MBI has created its own toolkit of materials to help provide information about the purchase process. The toolkit specifically covers the 5 C's for planning an optimal learning environment with a temporary building that has already been built to code:
>CONSIDER your responsibility
>CHOOSE wisely
>COORDINATE for success
>CONTINUE proper maintenance
>COMMUNICATE before and after

You can download a pdf of the toolkit. In addition to providing this toolkit to MBI members, it is being made available to any parent, teacher, school district administrator, or facility planner that would like to use it in preparing to purchase or lease portable classrooms. MBI has also provided this issue brief to both legislators and interested parties concerning Indoor Air Quality in relocatable classrooms: Indoor Air Quality in Relocatable Classrooms

MBI advocates manufacutrers to build new units according to the CHPS Best Practices manual for Relocatable Classrooms. According to Building Design+Construction Magazine (June 2009), "Incorporated in 2002 as an independent entity, CHPS today has more than 225 member organizations, and CHPS design criteria have been adopted in some form by 11 states: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington." Get the CHPS Best Practices manual for Relocatable Classrooms.

Other MBI Resources:

Water Infiltration Part I: Some Causes and Ways to Prevent It
Designing and Building Dry Buildings
Air Filters for Filtration, Ultra Violet Lights for Purification
Indoor Air Quality The Story of Mold: An Emerging Issue

Other Resources MBI Recommends:


EPA Indoor Air Quality Program Resources:
EPA Healthy School Environment Resources: Portable Classrooms
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/portables.html

CHPS Program, California:
Collaborative for High Performance Schools Resources
Relocatable Classroom Specifications
Relocatable Commissioning Checklist

Remedies for Reducing Formaldehyde in Schools
Recommendations of the California Air Resources Board and Department of Health Services March 2002:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/pcs/formald_remedies.PDF

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF):
NCEF Assessment Guide Portable Classrooms (safety checklist)

ASHRAE:
Lessons Learned in Portable Classrooms
Copyright 2009 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. Reprinted by permission from ASHRAE Journal (May 2009). This article may not be copied nor distributed in either paper or digital form without ASHRAE’s permission. The appearance of this file licensed by ASHRAE to the Modular Building Institute on any website other than modular.org is a violation of ASHRAE's copyright. Visit www.ashrae.org for additional information on HVAC and refrigeration technology.