LEED Construction
Tompkins institutes the following procedures to achieve
environmentally conscious work:
1. Site management: We manage storm water flows on our
jobsites carefully to protect the sites from soil erosion and
sedimentation, and in dry times, from wind-blown dust. We minimize
site construction traffic and confine it to specific locations. We
carefully plan and implement public safety measures to protect
adjacent property and persons.
2. Demolition and construction waste recycling: Tompkins
is committed to reduce the flow of construction and demolition waste
to landfills. We have developed internal procedures, external
vendors and trained our staff to implement waste diversion plans.
3. Value management: Too often, sustainable design
features, construction procedures and material specifications are
criticized as “cost premiums” over conventional approaches. Tompkins
is tasked to work with the design team to find the most economical
solutions in the commercial marketplace to meet our clients’
sustainability objectives.
4. Installation management: We manage our project
schedules, installation sequencing, and the work environment and
installation procedures to build in quality. While we take pride in
all of our projects, our view is that LEED projects require an extra
measure of quality management. For example, our 20 River Terrace
project in Battery Park is being hailed as the best-built apartment
building in New York, which is central to our client’s marketing
plan for the project.
5. Commissioning: Tompkins commissions all of its
projects. We begin with the end in mind and start planning project
close-out while we are still in design. Our success is routinely
demonstrated in the rigorous quality environment of FDA-validated
bio-pharmaceuticals projects, microelectronics fabrication plants,
hospitals and other similar projects where monitoring air quality
and venting are particularly important. The commissioning effort
required for a LEED-certified project is similar to these other very
demanding types of work and is a natural transition for Tompkins’
well-trained staff.
6. Procedural consistency and documentation: LEED projects
require an extra level of documentation if they are to achieve their
highest ranking. It is very difficult to go back and create
documentation after the fact. Tompkins anticipates that a LEED
strategy meeting should start each project, a LEED procedures plan
should be created and that periodic updates need to be held to
assure that no detail falls through the cracks. This documentation
effort affects each of the previous items in this list and
ultimately summarizes Tompkins’s contribution to the success of the
sustainable projects that we a privileged to share with our clients
and design teammates.
7. Environmental Goals
Tompkins will maintain environmental goals by having a LEED
Coordinator on site. We have a project goal of obtaining a LEED
Whole Building 2.1 designation at the silver level. This will
require 33-38 LEED points. We will obtain these points by window and
plumbing upgrades, IAQ performance measures, enhanced building
systems, optimized HVAC and electrical energy performance etc.
Tompkins Builders is expecting to obtain a LEED Silver Award on the
Seattle Courthouse Project.
8. Waste Management Goals
Tompkins plans to meet waste management goals by 90 percent or
better jobsite recycling of the construction debris, thereby
reducing costs and saving space in the landfill. This requires
research and working closely with consultants and designers to
implement such a major improvement in jobsite waste management. As a
result, in the construction phase on a single project, by using 15
dumpsters on site to segregate the waste stream into easily
recyclable components, we saved an estimated $3 million to date by
carefully executing our waste management plan.
9. Indoor Air Quality Goals
Tompkins will maintain Indoor Air Quality during construction by
installation of self- contained HVAC equipment to serve occupied
areas.
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