How Software Can Help Track LEED Projects

Planning and tracking LEED credits for a construction project is a difficult and time-consuming process. In the past, contractors (and LEED APs) had to rely either on pen and paper or general construction project management software to keep track of all the documents, photos, plans etc. association with LEED accreditation.

Today, however, technologies are making it easier to plan ahead for which credits a project will qualify for and to track the documentation associated with each credit. Building information modeling (BIM) allows companies to plan their LEED credits during the design phase. Meanwhile, LEED-specific project management software helps track documentation, improve team collaboration and share knowledge on project best practices. Here’s how it all works.

1. BIM Helps Plan LEED Credits

BIM has been around the construction industry for a while, but it’s becoming more relevant to LEED projects. BIM helps plan LEED credits by allowing architects to layer multiple levels of information onto a 3-D building design. For instance, a user can add information about the origin of materials and how the materials were made for a door frame. This kind of information is useful for planning out credits that are awarded on the basis of material origin and the percent of recycled content of those materials.

2. Workbenches Provide a Snapshot of Project Progress

Projects designs are modeled in BIM, LEED-specific project management software (read more here) can help plan assign tasks and give a snapshot of project progress. Workbenches allows users to monitor the number and type of credits planned for a particular project. With this dashboard view, team members can prioritize which credits to go after first, and which are a lower priority.

3. Software Helps Manage Project Tasks

After prioritizing credits, software systems can help manage the process of assigning tasks to team members. Several project management systems provide charette functionality. This gives the team a snapshot view of the prerequisites for achieving a credit and the options for getting there. The charette functionality also allows tasks to be assigned to the most knowledgeable person on the team so the credits can be tackled in the most efficient way possible.

4. Regional Priorities Are Logged in a Database

Sometimes region-specific LEED credits are awarded for meeting a regional sustainability priority. For instance, a local area may provide incentives for reducing energy use beyond the nationally defined reduction level. In this case, it’s possible to win a regional credit which are essentially bonus points. Project management systems make identifying these bonus credits easier by providing a regional database of credits. Winning these bonus points can help boost a LEED Certified building to a LEED Silver building, since there’s only a 10 point difference between the two certifications.

5. A Database Shares Best Practices with the Team

A final way that technology is helping simplify the LEED process is by creating a database of best practices to help others working on similar projects or problems. Think of it as a proprietary wiki that helps prevent team members from having to rework problems already solved. Aggregating best practices in a single, electronic database can reduce the time spent on projects since team members can easily look up solutions without going back to the drawing board.

These technologies help take some of the guess work and paperwork out of the LEED accreditation process. However, they still have some room to mature. If you work on LEED project, what would you like to see added to these technologies? What would make your daily life easier on a LEED project? Leave your me your thoughts in the comments below.