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Butler Manufacturing: Your Building Is an Investment


 

Kansas City, Mo. — April 23, 2015 — According to a recent forecast by Dodge Data & Analytics, the construction industry is poised to see an uptick in construction starts in 2015. Dodge forecasts that the commercial building sector will continue at a steady pace of heightened activity through 2015, with construction spending increasing 19 percent, to $32.3 billion.

As companies make decisions to expand their businesses and facility footprints during the upcoming construction season, it is important that long-term performance is considered to ensure projects are built better, smarter, and faster — saving time, reducing expense, and instilling confidence in the quality of buildings.

Build better: This is all about building more efficiently. To help make that happen, it’s best to identify roof and wall solutions that exceed energy codes to achieve greater long-term savings. Heating and cooling make up one-third of a building’s energy use — half of which is attributed to heated or cooled air lost through the roof.

Recently, Thunder Road Harley-Davidson in Windsor, Ontario, expanded its dealership by 50 percent and installed the MR-24 roof system by Butler Manufacturing to enhance thermal efficiency within the building. Thunder Road saw an immediate return on investment from the Butler roof system as heating costs dropped by one-third, even as the facility expanded, after the MR-24 roof system was installed. That was a huge savings during the coldest winter in 65 years.

“Energy codes are the most basic tools to address the energy efficiency of structures,” said Dave Evers, vice president of research and development at Butler Manufacturing. “Ensuring code compliance can help companies save on energy cost.”

Think long term: The building envelope is key to lowering operating costs throughout a building’s life span. In that regard, always think long-term when making decisions about insulation and energy efficiency. Develop a comparative estimate of the building components’ operating costs over five or 10 years to help identify optimum solutions.

Build smarter: This involves the understanding that your building is much more than walls and a roof. Start by looking at buildings as long-term business decisions. Be mindful that decisions made during the planning, design, and construction phases will affect maintenance, repair, and energy costs throughout the building’s life span.

Think daylighting: To reduce energy costs, ask your design-build contractor to consider daylighting early in the design process. This foresight provides the best opportunity for your building layout and structural design to take advantage of natural light.

Sunken City Brewing Company in Moneta, Virginia, made the decision to build smarter during the design process. The facility manager ensured that the building design included Butlerib II translucent wall panels to take advantage of daylighting. Thanks to all the natural daylight that beams into the brewery, Sunken City rarely turns on the interior fluorescent lights during the day.

The Flying Heritage Collection aviation museum in Everett, Wash., features the SunLite Strip daylighting system in its roof system design. The addition of natural daylight drives energy savings by reducing the need for electricity to light the building.

“Daylighting represents one of the biggest opportunities for facility managers to reduce energy use,” Evers said. “Proper integration with internal control systems allows daylighting technology to quickly pay for itself.”

Build faster: In today’s business climate, time is money, and getting to market faster is everything. Steps to complete your building faster will help make it operational sooner. Consider systems construction, proven to help reduce construction time by up to 30 percent.

In the spring of 2014, the Greenbrier Resort in Greenbrier County, W. Va., needed a facility in place that could host summer camp for a National Football League team. By using systems construction, Long Construction Management, a Butler Builder, completed the design and constructed a facility in under 100 days, just in time for camp. The benefits of speed to market were seen beyond the resort as local businesses realized a boon from the team’s fans who flocked to the area to watch practices.

Be mindful of construction schedules and identify inefficiencies that unnecessarily extend timelines. Planning on building multiple projects? Always debrief upon completion and put knowledge gained to work for future projects by replicating processes for efficiency.

Buildings are investments: “With construction on the uptick in 2015, it’s important that companies approach their buildings as investments,” said Craig Mohr, director of global accounts and export operations at Butler Manufacturing. “By considering the impact of operating costs before construction, you can make smart choices that pay off over the life of the building.”

For more information, visit www.butlermfg.com.

 





Contact FacilitiesNet Editorial Staff »   posted on: 6/16/2015


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