Whether you are a deep-pocketed guy, or you are just an average citizen, now that you are starting your new construction project, your occupant health– which depends on the standard of the building should be the key thing. That said, if among all other green factors- preservation of energy and water, your well-being ranks highest, consider getting a WELL building consultant for your project.
For the most part, health problems which result from environmental pollution can be traced back to the construction process of a building. In more recent times, fact from record shows that spending on occupant health and building maintenance more than doubles the initial spending on a construction project. All in all, this is attributed to one thing and one thing only, the construction doesn’t the WELL building standards.
What is the WELL building standard?
Introduced by Delos Living and managed by the IWBI (International WELL Building Institute), it is used to describe measures used to evaluate the quality of a building project in the be-all and end-all. In conjunction with Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI), IWIBI trains and certifies WELL building standard experts.
Although the Institute for Building Biology and Ecology is charged with similar responsibilities as IWBI, WELL building standard has become the de facto standard for measuring the quality of constructions. In this context, if your complies to this standard you can rest assured that your occupant health is at its peak.
The standard is grouped into seven categories:
- Mind
- Fitness
- Comfort
- Light
- Air
- Nourishment
- Water
- Mind
The standard is designed to train and certify experts in a project-structure-like arrangement:
- Tenant Improvement
- WELL CORE and SHELL
- New Project and Large Renovations
The certifications are offered by a WELL Assessor, a board-certified WELL specialist par excellence.
What are the roles of A WELL building consultant?
WELL building consultants can be divided into two main kinds:
WELL Accredited Professional abbreviated as WELL AP- hired by the building team to work in liaison with them in order to facilitate communication with IWBI and ensure quality is maintained
WELL Assessor- hired by the IWBI, a WELL Assessor evaluates a construction to ensure it meets the standard set by IWBI.
Note: A person cannot be designated the roles of a WELL Assessor as a well as WELL AP for a project.
Roles Of A WELL AP:
- Analysis And Evaluation of site plan
- Review of building plans
- Analysis of the WELL gap
- Liaison officer between WELL standard organization and building teams
- Proper Review of WELL specifications
- Research studies related to healthy building materials in line with WELL building standards
- Preparation of documentation from WELL
Roles of WELL Assessor:
- Review of entire documentation from WELL
- IAQ (indoor air quality) test
- Testing of the WELL water quality
- Testing of WELL light
There are many benefits of involving a WELL building consultant in your construction project:
- It eliminates environmental pollution which may occur in the future.
- Occupant health is boosted thereby reducing spending on health care.
- The cost of future maintenance is also reduced to the bearest minimum.
- It paves the way for a healthy green environment through air and water quality testing to ensure it is up to standards.
