Got questions? We’ve got the answers. Our team of experts weighs in on a variety of topical issues relevant to public sector digital design. We’ve asked our experts about what it takes to support “green” mandates in digital design.
“What three things should I take into consideration before embarking on digital design initiatives in support of green / sustainability mandates and regulations?”
Nancy Strand, Director of Government and Civil/Survey and David Lingebach, Government Account Manager, CADD Centers of Florida, stressed the importance of transition analysis, proper workflow management and investment in training.
1. “First, learn how your current design practices differ from those that support green building and sustainable design and plan every step of the transition. Be sure to consider all of the resources, internal and external, available to your organization that could assist in this transition.”
2. “Know who your champions are and who your resistors are when planning this initiative. Work on buy-in from every level of the organization.”
3. “And last, expect some down time in your design team for training. Proper planning will keep this to a minimum but before the full benefits are realized, there will be some pain that comes with any change. Remember the end results are overwhelmingly positive!”
Charles Rogers and Dave Manz, Government Specialists, Advanced Solutions, spoke to [acronym] online about how they are seeing a mindset shift as government agencies are increasingly tasked with updating aging infrastructures in line with green mandates.
1. “One of the biggest things that I think needs to be brought into consideration when embarking upon green design initiatives, especially with the government, is training. Historically budgets were allocated for design soft ware purchases, but not for training. With new sustainable design regulations and the growth of 3D design techniques to support these initiatives, training is absolutely critical to the success of government design and engineering teams.”
2. “From a soft ware perspective a great deal of due diligence can be achieved early on in any effort to support green design initiatives. Today, design soft ware can help government agencies hit all the points they need to meet sustainable design mandates and achieve LEED certification. Soft ware advancements mean that valuable data on energy performance can be realized early in the design process.”
3. “Tying into my point about training, it is critical that your team is behind you. Engineers, designers and architects need to be motivated and invested in green initiatives. It takes a lot more time and energy to pre-think through "going green” than it does to support current practices. Implement training, workflows and standards. It’s a lot of upfront investment, but the confidence it will give your team will pay off in the end."
Jeff Gravatte, CEO and Owner, CADD Microsystems, has been recognized as an expert in BIM and CAD systems, speaking frequently on the applications of BIM in conferences and seminars around the country.
1. “I would say that the first thing that you need to take into consideration is understanding the process within your organization for Green Design or meeting sustainability mandates (such as LEED certification). If the process doesn’t support a digital design method, then it really is not going to take hold within the organization.”
2. “Second is education. The concepts of digital design with building as a representation and/or simulation are relatively new. So naturally there are a lot of different choices for how you achieve sustainable design through building model analysis. Education is vitally important to understanding the options that are available.”
3. “Last you must take into consideration the people in your organization and how willing they are to accept change. The methodology of using digital design to support green building decisions or sustainability goals is most likely a change from the current process; essentially, it’s a change in people’s behavior. The reality of sustainable design is that it can be done without 3D digital design (BIM) tools. If you use BIM tools for sustainable design, you can automate sustainable analysis and achieve more precise and accurate results. The tools also provide a way to achieve more iteration of your ideas and options in a shorter time frame. I wouldn’t want to mislead anybody and say that the only way you can meet sustainable design mandates and regulations is through digital design, that’s not so. However, you may be missing out on the benefits that BIM design automation can bring.”
Caron Beesley, Editor, [acronym] magazine
Originally published in [acronym] magazine, Issue 8
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