To stay competitive, the metal construction industry has to keep up with the demand for green building practices in a market that has grown to $81 billion in the U.S. alone, according to a report from Statista Inc., New York City.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is one popular roadmap for developing sustainable buildings. It has been used to develop more than 100,000 registered and certified commercial projects since its inception in 1998.
How Green Badger Can Help
For many teams, the drawback to pursuing LEED certification is the cumbersome documentation process. That’s where Green Badger comes in. We offer a cloud-based service for green construction compliance, providing a platform to streamline and automate the documentation process.
Teams no longer have to manually track compliance information in convoluted spreadsheets. All the information is easily accessible through our real-time cloud-based dashboards that enable transparent company-wide project tracking and data analytics. Teams can instantly document thousands of products with a click, and, when needed, everything can be exported in a review-ready format.
Green Badger’s easy-to-use software can help cut the time spent on LEED documentation by 65%. By eliminating the time needed to track down documentation, verify products and create reports, team members can focus on finishing the construction project on time and within budget.
Other features include:
- Erosion control inspection reporting. Create erosion/sedimentation control and stormwater inspection reports in seconds without the need for handwritten reports or sending emails crowded with dozens of attached photos. The Green Badger app can export formatted PDF reports customized to your company with the swipe of a finger.
- IAQ inspection reporting. Created formatted indoor air quality inspection reports right from your smartphone or tablet as you walk the job site. The information can be easily exported as a customized report or saved for later.
- Updated product information. Sourcing and documenting LEED v4-compliant building products is easy with Green Badger. Search our product database, choose the appropriate product and add it your project for instant LEED documentation. Our software has been updated to meet the upcoming LEED v4.1 requirements, which are expected to be fully adopted early in 2020.
Green Badger doesn’t just provide software tools. We offer an extensive library of free information resources on how to manage LEED on our website at www.getgreenbadger.com/resources. It’s a great starting point for anyone who has been newly tasked with LEED management.
To get the most out of our software tools, utilize all the free resources available on the Green Badger website starting early in the job. This includes LEED plans and templates, subcontractor coversheets and product guidance. Being informed makes the documentation process easier and more manageable.
Green Badger’s easy-to-use software can help cut the time spent on LEED documentation by 65%. By eliminating the time needed to track down documentation, verify products and create reports, team members can focus on finishing the construction project on time and within budget.
Basic Tips for Keeping Up with LEED Documentation
One of the most common challenges facing teams interested in pursuing LEED certification for the first time is a lack of understanding of what is required. Unless a team member has been involved in the process before, there is usually not a good basis for understanding the workflow required to ensure success.
This includes knowing what needs to be tracked, how it needs to be reviewed and what to do with all the information. It can be quite overwhelming for teams, who can have trouble digging themselves out from under mountains of documentation requirements at the end of the project.
Our software tools set the stage for success, but teams will benefit from taking a structured approach to pursuing certification. Ensure that someone is the point person, and that they are reporting to the team on progress at least monthly. This will help maintain accountability and momentum throughout the project.
LEED Considerations for Metal Construction
It is a good time to pursue certification for metal construction projects. The new LEED v4.1 standards are designed to make existing environmental credits more broadly accessible. It will be easier to source compliant materials and building products.
There are already many sustainable metal products for use in projects that can go a long way toward reaching LEED certification. In addition to widely available recycled materials, more metal product manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and offering needed environmental product declarations and health product declarations that make materials LEED eligible.
By taking a leadership role in green building, companies in metal construction industry can reap economic benefits. By establishing themselves as LEED experts now, they can open the door to participate in an ever-growing number of green building projects.
Tommy Linstroth is founder and CEO of Savannah, Ga.-based Green Badger, a cloud-based solution for equipping project teams of all levels of experience with the tools they need to document LEED as efficiently as possible. For more information, visit getgreenbadger.com.