Not only do green construction techniques save you money, but they tap you into the mainstream green building movement. Consumers and local governments seem eager to back this movement, so read on and learn the tactics that will have you seeing GREEN.

1) Prevent Waste in the Design Phase
2) Prevent Construction Waste on Site
3) Purchase to Prevent Construction Waste
4) Reuse/Recycle Waste On Site
5) Implement Green Security to Prevent Waste Due to Theft
6) Know Your Local C&D Material Recycling/Salvage Requirements
7) Filter/Divert Your Jobsite Water Runoff
8) Know Your Green Materials Alternatives
9) Design for Deconstruction
10) Document Your Green Efforts for LEED and/or GBI

1) Prevent Waste in the Design Phase
If you are - or can get - involved in the design phase then you have some prime opportunities to prevent waste that leads to overspending on materials and waste removal costs. You will be amazed at the wasteful decisions the project architects and planners may be making…

>Design with standard building material sizes in mind
>Set specific waste reduction goals at the beginning of the project, target specific materials and activities
>Get subcontractor buy in by including specs in your contracts
>Win employee buy in by incentivizing participation (purchase “rewards” with portion of money saved)
>Estimate when and where you’ll be generating waste - use this schedule to efficiently plan your methods of handling waste

2) Prevent Construction Waste on Site
Construction sites generate massive amounts of waste - and we’re not even talking about demolition here. Here are a few tactics you can use to prevent construction waste from accumulating so quickly in your dumpsters.

>Ask suppliers to buy back unused items
>Ask suppliers to replace all damaged materials
>Ask suppliers to deliver materials in returnable pallets and containers
>Reassess your material storage practices to prevent loss due to weather

3) Purchase to Prevent Construction Waste
When you’re sourcing the materials for your project you have an opportunity to reduce waste, sometimes in very significant ways. Your purchase decisions have an impact on the market, so cast your vote with your wallet.

>When possible avoid material brands with excessive packaging
>Evaluate your current estimation process
>When possible purchase reused, recycled and renewable materials

4) Reuse/Recycle Waste On Site
Your imagination’s the only limit on reusing and recycling waste on site. Well, ok - there will be some local laws affecting how you can use some types of waste and in what ways, especially when it comes to backfill.  That said, here are a few ideas to start you thinking about on-site waste reuse and recycling.

>Make a designated area for onsite-reused materials including lumber for fire blocking and spacers, scraps of drywall for filler in hidden areas, etc…
>Save concrete chunks, broken bricks, blocks and other masonry rubble for backfill
>Use cleared brush and trees chipped for mulch
>Use joint compound buckets for other materials and your tools
>Use sawdust for mulching landscape, path ways
>Never throw away excess insulation - install in interior walls or on top of attic insulation for added protection

5) Implement Green Security to Stop Waste Due to Theft
Theft and vandalism cost construction companies in the US over 1 billion dollars annually. Your little slice of this could equal tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Stop this with live guards monitoring your solar powered construction site surveillance cameras .

>Stop theft and vandalism before it costs you time or money
>No electric draw

6) Know Your Local C&D Material Recycling/Salvage Requirements
Recycling and salvage companies may be your new best friends. Some of them will even turn your waste into cash. Call them, get to know them and learn what their requirements are for materials they recover from construction sites. Your local government may have recycling options for you as well. And remember, there’s always SOMEONE out there who might want to use your waste material. Consider using Craigslist to get rid of any potentially useful waste.

>Research your local recycling and salvage options
>Which ones pay cash and for which materials?
>Who can use unsalable materials?

7) Filter/Divert Your Jobsite Water Runoff
Jobsite runoff, whether pollutants from vehicles and cement mixing or from topsoil washed away in storms, can be very expensive… in the form of fines and even injunctions or restraining orders that keep you from working. Know your local laws and consider following some of the tips below.

>Prevent potential fines, injunctions and restraining orders by preventing runoff
>Provide stabilization - temporary or permanent - by planting rye grass
>Protect all drain inlets, outlets with rock arranged in check dam formation AND silt fencing
>Check your drain control measure weekly
>Continually monitor vehicles for leaks
>Keep spill kits on hand and use on spills immediately

8) Know Your Green Materials Alternatives
The green material industry is booming now, and will continue to grow and evolve as consumers - and government - shift towards green building. Below you’ll find a few links to outside sources that will help you to evaluate green materials and even find suppliers.

Green Construction Materials
Green Building Materials
Environmentally Preferable Building Materials and Specifications

9) Design for Deconstruction
Designing for deconstruction (also Design for Disassembly and “DfD”) reduces costs at the end of a building’s life cycle. This process also makes it easier to add on to the existing structure.

>Design so that the building is easy to take apart either for reuse or adding on
>When possible use bolts instead of glue
> Read DESIGN FOR DECONSTRUCTION (PDF)

10) Document Your Green Efforts for LEED and/or GBI
In order to tap into the wider green building market you will need to get involved with one or both of these organizations: LEED or GBI. Ask green design folks you know locally which one is more important in your area. Both organizations require documentation, especially in the area of waste diversion.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Website
Green Building Initiative Website
NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines (free PDF download)

More Green Construction Resources:
Building Green - web publication about green design
Recycling Construction Materials: An Important Part of the Construction Process
Wastes - Resource Conservation - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Construction & Demolition Materials
Construction Waste Minimization Methods
Construction Waste Management Guide (PDF)
Post-Construction Runoff Controls
Construction Runoff
Construction Recycling
Benefit from “Green” Construction Methods
Taking Green One Step Further Through Green Construction Practices
A Green Jobsite Can be Gold
Green Construction
‘Green’ building practices don’t have to hike costs, researcher says

Newsletter photo credit.

Watch the Scarecrow Video:


The Scarecrow functions as a stand-alone, self contained video surveillance unit. Its 13′ mast provides the trained surveillance team with high visibility and its small footprint and light weight make it easy to place in elevated positions that criminals don’t suspect. Its onboard strobe lights and sirens make it impossible for intruders to ignore. It requires no outside power for operation, making it an excellent solution for those seeking greener, more mobile options in video surveillance.

“The Scarecrow brings a whole new meaning to mobile video surveillance,” said Jeremy White, CEO of Pro-Vigil. “Its size and weight means we can go high if we have that opportunity on a location, or deep if we need to. Because it’s solar powered we don’t have electricity concerns, and it’s better for the environment. The Scarecrow’s technology along with our trained security team makes for one mean crime fighter.”

“Scarecrow gives my surveillance crew night vision,” said Ben Molloy, Pro-Vigil’s Chief of Security Training, “and it outlines intruder movement in bright green. We can see them and they have no idea we’re watching until we hit them with the strobe lights and siren. You should see their faces when they realize they’re caught. My surveillance crew has a real passion for catching thieves in action and the Scarecrow makes that even easier for them.”

The Scarecrow can stand alone or work in tandem with Pro-Vigil’s other video surveillance crime fighting unit, the Virtual Guard Station. The Scarecrow communicates directly with the larger Virtual Guard Station and extends the surveillance team’s coverage at a reduced cost.

For more information on the Scarecrow, visit the Scarecrow page on VirtualGuardStation.com, email info@virtualguardstation.com or call toll-free 933-4VGS (4847).

About Pro-Vigil:
Pro-Vigil provides live, remote surveillance video monitoring services. Pro-Vigil leverages technology to proactively stop crime before it starts. Those interested in learning more about live video surveillance by Pro-Vigil can visit http://www.Pro-Vigil.com or email info@pro-vigil.com.

About the Virtual Guard Station:
Virtual Guard Station is Pro-Vigil’s mobile division, delivering live video surveillance solutions for industries such as construction, home building and special events. To learn more about Virtual Guard Station’s mobile, live video surveillance visit http://www.VirtualGuardStation.com or email info@virtualguardstation.com.

Other fearsome animals we’ve chased off jobsites:

Employees and ex-employees are the most likely source of threat to your jobsite. Here are some resources to help you prevent theft by employees:

Reducing Employee-Driven Job Site Theft
9 Ways to Stop Construction Theft During Holidays and Vacations
A Pre-Job Checklist That Improves Your Job Site Security

Other Employee Theft Videos:
VGS VIDEO: a Subcontractor Caught Stealing
Lead Framer Busted Stealing Lumber

-Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America

If you’re a general contractor you’ve seen price increases far more than 41%, especially metals and petroleum-based materials. This article proposes 6 strategies for controlling your costs and closes with several resources for further investigation.

The sections are:
1) Know What Accountants Look for During an Owner Audit
2) Be Aware of the Market and Stockpile Materials
3) Stop Material Theft on Your Jobsite
4) Find Value Engineering Opportunities
5) Know Your Cost Estimator
6) Cost Projections and Contingency Planning
7) Recommended Construction Cost Saving Resources

1) Know What Accountants Look for During an Owner Audit
A rise in capital costs will result in a rise in owner expense audits as owners try to tighten down. A familiarity with what audits turn up will help you during the cost estimation phase… you may be unwittingly setting yourself up to lose your shirt.

Some of the major things owner-auditors look for include: all your cost-reimbursable contracts, discretionary benefits you provide that aren’t legally mandatory, statutory limitations in payroll taxes, inaccurate pension and profit sharing claims for employees, computer costs and accounting costs (overhead) included as labor costs in the project. These items are covered in more detail in Understanding the owner’s right to audit construction costs.

2) Be Aware of the Market and Stockpile Materials
We’re now out of the era of reliable supply chains. This means higher prices. It’s your job to stay up on the materials markets using resources like the AGC’s Construction Inflation Alert (pdf). One way to manage the sometimes dramatic cost fluctuations is materials stockpiling.

This is an old but effective technique whereby you purchase and warehouse large quantities of materials at prices that you speculate will be lower than when the project starts. This flies in the face of “just-in-time” materials management and brings with it a new host of issues, the least of which is warehouse management. This method won’t be right for some companies, but it’s worth investigating

3) Stop Material Theft on Your Jobsite
As material costs increase so will material theft. These costs go beyond replacement - you suffer the loss of time and ready cash replacing materials. Then you have to wrangle with your insurance company to get your money back. All this contributes to significant damages to your bottom line and even your reputation.

We’ve written extensively on stopping construction site theft. Here are a few articles to help you increase your jobsite security:
9 Ways to Stop Construction Theft During Holidays and Vacations
Reducing Employee-Driven Job Site Theft
How Secure is Your Construction Security Fence? 11 Questions to Ask
5 Security Lighting Tips For Your Construction Site

Also, investigate our construction site security services. We use live video surveillance to stop construction site thieves.

4) Find Value Engineering Opportunities
According to Wikipedia, “Value engineering is a systematic method to improve the “value” of goods and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost.”

In our language that means build only what you need. An example I read suggested that if you know a given conference room won’t have high traffic then don’t cover the floor with high traffic carpeting. Save it for the hallways. Extend this thinking across your project and you will see significant savings.

5) Know Your Cost Estimator
Matt Stevens is a construction business consultant. I found this quote on bidding and hope it can be a guide for you when you’re estimating cost or working with your existing cost estimator: “Being low is not success, being right is.” Estimating construction costs is a science, and well worth studying.

Spend some time reading through Cost Control, Monitoring and Accounting by Chris Hendrickson of Carnegie Mellon. It provides - at the very least - a good basis for figuring out what are the right questions to ask.

6) Cost Projections and Contingency Planning
Does your contract identify and prepare you for potentially skyrocketing material costs? Because estimates happen so far in advance of project completion you may need to build a plan, if not allocate funds, to safeguard against a major cost increase.

Make sure that the “trigger” for the plan is perfectly clear in the contract and that the owner is on the same page. The contractual language will be vital if and when you face an owner audit for overages.

7) Recommended Construction Cost Saving Resources
Construction and Materials Outlook: Sinking Demand, Higher Costs
Keep costs down: Understanding the owner’s right to audit construction costs
Surging Material Costs Call For New Construction Strategies
Managers need to buff crystal ball to forecast construction costs
Construction costs in the Hotel/Motel Industry
Contingency / reversion plans
Project Management for Construction - an online text book
Ten Ways to Reduce Residential Project Costs
Raise the Roof, Lower the Costs: Construction Costs and Housing Affordability in New York City

Either way, here’s a subcontractor robbing a jobsite :

You may also be interested in watching this video of a Lead Framer Busted Stealing Lumber .

For security advice be sure to read:
9 Ways to Stop Construction Theft During Holidays and Vacations
and
Reducing Employee-Driven Job Site Theft

Learn more about Pro-Vigil or contact us by email - info@pro-vigil.com or phone 866.616.1318 to learn more about how we can stop theft on your property.

Watch some of our other arrest videos:
Romantic Walk on Jobsite Interrupted
Lead Framer Busted Stealing Lumber
Police Catch Jobsite Intruder Who Ignores Strobes and Sirens

See if you can spot us at this Friday’s AGC- San Antonio Chapter Fun Shoot.

Squint and you’ll see our sign on the chain link fence there in the front.

See our mention in the news story here: Restoration Begins On Bush Home .

Last night we had a couple of thieves enter the jobsite through the back gate by unbolting the hinges.

Here’s a close up of their work:

The fence off of its hinges:

They drove right past the provigil camera unit and around to building 22 where all of the hardi trim and siding is stored and loaded 147 pcs of 1×6 hardi into their van.

One surrendered immediately and the other tried to run and hide. The picture tell the rest of the story.

We could not show the remaining pictures due to their graphic nature. We wrote an article about construction fences that might interest you: How Secure is Your Construction Security Fence? 11 Questions to Ask