News
Leed Bulletin
The LEED programs for sustainable building design and construction is now a major component in our industry. LEED ia an internationally recognized green building certification system. The W M Schlosser Company has recently joined the US Green Building Council and has been pursuing work that requires the USGBC certifications. These projects also have requirements for LEED certified associates and professionals in the key management positions. To obtain a LEED associate certificate (the entry level position) 23 employees of the W. M. Schlosser Company attended a 7 hour webinar last month for the required training to take and pass the certification test given by the Green Building Institute. These employees have received certificate of completion and will inform Ms. Tracy Garland when they are ready to appear for the LEED Green Associate test.
WHY LEED KNOWLEDGE IS SO IMPORTANT
Who is ASHRAE? Thereafter ASHRE produces standards that are adopted by most model building codes, and the ASHRAE Draft Standard 189.1P is the new “Standard for Design of High Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.”
This new ASHRAE Standard is written in code language and will have the impact of mandates that all new buildings will be green buildings, thus eliminating the option of constructing anything less robust. Even if this standard is not adopted by all model codes, it will become the de facto for high quality design and workmanship.
Increased Expectations from Designers and Contractors
While mandating better performing, more energy efficient buildings is a good thing, the new standards will present numerous challenges. Lack of experience will increase design and construction deficiencies. Standards of care will be elevated and, because regional issues are not addressed, could create problems with climate-unique requirements. All General Contractors and Designers need to do the following:
1. Understand that designers and contractors will soon be forced to implement building features that many do not fully understand, leading to more frequent building failures as firms design and construct buildings with complex components.
2. Realize that what are now considered “best practices” will soon be considered the minimum standard of care, increasing the risk profile of many projects and potentially triggering some exclusion clauses in current insurance policies.
3. See that national mandates rarely take into consideration the unique requirements of differing regions around the country (e.g., hot and humid, very cold, or very rainy climates).
4. Acknowledge that the inevitable result will be that everyone will quickly morph into a green practitioner, so that the true marketplace differentiators (those with experience and unique technical expertise) will become difficult to discern, and design and construction deficiencies and lawsuits will increase.
Being aware of these issues going forward could help smooth the transition as we move toward more environmentally friendly construction.