Green Building Initiatives: Keys to success for your LEED project

Joseph Raccuia, P.E., CCM, LEED AP

Senior Construction Manager H.R. Gray Columbus, Ohio

uring the last several years, the interest in going green has been driven by design and construction professionals as well as owners. While green initiatives ranging from the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program to a variety of lifecycle cost programs and more are becoming the norm, the overriding question still remains—how do I make my LEED project a success?

Fortunately, with a complete and thorough understanding of factors including the building or structure type, location and site conditions, as well as the project team’s familiarity with sustainable design and LEED protocol, one can lay the foundation for success early in the planning process. The following details keys to success for your next LEED project.

Planning for Success: Building the Team

Simply, a LEED project requires a lot of collaboration with the project team members. In the pre-design phase, the owner selects the primary participants—usually the architect, LEED coordinator, commissioning agent and construction manager (CM). Great care needs to be taken to establish a team that can work together as a collaborative unit as this is key to success for this type of project. Team formation considers capability, team dynamics, compatibility, communication, trust building and commitment to an integrated process. Also, LEED accreditation/experience must be a primary consideration. Once the primary participants are selected, project programming can begin. In addition to programming, a LEED project requires three additional documents and team members must clearly understand who is responsible for assembling this information as well as the intent of the necessary data. The Owner’s Project Requirement (OPR) is an explanation of the ideas, concepts and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. Further, the OPR includes the program, quality, special features and environmental/sustainability vision. The second document is the LEED Project Checklist, which is the game plan for attaining the LEED rating and is used for registering the project with USGBC. The third and final document is the Basis of Design (BOD). This document contains the design information necessary to accomplish the owner’s project requirements and includes system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions and applicable codes, standards, regulations and guidelines. The CM is responsible for the development of special contract language for LEED requirements to avoid ambiguities in the participant’s role, responsibility and scope of services.

The Design Phase

Once the design process starts, the importance of the design team working together becomes very apparent for a LEED project to be successful. Various disciplines of the design team must be integrated to achieve the sustainability goals. The traditional method of each discipline designing in isolation does not work. For example, the building skin and the interior space planning contribute to energy performance, lighting density, and indoor air quality as much as the mechanical and electrical systems do. Materials and finish selections can affect air quality, lighting, and energy loads. If the components are designed independently, there is likely to be redundancy or conflict between the systems.

The design team on a LEED project must also analyze various design component alternatives with computer simulation modeling and life-cycle costing for final decision making. Life-cycle costing is an estimating, engineering and financial practice all wrapped up into one calculation. The end result is a decision-making tool that successfully guides the design team and owner in the selection of like building components from an ownership cost point of view rather than a first cost comparison. The accuracy of the calculations is dependent upon assumptions such as first cost; useful life; non-fuel maintenance and operating cost; future cost of utility; replacement cost; residual value; and escalation rate and cost of capital.

There are many tradeoffs to deal with and the CM is required to produce many cost comparisons and life-cycle analysis. Decision making is not vested in a single individual; rather, all decisions are made unanimously by the project team. By comparing like components in this way, the project team can decide which components are the most cost effective for the project. This integrated method

enables the design to be brought to a much higher level of completion before the construction document phase starts, which involves added effort on the front end versus the traditional design flow.

Proper documentation is key to a successful LEED project. The LEED certification process requires that templates be carefully documented and submitted to USGBC for each credit. The importance of thorough documentation is one recurring theme and understanding throughout LEED. If the project claims a point in any category, it must have the paperwork to substantiate it. Assembling all the information is an ongoing and tremendous effort, which has improved by online aspects and facilitated by form letters and form reports.

The Construction and PostConstruction Phase

During the construction phase of a LEED project, the CM has many more procedures to worry about than on a traditional construction project. A complete knowledge of these processes at the beginning will ensure project success. The CM will spend more time on procurement, status meetings and documentation of LEED materials in order to ensure that the maximum amount of LEED credits are received at the end of the project. For instance, on a LEED project, the trash must be separated for recycling. The recycling or salvage of most non-hazardous building materials counts toward a project’s overall recycling diversion percentage for LEED. This includes, but is not limited to, used building materials removed from the structure for reuse and recycling of concrete, brick, CMUs, sand, crushed rock, roofing, wood, cardboard, metals, glass, plastics, insulation, etc. Adhesives, sealants, paints and finishes must meet Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) requirements and be documented.

During the post-construction phase, the CM will spend a great deal of time on systems training of the maintenance and operation personnel. In addition to being a great way to improve a building’s energy performance, commissioning can help projects—both new construction as well as existing buildings—earn credit toward LEED certification. Commissioning is a set of best practices that ensure that building systems perform as intended by the owner. These practices include designating a commissioning authority prior to the construction documents phase, conducting commissioning design reviews, reviewing contractor submittals, developing a systems manual, verifying operator training, and performing a post-occupancy operations review. The CM should consider the commissioning aspect one of the most important value-added attributes for a successful LEED project.

The above photo is an example of removing construction debris from the waste stream. The excavators are equipped with hydraulic rams and jaws which break up old concrete and remove the reinforcing steel which is later placed in the dumpster. The remaining concrete pieces (in the pile) are crushed and screened for reuse as aggregate pavement base. The reinforcing steel will be sold to scrap yards and recycled. Recycling this concrete provides credits which eventually add up to LEED accreditation. Next Steps

As green design and construction has increased over the years, so has our knowledge and understanding of LEED protocols and procedures. Armed with a complete understanding of the structure type, location and site conditions, as well as a project team that is well versed in sustainable design, a successful LEED project is easily achieved.

With more than 33 years of experience in the industry performing construction management and engineering services, Joe Raccuia has unique expertise related to value analysis, constructability, scheduling and sustainable concepts into construction projects. A Professional Engineer, LEED® Accredited Professional and Certified Construction Manager, Joe serves as Senior Construction Manager at H.R. Gray and provides professional construction management services on construction projects. He can be reached at (614) 4871335 or jraccuia@hrgray.com.

Founded in 1979, H.R. Gray is a unique management and consulting firm serving the construction industry offering responsive, cost-effective, quality, construction management services for complex projects and resolution of construction disputes. By utilizing its unique skill-set and proactive approach, H.R. Gray’s mission is to help each client successfully manage its construction project from conception to completion. Based in Columbus, Ohio, H.R. Gray also has offices in Akron, Ohio; Lexington, Kentucky; and Austin, Texas. For more information please visit www.hrgray.com.