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You've heard the rumblings for about a decade now… You knew it was just a matter of time before you came face-to-face with it… And that day has come… Behold: A LEED project lands on your desk. What should you do? Where do you start? Should you even take the job? Before you do, you might want to ask yourself a few questions.
Margaret Fisher, market development manager at Saunders Wood Specialties, Park Falls, Wis., and industry veteran, has imbedded herself in the trenches of the LEED issue. According to Fisher, the green building industry is on an upward curve driven by accelerated interest.
"We are way past the point in LEED discussion to be asking 'Do we like or do we hate it?' The vital question is how we respond to it, and how do we successfully work in it," Fisher says. "Our industry hasn't spent a lot of time talking about it. The amount of effort that goes into administration — finding the resources, training your people, understanding what you need to do to comply, filling out of forms, integrating it into your production — there is no manual for it. You have to figure it out on your own."
Fisher cites how wood shops can easily take on a LEED job without knowing what's being expected of them or how they need to successfully comply with it.
"You could very easily go into the red with a LEED job because of the amount of administrative work that you had no idea you would be involved in," Fisher says.
Finding your way through it is so daunting because it's so huge, Fisher says.
How are woodworkers supposed to know what they are required to comply with? Even if you consult with the U.S. Green Building Council website, what are you supposed to look for?
"Unless you know exactly what you're looking for, you can spend a lot of time reading information that doesn't pertain to you," Fisher explains.
Saunders Wood Specialties develops programs to help woodworkers understand what taking on a LEED project means for their organization. Once they have the information, she stresses manufacturers evaluate whether it's right for their business and at what level they may participate.
"It's not going to be something that everybody does," Fisher says. "They need to be honest with themselves once they learn the program. It may not be something they need to participate in, and they don't have to — it's voluntary. Just because it's become a high visibility focus, it doesn't mean it is right for you."
If at this time a woodworker decides he isn't ready to take on a LEED job, Fisher suggests it may be the time to gear up — get organized, get trained and get ready to comply.
"With around 4,000 LEED projects currently registered with the USGBC, it may be time to watch the demand," she says.
How do you know what to do first? Fisher suggests these eight tips for getting LEED ready:
Designate a point person
The point person will be the central point of command for gathering, understanding, disseminating, training and preparing all LEED information for your company.
"Basically [he's] going to be the final word on green building things that happen in the plant — and that's from operations through to the paper work," Fisher explains.
The point person has to gather the information and tell the other employees what they're going to have to do to get a LEED job. He will actually prepare the employee's training.
Since LEED guidelines are always influx, the point person's primary function will be to keep their finger on the pulse of new development. They may keep current with LEED revisions and program additions by reading articles and books; making weekly visits to related websites; attending green building conferences and USGBC chapter meetings.
The point person will be responsible for explaining how the company is going to implement the procedural changes necessary to run a LEED project through the shop. He will also need to develop a method for gathering the required information at the beginning of the project, measure, track and value the materials, and then create a system for how the company makes its submittals.
This individual serves as the liaison between the FSC and the USGBC LEED accredited professionals.
"It's so much work it's pretty much like having another 40 hour a week job — you've basically created a new position in the company," Fisher says. "It goes far beyond the typical responsibilities of what a typical job in this industry should entail."
Honestly evaluate your ability to comply
Wood shops must thoroughly understand each of the credits within each of the LEED products that apply to woodworking. Ask yourself, what resources do you have available to be able to comply with that credit.
If you're thinking of getting FSC certified to comply with certified wood credits, you'll first have to contact one of these three agencies to do your firm's inspection and certification: Bureau Veritas, Scientific Certification Systems and SGS Group.
The agencies will outline what's involved in becoming certified and what you will have to do in order to comply.
"Review what it takes to get FSC certified, and decide if it's right for you," Fisher says. "There will be fees and things to comply with. In the process, you'll be told how to store your materials, to keep your paperwork separate and retrievable, and how to comply with the four labels. The FSC needs to review and approve your plans for logo usage."
Write an environmental statement
All companies thinking of taking on LEED projects should have an environmental statement of their own. Getting this together early on will help your company focus its own environmental goals.
Identify how your overhead will change
Identify how much time people in your facility will be putting into taking on a LEED job.
"Time equals money," Fisher says. "There's no getting around it. It's going to cost more if you do a LEED project because the administrating will take so much more time."
Track demand
Who's asking for these LEED projects? How many are coming in? At what rate? Who's bidding on them? Are they companies you compete well against? If the demand isn't very high, maybe you don't need to think about getting FSC certified yet, but tracking demand will show you when to seriously get onboard.
Review and record materials
Contact the suppliers you buy materials from most frequently and ask them which of their materials comply with various credits. When you do find the materials that comply with some credits, compare the cost and availability of these and start a database.
"When the day comes that one of these projects lands on your desk, you want to be able to go directly to that resource and bid the project without a lot of downtime," Fisher says. "You don't want to spend two weeks looking for materials; know ahead where your materials are going to come from."
Track all materials from cores to veneers to which products are found within 500 miles of your company. Update these records quarterly because things will change, and you need to stay on top of it.
If your vendors don't know which of their materials earn credits, perhaps your inquiry will prompt them to start looking into it themselves.
Flag Internet references
Bookmark websites that are good resources for current information and visit them weekly.
Differentiate your company
How is your company uniquely qualified to help LEED-AP's earn credits? What services will you provide? Are you better than your competitors? How? Your success could come down to differentiation.
"If you company is already that good, how do you address LEED in a unique way to stand out?" Fisher notes. "Review the resources and talent held within your house now so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Ed. note: Margaret Fisher of Saunders Wood Specialties has been in the woodworking industry for more than two decades. Fisher also has been heavily involved with the Architectural Woodwork Institute, serving on its board of directors, as president of the Wisconsin Chapter and aided with many educational initiatives. Please e-mail questions or comments to msfisher@saunderswood.com.
author: By Jackie Roembke