How Contractors are netting huge rewards by putting their money where the Cloud is

Back in February, our feature article, “The Secret to Pushing Green Building into the Mainstream” focused on concepts that could improve the adoption rate of Sustainability measures among A/E/C (Architecture/Engineering/Construction) firms. Only a few months have passed, and the trend is catching on like wildfire.

The ‘Secret’ article highlighted the importance of support-based vendors and contractors promoting value in their green-minded offerings. As it turns out, A/E/C firms are quickly discovering that value (and then some) as they internalize green practices – and not without the help of at least one eco-friendly ally in the building industry: ABC Green.

Both the ambitious efforts of ABC and the swiftly growing community of A/E/C businesses pursuing ABC’s Green Contractor Certification program serve to reinforce proof of promising progress resultant from establishing value in green practices.

It appears as though the barrier of justifying investments in sustainability products and policies is rapidly dissipating. Perhaps the most significant evidence to such a claim is the fact that contractors are committing to the cause like never before, by implementing intensive internal sustainability overhauls.

The requirements for companies wishing to net ABC’s prestigious Green Contractor Certificate represent a direct influence within the applicant’s own internal operations – it’s no longer about applying green standards just at the jobsite, and rightly so.

While the program isn’t a newborn (it was established in 2009), we are now entering a period of maturity for the early adopters, as the initial application covers a three-year period. The vastly superior advantages of infusing sustainability measures into the core business, rather than only serving them ‘ala carte’ on projects are now becoming strikingly apparent to those initial applicants such as Oklahoma-based Flintco Constructive Solutions.

We exemplified this type of low-hanging fruit in the form of implementing green-minded measures in our February article by pointing out the bevy of benefits relating to online document management and archiving, including our very own Software as a Service product, eTransmittal.

But there is growing consensus to those benefits elsewhere. Not only does ABC list such requisites for their Green Contractor Certificate as establishing “a policy for archiving documents electronically”, but companies like Flintco are heralding the money- and time-saving returns of implementing cloud-based document management.

An article published this month in Construction Executive magazine entitled “Green From the Inside Out” featured details surrounding Flintco’s three-year venture to internalize their sustainability efforts in line with the ABC Green Contractor Certification requisites.

Cited as one of Flintco’s “biggest operational game-changers resulting from certification” was their new policy governing electronic document storage and submittals. According to the article, the company “no longer runs projects with paper-based documentation, instead relying on digital solutions for three-quarters of its work.”

The list of benefits Flintco touts simply from switching to electronic document management represents an astounding return on investment. Among the rewards realized over the certification period: Postage and shipping cost savings in the hundreds of thousands, flexibility to accelerate project schedules, and the re-positioning of personnel away from paper creation and storage and over to more valuable roles such as quality assurance.

While specific case studies like Flintco carry significant weight, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.  Perhaps one of the most important, albeit subtle, take-aways from such a story isn’t just an encouragement to implement electronic document management, but a rally cry to implement it now. With six-figure savings on the horizon in as little as three years, we doubt too many contractors will be waiting much longer.