It is the author's belief that there is a natural disconnect between the design product and practical operations of HVAC platforms.The purpose of this article is to first define traditional roles associated with a facility project and to then reflect how ASHRAE can have a positiveimpact on projects by promoting practical methods to engage those who are tasked with efficiently operating HVAC sytems in buildings and campuses.It must be prefaced that there are many organizations in the operating community that are committed to maintaining the same standards that arepromoted by ASHRAE. Furthermore, the author's experiences are naturally not representative of all HVAC system operating crews, and the purposeof this article is not to critique, but to promote practical methods to best integrate ASHRAE guidelines with the operating community.