Page 125 -

Developing the Project • 99

large banks of lights were set up to allow the workers to break up pave-
ment, move equipment, and so on. So far so good. However, the banks of
lights were observed to be on for long periods of time over several nights
where there was no activity—the lights were more of a hazard to oncom-
ing traffic than anything. This same effect—tens of thousands of kilowatt
hours of electricity wasted as well as lights burning out because they were
lighting up unused equipment—could have been easily avoided with green
thinking. What will be the environmental impact of the projects them-
selves? What are the sustainability issues for the projects?
Returning to the earlier drought issue, it is obvious that these solutions
must be permanent, as the long-term forecasts for drought areas are not
good. Therefore they have to be planned, designed, and executed with sus-
tainability in mind. Keeping all that in mind, the green project manager
also has to focus on making sure that the process around the projects is as
green as possible. It now becomes a balancing act to ensure that the neces-
sary tasks are performed with greenality, but yet satisfy the urgency of the
project’s scheduled tasks.
One doesn’t need to consider a project with the sweeping change of
addressing drought conditions in Africa. A project like the construction
of a wind farm in Maui, still green by intent, is an example that doesn’t
have the same constraints as the previous example. There are still green
schedule techniques to apply. First Wind is a company whose motto is
“Clean energy, made here.” According to David Ertz, director of project
management–east, First Wind likes the challenge of areas where it is more
difficult to build wind farms, like the top of a ridge in Maui or the top of
a ridge in Maine, rather than the plains of the Midwest, whether or not
placing a wind generator on a ridgetop in Maui or in Maine makes it very
visible in areas that are noted for their beauty and remoteness. We’re say-
ing that wind generators can be attractive but that the attractiveness will
be in the eye of the beholder. We can see some green schedule issues that
need to be considered when working in challenging areas on projects that
are green by intent. With wind energy, the best places to put the generators
are places with sustained winds. Those can also be the places where the
environment can work against you. One cannot place the blades on top of
the tower in windy conditions. It is too dangerous.
Project managers have the opportunity to consider the schedule and
application of resources to save money and energy. Even the application of
common sense when it comes to working when air conditioning or heat-
ing does not need to be used, or handing off work between time zones to