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-------Invloving Your -------- Trade Contractors |
Imagine a graph with the building industry in the center. Around its periphery are vendors, trade contractors, and businesses, each with their own economic needs and structures. They have to learn to build in relation to one another so that they are all supportive of one another. Yet typically, each tends to act very independently.
I have often run into the difficulty of getting the trade contractors on board when working on the first green home for a builder. From this experience, I learned how important it is to get them all together before the job starts. The following story is an example of working with a trade person who has never used green products:
I was brought in to work on a model home in a new sub-division. The home was to exemplify all the green features the builder wanted to incorporate into the development. It was a design/build firm, so we had control over both the design and construction from start to finish. We had many meetings to ensure that all the field employees and subs knew the new routine and were on board. It was a great project, and most of the crew bought in and enjoyed the process.
We were on schedule to be open for a gala event that had been planned for months. One Saturday, I got a call from the builder. He was having trouble with his painter. The painter had used the same supplier for 20 years and refused to use the new VOC-free paint that I had specified. He said he knew the performance of the paint he had always used and wouldn’t warranty the new paint. He was sure it would fail or peel or not cover well. Therefore, since he had worked with the builder for years, he wouldn’t install an inferior product.
The builder was at his wit’s end and asked if I would talk to the painter and try to convince him to get with the program. I called him. We talked and talked, and reluctantly he agreed to use the new paint.
On the second day of spraying, I stopped by the job to see how it was going. I was walking through the house when I heard someone yell, "Hey you! Are you that green guy?" I yelled back, "Yeah, what can I do for you?" "Let’s step out to the garage, we need to talk," he said, taking off his dust mask. I was sure I was about to get an earful.
He looked like a ghost with a nose and mouth. The rest of him was covered with back spray. He was a big guy and I wasn’t sure what to expect. He looked at me and said, "You know, all along I felt your were full of ____! I’ve been painting for 20 years and know my business. But last night something odd happened. Usually, I come home from work exhausted, take a nap, wake up just in time to say good night to my kids and eat some cold dinner. I get ready for the next day and they go to bed. It’s been a pattern for years. Last night when I got home I felt great! I played with the kids, had dinner with the family, and did some bookwork before bed. Today I feel like a million bucks. I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to this new stuff. I had no idea how much normal paint was taking out of me and affecting my life!"
Vernon McKown has a process for integrating trade contractors into his company. "We believe in trade partnering," McKown says. "It’s a cultural issue with us. We have always been big at treating the trades with respect and dignity. We treat them like business owners. Teach them how to do good business. You can’t just tell the subs to build green."
| Vernon McKown, Ideal Homes Norman, Oklahoma (800) 682-2763 www.ideal-homes.com |
| Vernon McKown is president of Ideal Homes, the largest production builder in Oklahoma. They build four hundred homes each year in the $60,000 - $130,000 range, which are aimed at first time buyers. Ideal Homes has also built an American Lung Association Health House. |
You have to get the trade relationship going before you can get green building going. When you look at the trades, builders are always asking them to do more: higher quality, faster, cheaper. Identify their needs before you ask them to meet yours, McKown suggests.
Trade relationships are complicated and have often been in place for many years. It is especially difficult when the change to green building requires bringing in a new contractor for an aspect of the job that the old one isn’t qualified for.
"At McStain we've made great strides in involving our vendors in our building practices and asking for their help in constant improvement," Shewfelt says.
McStain still sees places where building practices are entrenched, though, because relationships are entrenched. For instance, Shewfelt says, "Joe Shmoe has been working with Bubba, the foundation guy, for years, and they bowl together on Saturday nights. If Bubba isn’t willing to change, Joe will have to use a different foundation company. This could be a difficult decision for him to make. Integrating green building practices with the peripheral venders, subcontractors, and businesses can require reestablishing and restructuring relationships. That’s part of the challenge for a lot of green building companies."
Working with the trades can be your key to success. As with any relationship, when they know you are concerned with their bottom line, they will be there when you need them and will bend over backwards to help create the best job they can. When demand for trade contractors is high and they can pick and choose who they work for, it is just good business to treat them well and let them know you expect their best.
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Building Green in a
Black and White World
by David Robert Johnston
Also See:
I. Creating a Green Company Introduction
III. Design .
IV. Aligning Employees’ Jobs with Green Building
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