September, 2008

The Lean, Green, Building Machine

While going green does require learning, it also means acting on what you already know.

By Tom Fife

How was I to know on my first day that the future would hold these words so perfectly? I had just put up the fastest bin of stocking boards that you could imagine. It was my first day and I wanted to impress my new boss, owner Clark Ogle. Clark had been in the lumber business forever, it seemed, in our small town. It was a hot July day, but I was determined to show everyone I was the fastest worker they had ever hired. When I was finished, Clark came to me and confirmed that I had been as quick as anyone he had ever seen stock a bin. However, I needed to take it all out and start again.

Oh my, I laughed so hard at his joke it almost doubled me over ... until I realized he was serious. He explained to me that the boards should be in neat rows and the ends flush. He also said I needed to put all of the green boards together and to keep all of the same species together as well. How funny I thought, green boards! You see, I’m color blind and could see no difference at all in the colors of the materials I had put up so hurriedly. He asked, “Tom, you can’t tell the difference between these colors, can you?” In no way were they different to me; sure, some were lighter and darker, but green and brown? He then asked if I could see the small pieces of paper on the ends of some of the boards. He explained, “they are the treated ones and belong in a different area as do the light smooth ones that are pine,” and so forth.

I learned a lot that day. However, I never imagined that green would be used to describe builders or lumber dealers.

Yet here we are. As Clark is looking down, he must be smiling and saying, “See I told Tom that knowing the difference between green and brown was important.” In today’s market it is becoming imperative. There are so many experts on how to become a green dealer. And, I think the unnoticed agenda within our daily businesses could be showing their true colors. Building green is one way, but working green is another.

Ask your team a few questions to see where you stack up in the greening of America.
– Are your forklifts running when no one is using them?
– Are the trucks running to keep the cab nice and cool inside, or are they turned off to save fuel?
– What is the temperature of the airconditioning in the office and other buildings? Does it remain on and at the same setting at night, when you are no longer there? Who checks before the last person goes home? – How is your lighting affecting your green status? What kind of light bulbs are you using? Are you turning them off when not in use? Who checks at day’s end?
– Are windows and doors left open to try to cool the outside air (as my Dad used to say)?
– Do you have curtains and coverings to retain and block the cool air as it floats by your faces?
– Are coffee pots burning to black gum, while sitting all day unused?

– Are computers left on at night?
– What are you recycling? (Cans, paper, wrappers, banding, boards, corners, sticks ... and the list can go on).
– Are you a recycling center? My point is a simple one. If you say you are a green dealer, then what are your daily habits saying about your real intentions? Why not save the bottom line as well as affecting the planet. Green business practices show customers that you walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

I can help. just holler.

TOM FIFE is a 20-year veteran of the construction supply business and president of Unionville, Ind.-based Challenges Inc., a speaking, training and consulting firm. Seminar topics include employee motivation and retention, customer service, management skills and yard foreman skills. For additional information, call at 812.330.1640, e-mail tom@tomfife.com, or visit www.tomfife.com.