Green Building Blues: The Hidden Risks of Sustainable Design Projects
Despite the economic recession, the number of green building projects across the U.S. continues to grow. Yet, as they assess the widening opportunities for building green, building owners, contractors, architects, engineers, and home builders express concern about a variety of risks that may be associated with these projects, including potential financial exposures, uncertainty about evolving regulatory standards and legal issues, validating the qualifications of consultants and subcontractors, and assessing the long-term performance of green building materials, among other potential issues.
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THEY'RE NOT WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE…
CLIENT OR CUSTOMER?
It happens hundreds of times everyday – new, prospective homebuyers walk into the model home of the new development and after touring all the models, decide to place an order for a new home. They are also invited to select from the list of available lots and they find an outlying lot with dramatic rock outcroppings in the back yard. "It’s absolutely perfect!"
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Avoiding the Frustration of 'Scope Creep'
It’s no secret that, in spite of your detailed and well-researched cost forecast (schedule of values) that is presented at the signing of the contract, the total cost of the job will begin to change from the very first day when something like differing site conditions or elective changes to the work are added to your scope. The fact that this is such a common occurrence on construction jobs, has given rise to a new phrase that describes what it is: “Scope Creep.” The term is appropriate because the scope of work creeps up on the contractor and owner and the full weight of the consequences on the budget are not known until the final invoice is delivered at the end of the job often resulting in damaged relationships and possibly unpaid invoices. The solution is actually very easy and simple. The principle here is to use every invoice to the customer as a complete budget-status-report.
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Rebuilding After the Southern California Firestorms: A 15 Year Mission
In October of 1993 a series of wildfires swept across southern California stretching from Laguna to Malibu and spreading out through the valley areas of Altadena and Eaton Canyon. In all, thousands of acres were burned and hundreds of homes were lost. The victims of the "Firestorm" as it was called, faced the daunting task of rebuilding their homes and lives. At the time, I was volunteering at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo as the Director of the California Center for Construction Education for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The goal of my Center was to produce and deliver quality continuing education to the working professionals and practitioners within the construction industry.
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I'll respect you in the morning And other industry standard lies
Perspectives on the defects in evaluating construction claims
This issue of “standardization” is not unique to the construction industry; we deal with “standards” every day of our lives and we have come to rely on the accuracy of measured commodities that we purchase. In construction, it is a little different. We do not have physical standards; our “bureau of weights and measures” is actually a collection of written product specifications and laws that are known as the “Building Codes.” All construction industry standards are in writing and are universally interpreted. When evaluating construction defect claims, lawyers on both sides of the dispute will be better able to represent their clients by keeping in mind the fallacy of claims based upon violations of inapplicable industry standards. Likewise, the courts and arbitrators must clear the decks of the debris of multiple, inapplicable and contradictory standards so that a contractor’s work can be fairly and uniformly measured.
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ARCHITECT’S JOB SITE VISITS:
Escaping The Bermuda Triangle of Risks
It’s no secret that engineering and architecture are often considered “high risk, low margin” professions that are riddled with unforeseen consequences surrounding standard design services. Nor should the increasing number of lawsuits being brought against members of our industry surprise us. We no sooner enter the boundaries of a design project then we find ourselves lost in the Bermuda Triangle of Construction Risks.
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A CONTRACTOR'S 10 POINT
"CODE OF ETHICS"
As one of the largest industries in this country, construction requires company owners to manage trillions of dollars and a workforce of millions. Often the skills that are dominant with small contractors are the trade practices that distinguish them as talented and ethical practitioners. The challenge facing many construction operations is the ability to maintain high levels of communication with their customers regarding the way they conduct the business of building. Every job, every project requires the administration and management of diverse materials and labor resources within the precise environment of an established budget and schedule. The failure to keep the consumer informed of changes and delays is responsible for the high percentage of disputes over the performance of the work. In light of the current climate of customer satisfaction, we have developed the following 10 point Contractors Code of Ethics. The Code is a set of guidelines that are completely voluntary. By subscribing to the Code of Ethics, you are telling your customers that integrity is first on your list. It is the ultimate business credential. In addition to delivering integrity to every project, the risk conscious contractor must also have a firm grasp on the control of liability.
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SWTA:
Keeping a contract enforceable may require nothing more than doing exactly what you agreed to do:
"Stick with the Agreement"
The carefully drafted language of your contract goes out the window depending on how you adhere to the provisions you agreed to. The guiding principle of this topic is Stick with The Agreement! Do what you said you would do.
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Risk Assessment:
Taking Another Look at Earthquakes
"Earthquake”, the very mention of the word immediately conjures up pictures of the ground shaking and massive fissures in the earth opening and swallowing up people as they struggle for their lives while nearby buildings are collapsing and crushing cars. We've seen it many times in the movies, but never has one subject been of such interest, to so many, as seismic safety is to the residents who live along California's fault lines. To us, this is perceived as a major threat to our lives and livelihood. In just the past five years we have witnessed two massive earthquakes in California: the Whittier Narrows in the Los Angeles basin in 1987 and the Loma Prieta in the Bay Area in 1989. These two events represent a substantial source of dreaded fear in all of us. But just how life threatening are earthquakes and how much should we do to protect ourselves from this devastating, unpredictable natural disaster? These questions are at the very heart of "Risk Assessment".
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Ferrari World Constructability Assessment
In 2010 our team of international design and construction experts was invited to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi to perform Constructability Assessments on the nearly-completed Ferrari World Amusement Park. The park is the largest indoor amusement facility in the world with over 2 million square feet of area beneath the canopy. Ferrari World officially opened on 4 November 2010. The theme park is home to Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster. During construction, several of the features and amusements that were to be constructed under the canopy ran into space and utility conflicts as a result of multiple design teams working independently to meet the upcoming grand opening in November of 2010.
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