As the demand for green construction on both residential and commercial buildings rises, it is necessary to focus and discuss an important aspect of the green commercial construction process - maintaining a green construction site.
There’s a lot of time spent in discussing green building materials, high-efficiency technology, and energy savings on utility bills that it is often easy to forget that green construction starts from the ground up. To construct a commercial building that’s fully green, builders must maintain green construction sites with high integrity.
Achieving success in the green building industry is actually quite simple - never hesitate to ask questions. Having a list of experts that can answer your questions is one way of doing it. Partnering with suppliers and contractors that also support sustainability will greatly help.
It is for this reason that Best Access Doors gives you these insights and tips that could help in green commercial construction.
Check out this list of tips and tricks of the trade when working on green commercial buildings!
Consider LEED certification at the onset
One aspect of sustainability in buildings is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or more popularly known as LEED. When your building has LEED certification, it would mean your green construction is generally considered as the gold standard and there are different certifications for the different stages of the whole process. Achieving LEED certification in commercial construction would entail the use of equipment or materials that are LEED-certified such as the installation of LEED access doors and panels. There are also other building materials such as ladders and fire-rated walls.
In summary, you have to take note that there’s something you can do to make your project more environmentally-friendly no matter what you’re building and what stage of the entire process you’re currently undertaking.
Be sure to have your fire and life safety experts involved early
There are many instances when commercial construction projects go through concept, programming, and sometimes schematic design without getting the fire and life safety experts on board to review the plans at the initial planning.
When it comes to design issues that are identified in the late stages can be expensive for both the architect and the client because it would typically require reworking the building plan and layout. Early engagement with fire and life safety experts can be as simple as conducting a few meetings to examine egress plans, existing conditions, concerns about occupancy, and separation. Always keep in mind that fire and life safety planning is crucial especially in the aspects of green building complement.
Always remember that you are responsible for people’s lives
Focusing on green strategies does not mean that you should also forget some basic principles in the process. Take, for instance, being aggressive when it comes to the management of fire and smoke barriers you can set up a barrier management protocol (BMP) that has a standard operating practice for permitting any person who enters a fire and smoke barrier.
Such BMP must also document all barriers and penetrations, report deficiencies, as well as ensure that there is quality control throughout closeout inspections.
Avoid creating problems for yourself
This is actually a basic principle in green commercial construction. For example, take in a situation where a green building project is already running late, and in an attempt to get back on schedule, the flooring subcontractors are then pushed to install floor coverings before the building is climate controlled.
When this happens, all moisture testing is unreliable if there are no proper job site conditions and this can be a major issue for all resilient floor-covering products. One way of avoiding problems is by identifying potential installation issues early in a project.
Promote accountability during projects
Maintaining integrity on a green construction site would mean that a lot of moving parts have to work together. All people working on the site must do their part of always following guidelines and not taking shortcuts that might compromise the sustainability of the building. This is now where accountability becomes a critical factor. Ordering inspections at every stage of the construction process is one way of promoting accountability.
Opt for sustainable materials in your green commercial building
When it comes to green buildings. Material selection is obviously necessary. However, it doesn’t only involve your desire of using green materials. It is also important that you speak directly with your suppliers to figure out where they’re sourcing their products and where they stand when it comes to environmental friendliness and sustainability.
Ensure that there is proper disposal of materials
Any construction project usually means that there is a lot of waste that can be produced. When doing a project, make sure that you aren’t just tossing everything into one big trash bin and then having it hauled away. There are many construction waste materials that can still be recycled and reused and working with a waste removal service that prioritizes sustainability is one smart way of ensuring proper disposal of waste materials.
Always manage equipment properly
Managing equipment on a construction site is also very important. Most construction sites that keep equipment running at all times but green construction sites have to reduce equipment usage to save energy. Construction equipment doesn’t have to be running at all times - if the task doesn’t require the use of the equipment, it is better to shut it down.
The takeaway
More often than not, our society has the tendency to value the whole picture that paying attention to small details is usually taken for granted. However, when it comes to something as important as green commercial construction, the big picture is always made up of the tiny details. The macro-level won’t be reliable if there is no integrity on the micro-level. Because of this, maintaining a green construction site that prioritizes efficiency and sustainability is something that’s necessary for a project.
Looking for suppliers that can provide you with sustainable materials is part of the big picture. For your access door needs, check out Best Access Doors’ entire product line at www.bestaccessdoors.com today!
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