Here's part 2 of our talk with Tim Haley from our Lighting Design and Specification Services team.   

Q: Give us an example from a recent job of how you’ve helped on a development project.
Typically I’m presented with a project where very little quality time has been expended reviewing the specs and product choices.

A recent example was a student housing facility near a major campus with 250 multi family units. The light fixtures were specified by the engineer and architect. There was no financial review associated with this specification, so that when the product went out to bid, it came back far in excess of the planned budget.

I was able, with the owner’s interest, to redesign the lighting and value engineer new product specs that cut the proposed cost nearly by half. This while still concentrating on the key areas of aesthetics, safety and energy consumption.

Q: What about product procurement?
Right, we can help there as well. A lot of architects and firms are at the mercy at their local commercial rep agencies. These agencies have a vested interest in specifying product from companies they represent. The problem is that these products may not be the correct application for the job.

This is where the value engineering comes into play – plus our ability to design or source custom product for a job.

Q: In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge facing the building community today?
Financing and credit is a huge hurdle for any development. Lots of projects on the books are appraised for far less now than they were a year or two ago. We can help in certain areas to save money and lower overall project costs.

Q: What’s next for your team?
Our mission is to help owners/developers achieve successful lighting on their projects. We represent a new resource they may not have had in their local markets. To do that, we’re really looking to expand the reach of our services to the Web.

We recently got a response to our LAMPS PLUS Professionals e-mail from an architect in New Mexico who does tenant improvement projects. She talked about how lighting is always the last thing discussed on a project, and that often she’s stuck using specified product that’s not appropriate. We think we can help by providing an outside resource to review product.

Q: Thanks, Tim! If readers are interested, how can they get in contact with you? 
Just give us a call at 1-800-304-8120 or e-mail us from our LAMPS PLUS Professionals page.