When you are choosing building materials for your house, you should consider how easy they will be to maintain. You should also look at the environmental costs of each material.
Despite the growing importance of margin management, most building materials players still leave plenty of room for negotiation and price setting. They need to create end-to-end visibility into margin leakage and invest in training for sales representatives.
Longevity
Building maintenance costs can be a significant factor in the overall cost of a building. In addition, if adequate funds for building maintenance are not preemptively set aside, the property value and usability of a building may decline over time. In this case, it is important to know how to predict maintenance costs and make decisions accordingly. Several studies have explored prediction models for maintenance costs, but their accuracy is limited. Most of these models rely on data from real-world buildings, but they do not take into account the specific conditions of each building.
Until 2019, supply and demand were relatively stable in the building materials industry, but this year has brought unprecedented volatility, uncertainty, and ambiguity. For example, the price of raw materials has increased sharply. In some cases, a single change in the price of one raw material can render an entire product line unprofitable.
To combat these trends, building materials companies need to step up their margin management capabilities. For example, they should develop the capability to define target prices based on value for customers rather than the cost of production. They also need to invest in negotiating training for their sales representatives to ensure they can communicate this value effectively. In addition, they should create end-to-end visibility into margin leakage to help stakeholders understand the problem.
Durability
Durability is one of the most important factors in determining the life cycle costs of a building. If you are looking to save money, you should opt for materials that are durable and long-lasting. These materials will require less maintenance and energy over time, which can result in significant savings. These materials are also environmentally friendly and can be recycled after their useful life.
Choosing durable building materials is also essential when considering your environmental impact. Conventional plastics, unsustainably harvested wood, Portland cement based mixes and paints that off-gas volatile organic compounds should be avoided, as they have proven negative effects on indoor air quality and health. On the other hand, green products such as wheat straw and wood particle board alternatives made with formaldehyde-free glues are much safer and can help improve indoor air quality.
Wood is an excellent choice for building construction because of its tensile strength, electrical and heat resistance, and sound absorption properties. It is also non-flammable and a good insulator, so it is ideal for buildings in areas that experience varying weather conditions.
In addition to its initial economic cost, metal has low embodied energy and is a great option for large projects. It is an excellent insulator, so it keeps buildings cool in the summer and warm in the winter, which can reduce energy costs. It is also non-flammable, which makes it a wise choice for buildings that need to be fireproof, such as hospitals and fire stations.
Recyclability
In addition to being a vital part of Sustainable Materials Management (SMM), recycling conserves natural resources, strengthens the economy and creates jobs. It also prevents pollution and supports a stable source of raw materials for manufacturing. However, the benefits of recycling depend on a variety of economic conditions.
Many people assume that recycling alone is enough to reduce environmental impact. But the reality is that people will continue to shop a lot, eat animal products and take long-haul flights while thinking they’re doing their part by recycling. In fact, recycling only offsets a small portion of our environmental footprint.
A more effective way to minimize our impact is to reduce and reuse. Reducing the amount of materials we use is better for the environment than attempting to recycle everything we can. That’s because reducing and reusing materials requires fewer raw materials, which is better for the environment than producing new ones.
For building materials players, increased demand for added services such as planning support in the early design stages or help efficiently managing the pace of construction has led to a greater need for visibility into pricing schemes and margin management. While this is nothing new for chemicals and energy companies, it has caught many building materials manufacturers unprepared. They need to implement state-of-the-art forecasting tools and ensure transparency about discounts and surcharges to manage margin and minimize loss.
Maintenance
Whether it’s an industrial plant, a machine tool, or a circular saw, any physical asset that is subject to wear and tear requires maintenance. It is therefore no wonder that companies in the manufacturing, aviation, and construction industries have a strong incentive to keep their maintenance costs under control.
However, it is also important to remember that maintenance cost is only one of many factors to consider when evaluating a company’s performance. It is also essential to analyze the underlying causes of a company’s maintenance costs to identify opportunities for improvement.
Some business consultants may attempt to benchmark a plant’s maintenance cost by comparing it with other plants. However, this approach is flawed for several reasons. First, different plants have wildly differing equipment and production flow. Two plants that produce the same products will likely have very different assets and production flows. Second, a plant that invests in ensuring its equipment is easy to maintain, inspect, and repair will have a much lower maintenance cost than a plant that does not.
Finally, a plant that reduces its maintenance costs will be able to sell more units, increasing revenue. Often, this is the reason that management instigates a maintenance cost reduction effort. After all, cuts to maintenance costs can be shown on a quarterly profit and loss report, while increases in revenue require marketing effort and product development.