order to play the site visit, determine sampling locations and confirm that testing results align with the targeted values identified in the documentation review.

When performance verification can occur

Performance verification can only take place once construction is complete and the project is at least 50% occupied, with the exception of Core projects, which can be tested before occupancy. Even though testing occurs toward the end of the project, teams can reach out for quotes or initial planning at any time.

For details on specific performance verification occupancy requirements, please refer to this article. Project teams may begin outreach, quoting, and planning long before construction finishes.  

Optional pre-testing (approximately 45 days before)

Many teams choose to conduct optional pre-testing before the official performance verification. Pre-testing can help identify issues early, allowing time for adjustments before the official site visit. The best time for testing will depend on the project’s construction schedule, taking into account the time it will take to process the results and remediate, if necessary. If you decide to pursue pre-testing, it is important to follow the methodologies in the WELL Performance Verification Guidebook and ensure that the proper equipment is used.

Scheduling the performance verification (six weeks before)

If coordinating through IWBI, submit your scheduling request at least 6 weeks in advance of when you would like the performance testing to occur.  This allows for coordinating lab equipment and materials, booking travel if necessary and scheduling with the WELL Performance Testing Agent(s). If there are constraints around when the project will be available for testing, communicate these constraints to IWBI or your WELL Performance Testing Agent as early in the process as possible.

The WELL Performance Testing Agent may ask a few questions before confirming the testing date(s). Some questions may include:

• Is there a limited window for testing?
• Are there certain days the project is not available?
• Are there restrictions the WELL Performance Testing Agent should be aware of?

The WELL Performance Testing Agent will need a copy of the project scorecard as well as the Project Information Form and Performance Template (PIP) in order to confirm the scope of testing. Additional documentation such as floor plans and other project documents may also be requested by the PTA in order to plan for the site visit and determine sampling locations.

Preparing the site (one to two weeks before)

In the weeks leading up to the visit, it is helpful to complete a walkthrough of the project and review any features that will be assessed on site. Reviewing the Final Documentation Report can help you understand exactly which feature parts the Performance Testing Agent will be verifying.

Teams should also notify building occupants in advance so they understand when testing will occur and how they can avoid disrupting measurements. A detailed preparation guide is available to support teams in communicating expectations and readying the site.

Around this time, the Performance Testing Agent will typically schedule a pre-verification call. This conversation covers the testing agenda, the areas they will need access to, the planned timing of the visit, and any specific site considerations. 

Before testing day arrives, be sure to add the Performance Testing Agent to your WELL account with the role of Performance Testing Agent - Full Access (can view all documents) or Performance Testing Agent - Limited Access (can only view the documents that they uploaded). This will allow the Performance Testing Agent to upload documentation once the testing is complete.

What to expect on the day of performance testing

During WELL performance testing, the WELL Performance Testing Agent will follow the previously discussed agenda as closely as possible. Occasionally, they will make adjustments to the schedule to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. The WELL Performance Testing Agent will verify all features that were pursued by the project, in line with the Performance Verification Guidebook. Note that projects are typically held to the most recent version of the Performance Verification Guidebook. 

Once testing is complete, the Performance Testing Agent will share general observations about how the process went, including whether all features were accessible and ready. They cannot provide formal results at this stage. The information collected during the visit needs to be downloaded, evaluated, and run through a quality control process.

After performance testing

Once all on-site data has been reviewed, the Performance Testing Agent will share the results with the project team. Laboratory analyses—air and water quality samples—may take three to four weeks depending on the laboratory’s timeline. Because laboratory results can take longer, some providers choose to share direct-read results first, followed by the laboratory results once they are available. The Performance Testing Agent will upload all documentation for passing results to the Documents tab for review in the next review cycle

If any feature parts do not achieve compliance, the project will have the opportunity to address the issue and retest those specific items. This applies to both preconditions and optimizations. Throughout this process, the WELL Coaching team is available to help identify solutions, remediation strategies, or operational adjustments. Once all preconditions have passing results, the project can submit for Preliminary Performance Review.

Certification and next steps

After all testing results have been verified, the Final WELL Report will be issued and sent to the project administrator. If all required features are achieved, the administrator simply needs to confirm receipt and accept certification. 

To learn more about this process, review the Curative Actions and Appeals section within the WELL Program Guidebook.

Once you’re certified, spread the word! Check out the marketing resources to celebrate your achievement and showcase your certified project on the WELL project directory.