Reducing the Impact of Industrial Building Projects on Local Communities
New construction projects often raise local concerns about safety, infrastructure, air quality, temporary housing, and even commuting time. These concerns are magnified on heavy industrial construction projects, which put heavy loads and hundreds of craftworkers on area roadways. Without a solid community engagement plan, years of planning and investment can be zeroed out by organized opposition.
Owners can reduce their risk by tasking key contractors with developing mitigation strategies during the planning process. By drawing from their own experience, contractors can offer up feasible and cost-effective strategies for reducing their impact on the environment. The result? With a detailed plan in place, owners will be ready when community members start asking for answers.
Naturally, the general contractor, along with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trade partners, should be at the planning table. But perhaps one of the most critical partners to include is the prime subcontractor executing the civil scopes of work.
Civil Construction Contractors Set the Foundations for Success
Civil contractors are often the first on the project and responsible for trucking heavy loads onto and off the site. Their expertise can yield logistics solutions that significantly reduce area impacts — and even lead to sustainability benefits.
An experienced civil contractor will provide the crucial look-ahead required for minimizing environmental impacts. For example, muddy jobsites not only slow productivity and create safety risks, but they can also negatively impact natural resources. By combining civil, structural, and geotechnical expertise, civil contractors can plan and execute upfront grading, compaction, base preparation, and site drainage to reduce runoff.
Likewise, concrete construction contractors are responsible for a tremendous amount of truck traffic. Consider that “mega” industrial projects like semiconductor manufacturing plants, power plants, or renewable diesel facilities require tens of thousands of cubic yards of concrete. Meeting this demand can easily require 100+ truckloads of concrete a day, with trucks traveling many miles between the batch plant and the construction site.
However, contractors that can supply mobile batch plants on or near the project site will significantly reduce truck traffic on the road. Contractors that can source and run mobile batch plants also shift risk from the general contractor to their own ledger. The efficiencies gained are also a win-win for owners and the community, who have a vested interest in tighter project schedules.
Sustainability Double Duty
Reducing the strain on local infrastructure and natural resources is a plus for earning the support of local officials. However, strategies like these can also count toward sustainability goals. Less runoff protects nearby water sources. Fewer miles traveled equates to lower carbon emissions assigned to the project. Cleaner jobsites can also earn points toward environmental certifications.
Beyond point totals or emissions standards is the opportunity to build goodwill with the local community. Publicizing sustainability commitments — and sharing updates on successes — demonstrates owners’ commitment to the health and wellness of their neighbors.
Deep Expertise Combined with a Tailored Approach
Developing feasible plans requires experts who understand the challenge and have the drive and capabilities to deliver solutions. Projects run more smoothly and successfully when all project partners are committed to collaboration, to creating safe conditions for all, and to meeting the project’s overarching goals.
Baker Construction values every opportunity to partner early with owners and clients to improve project outcomes, including on matters related to environmental impacts. As a concrete, civil, and deep foundations contractor, Baker brings both the depth and breadth of experience necessary to develop creative and cost-effective solutions to the complex challenges inherent in industrial construction projects.
Nearly 60 years of experience in the industrial sector make us uniquely suited to work as a consultative partner with our clients. For example, we can help our clients:
• Achieve cost and schedule certainty and reduce environmental impacts through early involvement
• Mitigate risk by self-performing multiple scopes of work, creating greater control over schedule milestones and quality
• Improve efficiencies and lessen local impacts by prebuilding many items in our equipment yards, which are strategically located around the country
As a national company with 8,000+ highly skilled co-workers, we can also promise our clients greater certainty in execution. We have decades of experience traveling with our co-workers and understand what it takes to secure and coordinate temporary housing, transportation, and schedules, ensuring minimum disruption to the local community. Our goal is to support our clients and project owners by being respectful guests in every community in which we work.
Ready to build your next mission-critical project? Contact our team to discuss how we can add more value to your toolkit — including preconstruction strategies and delivery methods that will strengthen your relationship with local stakeholders.