When thinking about Construction Environmental Pollution, the first thing that might pop into your mind is SWPPP, NPDES, EPA, etc. But what about construction waste?

Do we, as an industry, have an obligation to the environment? Are you asking yourself…Is it worth the effort that has to go into it? The more research I’ve done on the subject the more I understand why it is important.

Have you ever been to a third-world country? A country that does not have the means or sometimes they just do not have the knowledge to start cleaning up their part of the world? There is only one word for it; Sad. Will the United States ever get to that point? I believe that we are in such a hurry to get done what needs to get done that we don’t stop long enough to think about these things. I personally don’t want to live in a world where I walk out my front door and trash is everywhere.

Our industry is only one of many that can make a difference and start to diminish the waste we generate. 

The United States EPA issues guidelines for construction waste management but how closely are they followed?

There have been studies all over the world: 

In Japan, construction waste generates about 76 million tons per year. More than 90% of the total quantity on illegal dumping is originated from construction wastes.

Total construction and demolition waste for England was estimated at 86.9 million tonnes in 2008.

In Singapore, from 2000 to 2010, the waste disposed has only dropped by 1% but the waste recycled has increased by a massive 102%. The total waste generated has increased by 40% from 4.6 million tonnes in 2000 to 6.5 million tonnes in 2010.

In the United States, in 1998, the U.S. EPA estimated that 136 million tons of building-related waste is generated in the U.S. annually, which is 25% to 40% of the national solid waste stream. A 2003 update shows an increase to 164,000 million tons annually, of which 9% is construction waste, 38% is renovation waste, and 53% is demolition debris.

EPA also estimates that only 20% of C&D waste in the United States is being recycled.

Can we be successful in collaborating and coming up with a solution for “construction, demolition reuse and recycling”?  If we commit to reuse and recycling what kind of an impact can the industry make?  

Construction materials are by and large, heavy, and can incur soaring expenses. Construction companies and owners spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to take garbage to receiving stations.

But what if… companies were to reuse, recycle and compost of construction and demolition material (cardboard, plastics, wood, roofing materials, and a range of metals, etc.) to save money and can ultimately supports local businesses. Materials such as the ones listed above typically makes up 70 to 95 percent of the discarded material at a residential or commercial site.

We should be asking design teams to examine these prospective processes at the beginning of the design stage; allowing questions to be addressed such as:

• What are the top actions to reuse materials on site and import recovered materials?
• Is space available for materials storage and processing, and what will happen to volumes of waste materials which cannot be reused?
• Will the materials be available in sufficient quantities?
• Will the benefits outweigh the costs? For example, site reuse of aggregates avoids the cost of importing new material, but this must exceed the cost of hiring processing equipment.

Business Link reported the most common applications of reused and recycled products are:

• reusing excavation materials - for example, by stabilizing soils using hydraulic binders, or manufacturing quality soils by adding 'green' compost
• processing demolition arising on site - for example, using mobile crushing plant to provide recycled aggregates for fill, capping and sub-base layers
• importing recycled aggregates that meet the same quality standards as the primary aggregates they replace
• improving engineering properties of materials - for example, by using bonding composites to rehabilitate existing structures
• using products with a high recycled content, such as recycled asphalt or cement replacement in concrete products

There are many established associations and organizations to help you get started as outlined by the Whole Building Design Guide website http://www.wbdg.org/resources/cwmgmt.php

Associations

Building Materials Reuse Association

Construction Materials Recycling Association

National Demolition Association

Organizations

Building Materials Reuse Association

Carpet America Recovery Effort

Construction Materials Recycling Association

The Deconstruction Institute

Deconstruction & Reuse Network

greenGoat

The Green Institute

Habitat for Humanity ReStore network

The Loading Dock

Reuse Development Organization

WasteCapDIRECT is a directory of construction and demolition recycling companies and locations http://www.wastecap.org/

Environmental Protection Agency's C&D Materials website www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/debris-new/index.htm

Why has it taken the Construction Industry so long to adopt computer technology? Around the year 2003 the Construction Industry Institute formed the Technology Needs Assessment Research Team to undergo an assessment of why the industry has been slow to adopt technology.

Although the need for real time information on materials, design, plans, progress, and documents continues to be an issue, even in the year 2011, the adoption has been difficult for the industry.

So, what could be worse than technology in the industry? Yes, you guessed it, the Gen Yers.  Many in the industry first thought that the generation would destroy the industry with their crazy demands. 

Let us introduce International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction CIB. Even if you are in the construction industry CIB is probably not on your high priority list of organizations to check out. CIB has limited presence in North America.

CIB is an Association, supported by the United Nations, since 1953. Objectives of the CIB are to encourage and assist international partnerships and information exchange connecting governmental research organizations in both the building and construction industries with strength in ability to bring a multi-national and multi-disciplinary approach to bear on the subject matter delineated in their Terms of Reference.

At present about 500 organizations are members of CIB from whom about 5000 individual experts participate in over 50 CIB Commissions. These extend over the whole area of building and construction research and innovation. 

Stated in a December 2010 release, CIB‘s limited exposure in North America and because the advantages of CIB differ depending on an organization’s category of membership, the benefits of membership are not known by the design and construction communities that could utilize research CIB provides.

For more information about the CIB’s North American Regional Committee, contact Tom Regan at reganjt@arch.tamu.edu.

 The scope of CIB covers the technical, economic, environmental, organizational and other aspects of the built environment during all stages of its life cycle, addressing all steps in the process of basic and applied research, documentation and transfer of the research results, and the implementation and actual application of them. 

Find out more on CIB at http://www.cibworld.nl/site/home/index.html

Database Publications:  http://www.cibworld.nl/site/databases/publications.html

Brochures: http://www.cibworld.nl/site/about_cib/brochures.html

Videos: http://www.cibworld.nl/site/about_cib/cib_video_presentation.html

Request for Information for a CIB Membership Application:  http://www.cibworld.nl/site/about_cib/fee_system_and_how_to_join.html#how_to_join

Matchloc is a business networking site for project owners and their trusted vendors. It creates bid lists with direct input from potential bidders.

Do you know there are many construction news companies that hire reporters to discover and publish your construction project information called “project leads”?

Do you know that these companies charge your general contractors for that free information?

The hired reporters attend city council meetings, go to planning offices, call plan rooms, call your offices, or create other avenues to dig up any information they can find on your projects and report those findings to the public. This information is not always accurate.

Protect yourself from fraudulent reports

Protect your general contractors from having to pay for this free information. Matchloc is a free service that allows you, the owner, to do just that Accurate transparency on construction related projects can enhance the probability of project success.

At Matchloc they understand that enterprise companies try to limit the amount of new project information seen by the public. We also understand that maybe you have general contractors that you like to work with on an on-going basis and may not necessarily be looking to add new contractors to your bidding lists.

Matchloc allows your general contractors (chosen and approved by your company) to search for upcoming projects (listed by your company), the general contractors choose which project(s) they would be likely to bid on, and sends the feedback to your project managers saving lost emails and lengthy phone conversations.

When your project managers are ready to create a bid list, it is as easy as clicking a button. The general contractors that showed interest in a project and are not selected for the final bid list will be notified by the system.

General Contractor's not to worry, Matchloc is working to create an application for you and your subcontractor's as well as an Architect and Engineering base.

CIB is an Association, supported by the United Nations, since 1953. Objectives of the CIB are to encourage and assist international partnerships and information exchange connecting governmental research organizations in both the building and construction industries with strength in ability to bring a multi-national and multi-disciplinary approach to bear on the subject matter delineated in their Terms of Reference.

Today’s topic is structured around, “Shared Risk / Ownership”.

With the hurdling adoption of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method, shared ownership through construction contracts are on the rise. The nature of shared contract is to share risk as well as profits and losses. How should the risks and rewards be shared? Demonstrating trust is first and foremost in a shared contract relationship.

Construction projects engage a high number of networking activities that are occupied with risks. Any risks could impact the time, quality, and cost of a project. For a project to be successful, a sound risk management system is required that usually comprises identification, analysis and response (Burke, 2003) so that when the risks do eventuate they can be overcome.

There is a shift in the way contracts are being written. The principal or owner, contractor and other project contributors form a supportive group where every person concerned distributes the risk involved. The objective is to spawn an atmosphere of advanced innovation and collaboration rather than altercations.

Provisions for the allocation of risk among parties to a contract can appear in numerous areas in addition to the total construction price: (Hendrickson, 1998)

• Force majeure (i.e., this provision absolves an owner or a contractor for payment for costs due to "Acts of God" and other external events such as war or labor strikes)
• Indemnification (i.e., this provision absolves the indemnified party from any payment for losses and  damages incurred by a third party such as adjacent property owners.)
• Liens (i.e., assurances that third party claims are settled such as "mechanics liens" for worker wages),
• Labor laws (i.e., payments for any violation of labor laws and regulations on the job site),
• Differing site conditions (i.e., responsibility for extra costs due to unexpected site conditions),
• Delays and extensions of time,
• Liquidated damages (i.e., payments for any facility defects with payment amounts agreed to in advance)
• Consequential damages (i.e., payments for actual damage costs assessed upon impact of facility defects), 
• Occupational safety and health of workers, 
• Permits, licenses, laws, and regulations, 
• Equal employment opportunity regulations, 
• Termination for default by contractor, 
•  Suspension of work, 
• Warranties and guarantees

An assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts.

As an owner or prime contractor you assume that all safety measures have been taken on your jobsite. You assume that each and every worker has been appropriately trained, that the equipment is working correctly, and that all involved on the jobsite are not in any danger.

Assuming that the appropriate precautions have been taken can be deadly for anyone walking onto the jobsite. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that one in ten construction site workers are injured every year. The OSHA also reports that fall hazards are the leading cause of injury at construction sites.

There are roughly 150,000 construction site accident injuries each year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS also reported that while falls make up the majority of the construction site accidents, contact with equipment was also a significant cause of injury for workers. 4,340 workers died on the job in 2009, according to the United States Department of Labor.

The OSHA Inspection Data Sheet is a guideline is to assist the professional judgment of the compliance officer to determine if there is an effective project plan, to qualify for a Focused Inspection. It’s free and easy to use.

1.   Project safety and health coordination; are there procedures in place by the general contractor, prime contractor or other such entity to ensure that all employers provide adequate protection for their employees?

2.   Is there a designated competent person responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the project safety and health plan that is capable of identifying existing and predicable hazards and has authority to take prompt corrective measures?

3.   Project safety and health program/plan that complies with 1926 Subpart C and addresses, based upon the size and complexity of the project, the following:

Project Safety Analysis at initiation and at critical stages that describes the sequence, procedures, and responsible individuals for safe construction

Identification of work/activities requiring planning, design, inspection or supervision by an engineer, competent person or other professional

Evaluation/monitoring of subcontractors to determine conformance with the project Plan. (The Project Plan may include, or be utilized by subcontractors.)

Supervisor and employee training according to the Project Plan including recognition, reporting and avoidance of hazards, and applicable standards

Procedures for controlling hazardous operations such as : cranes, scaffolding, trenches, confined spaces, hot work explosives, hazardous materials, leading edges, etc

Documentation of: training, permits, hazard reports, inspections, uncorrected hazards, incidents and near misses

Employee involvement in hazard: analysis, prevention, avoidance, correction and reporting. Project emergency response plan

Don’t assume. Take measures to train each and every person on the jobsite. If they are your employees make sure that they have undergone a thorough safety training program. If they are subcontracting disciplines then make sure they are attending weekly toolbox meetings. A good source of topics can be found at http://www.toolboxtopics.com/

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the construction industry has been strongly affected by the credit crisis and recession that began in December 2007. Housing prices fell and foreclosures of homes rose sharply, particularly in overbuilt areas of the country. New housing construction, while still ongoing, dropped significantly. 

The recession is expected to impact other types of construction as well. Retailers are refraining from building new stores and State and local governments are reducing spending. However, as energy costs have risen, some companies are finding it necessary to build or renovate buildings that are not energy efficient. "Green construction" is an area that is increasingly popular and involves making buildings as environmentally friendly and energy efficient as possible by using more recyclable and earth-friendly products.

For additional information on jobs in the construction industry, contact: 

¥  Associated Builders and Contractors, Workforce Development Department, 4250 North Fairfax Dr., 9th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203. Internet: http://www.trytools.org

¥  Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., 2300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22201. Internet: http://www.agc.org/cs/career_development/craft

¥  Green Mechanical Council 1701 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006-5813. Internet: http://www.greenmech.org

¥  International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Apprenticeship Department, 1750 New York Ave. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006-5315. Internet: http://www.ironworkers.org/organization/Apprenticeship.aspx

¥  International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, 9602 Martin Luther King, Jr. Highway, Lanham, MD 20706-1839. Internet: http://www.insulators.org

¥  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 900 Seventh St. NW, Washington, DC 20001-3886. Internet: http://www.ibew.org

¥  International Masonry Institute, The James Brice House, 42 East St., Annapolis, MD 21401. Internet: http://www.imiweb.org

¥  International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, 620 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. Internet: http://www.bacweb.org

¥  International Union of Operating Engineers, 1125 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-4786. Internet: http://www.iuoe.org

¥  International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, 1750 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006. Internet: http://www.iupat.org

¥  National Association of Home Builders, Home Builders Institute, 1201 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005-2800. Internet: http://www.hbi.org

¥  National Center for Construction Education and Research, 3600 NW 43rd St., Building G, Gainesville, FL 32606. Internet: http://www.nccer.org

¥  Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association of the United States and Canada, 11720 Beltsville Dr., Suite 700, Beltsville, MD 20705-3104. Internet: http://www.opcmia.org

¥  Sheet Metal Workers International Association, 1750 New York Ave. NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-5301. Internet: http://www.smwia.org

¥  United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, Three Park Place, Annapolis, MD 21401-3687. Internet: http://www.ua.org

¥  United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Carpenters Training Fund, 101 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20001-2192. Internet: http://www.carpenters.org

¥  United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers, 1660 L St. NW., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Internet: http://www.unionroofers.com

We’ve all heard the term “Tree hugger”. The term is sometimes used as a judgmental term for environmentalists. In the early 1970’s all across the United States people were taking part in Earth Day protests and festivities marking the awareness of the environment. It has been estimated that over 20 million people contributed.

Google the words green initiatives and you would get approx 9, 210,000 results in 0.32 seconds. I agree we need to lower our negative impact on the environment but there are so many green initiatives are we in fact doing a good job on any of them? There is even a Green Dictionary for sale at http://www.thegreendictionary.com/ .

Ask yourself, is green building a fad?  Have we really evolved to the point that we can just think of the “green building” as just another construction project?  Or have we become a society of a lot of talk with very little do? Has sustainable development really brought an increased understanding of our quality of life, protecting and improving the environment, ecological and economic systems? Are we creating so many rules and regulations that we are going to fail?

We deplete 6 billion tons of industrial raw materials from the earth’s resources each year. Have you thought about how much of this is construction related? Are you and your company prepared to do your part?

A variety of Owners are reaping the benefits of financial and structural incentives for their contribution to green building.  Tax credits, fee reductions, grants, revolving loans, plus technical and marketing assistance are some of the incentives being used to encourage owners and developers to build green.

What does this mean for the General Contracting community?  The USGBC seems to be doing their part to get contractors certified in green building practices by initiating the Green Advantage Builders Certification (GABC).  The question is; are contractors that don’t receive their GABC at a disadvantage? Mandated by EO 13514, government agencies must award contracts to companies implementing green initiatives. This makes up 95% of government bids. Contractors that meet LEED and environmental regulations will benefit from efficiently knowing which jobs match their expertise.

At Matchloc we are making a commitment to do our part to help Owners and General Contractors find one another. The idea would be to highlight General Contractors that have experience in green building or some type of Certification, such as the GABC also the Owners would be able to emphasize jobs that contain green requirements.

Consequently, Matchloc benefits all involved parties in the bidding process by minimizing business risks, and increasing competitive awareness. Matchloc offers for the first time a feedback loop for owners and contractors to successfully collaborate in an easy to use application. Check them out at matchloc.com