LEED CoreConcepts&Strategies_3rd edition - Page 052
Extracted Content
When a focus on performance requires the use of new technologies, sufficient time needs to be allotted for testing and inspections. The process of exploring and selecting technologies and strategies may be repeated as more information becomes available about the system. For example, in building energy analysis, modeling should be conducted very early in the project to inform initial decisions. As the project takes shape, the model is run again to evaluate general approaches to mechanical system design. The model might be refined when design development documents are 50% complete, and again at 75% and 90% of completion, to analyze the increasingly specific lighting systems, controls, and other components and strategies. In addition, modeling, design, and construction documents should be reviewed regularly by appropriate members of the project team, such as the commissioning agent. These commissioning reviews help ensure that the design meets the project goals defined at the beginning of the project.
As a project progresses, budget constraints often become apparent, and steps are needed to reduce costs. Value engineering, a formal review based on the project’s intended function and conducted to identify alternatives that reduce costs and improve performance, is a critical part of the sustainable design process. Conceptually, this review fits in well with sustainable design, which is always focused on finding higherperforming, more efficient solutions. In practice, however, value engineering is often synonymous with cost cutting and is typically focused on first costs only; systems that have higher first costs but lower operating costs and higher efficiency may be abandoned. Any value engineering exercise must therefore keep the big picture in mind and include all stakeholders so that the decisions support the project goals.
IMPLEMENTATION
Once the planning and design phases are complete, it is time to think through each step of implementation and anticipate where problems might arise and compromise the project’s commitment to sustainability. This upfront planning can help keep a project on schedule and on budget while protecting the project goals.
In both design-build and operations and maintenance projects, the first activities of the implementation phase focus on fine-tuning the decisions made during design and strategy selection, to make sure all selected strategies are practical given the constraints of construction.
FROM PLANNING TO PRACTICE
Management plans for design-build construction projects are critically important; they must be developed, implemented, and documented.
A construction activity pollution prevention plan addresses measures to prevent erosion, sedimentation, and discharges of potential pollutants to water bodies and wetlands.
An indoor environmental quality management plan spells out strategies to protect the quality of indoor air for workers and occupants; it includes isolating work areas to prevent contamination of occupied spaces, timing construction activities to minimize exposure to off-gassing, protecting the HVAC system from dust, selecting materials with minimal levels of toxicity, and thoroughly ventilating the building before occupancy.
A waste management plan addresses the sorting, collection, and disposal of waste generated during construction or renovation. It must address management of landfill waste as well as recyclable materials.
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