continued

These general green requirements could simply state that the project is to be certified or certifiable to a certain level using a specific third-party green building rating system. Then it is up to the contractor to determine how this requirement is going to be met and what role green building products will play in achieving the green building objectives.

Recently, some federal agencies and state and local governments have begun requiring that public and private buildings under their jurisdiction meet predetermined green building requirements, which is another way that green building product requirements can be incorporated implicitly into the contract documents.

All this means that the contractor must be vigilant regarding green building product requirements and their impact on the procurement process.

The contractor should not assume that green product requirements will be found exclusively in each building product's respective specification section along with traditional technical requirements. Nor should the contractor assume that the products that are called out in the specifications will have the same weight when evaluating them for their green characteristics.

Instead, green building product requirements may be included elsewhere in other parts of the contract documents. This increases the contractor's risk, and the contractor must carefully analyze the contract documents to identify the green building product requirements for which it will be specifically responsible.

Review and identify green building product requirements. The first step in the process is to review the contract documents to determine where the green requirements can be found. Once the green requirements are found, they can be categorized as one of the following: general requirements, specific requirements, or mixed requirements.

Furthermore, from the previous discussion, it can be seen that the general requirements correspond to implicit green project requirements and specific green requirements correspond to explicit green project requirements. Green project requirements can also be mixed, with some green building products being specified explicitly and others being specified implicitly.

General green requirements path. The first step in the general green product requirements path is to identify specific green building product requirements. In other words, what green building products need to be procured in order to meet the project's overall green goals and objectives?

In the case where the contract documents simply state that the building will be a green project, the contractor will need to review the green building criteria incorporated into the contract documents to determine how that criteria will impact procurement and what building products need to be green.

Once specific building products are identified as needing to be green, the next step is for the contractor to establish specific product requirements for these building products. The nature of the building product and the green building criteria that the building product must meet will determine which of the green building product characteristics need to be met.

The specific green building product requirements identified need to be documented so they can be either procured by the contractor or incorporated into the request for subcontractor quotation if a specialty contractor will be used to perform the work.

Mixed green requirements path. Mixed requirements include green building product requirements that are both general and specific. Most green building projects fall into this category, and the contractor needs to separate the general and specific requirements to ensure that they are addressed properly.

Green building products that are specified explicitly using performance, descriptive, or prescriptive specifications can be used directly to prepare project bid packages. Green building requirements or products that are specified in general need to enter the general green requirements path, and specific green building product requirements need to be determined and documented before these requirements can be used to prepare a bid package.

Specific green requirements path. With the specific green building requirements path, the bid documents already contain specific green building product requirements, and these specific requirements can flow directly into the preparation of the scope of work that will be self-performed by the contractor or subcontracted to a specialty contractor.

Prepare and distribute bid package. Once the green building product requirements have been identified and documented, they can be incorporated into bid packages for the project work. At this point, the contractor can decide what project work it will self-perform and what project work it will subcontract to specialty contractors.

The green building product requirements that are included in the bid packages that the contractor will self-perform can now be used to develop supplier requests for quotation (RFQs).

Similarly, those bid packages that will be subcontracted can be sent to specialty contractors, who in turn can use the green building product information to develop RFQs for green building products to send to their suppliers.

It is critical to include all requirements as part of the RFQ, including both general and specific green requirements.

Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...

Thomas E. Glavinich, D.E., P.E., is associate professor for the School of Engineering and School of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Kansas. He previously worked in the design and construction of commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities. Glavinich is the past president of the ASCE Architecture Engineering Institute and is a fellow of the institute.

This article is excerpted from Contractor's Guide to Green Building Construction: Management, Project Delivery, Documentation, and Risk Reduction by Thomas E. Glavinich, copyright © 2008, with permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons.

Phase one of the Bloomington Central Station mixed-use development in Bloomington, Minnesota, includes a 263-unit condominium project that emphasizes low-toxicity materials, stormwater management, and extensive daylighting. Image: George Heinrich Extra Large Image The life cycle of a building product. Image: John Wiley & Sons Analyzing the requirements for a project's green building products. Image: John Wiley & Sons The green building product procurement process, from supplier quotation through delivery. Image: John Wiley & Sons From project bid package to issuing a green building product supplier RFQ. Image: John Wiley & Sons The new north and east wings of Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire, were designed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott. Photo: Courtesy Frank Giuliani, Photographer Key to ensuring high indoor air quality in the additions to Concord Hospital was the use of low-VOC materials — materials that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds. Photo: Courtesy Frank Giuliani, Photographer Contractor's Guide to Green Building Construction by Thomas E. Glavinich. Image: John Wiley & Sons Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.