North Star Construction is a company dedicated to efficiency and environmental sustainability through design and innovation in the processes of construction. We have set out to answer questions within the building industry which we feel most are not even asking. By reviewing some of the most basic systems within construction, we find that there is waste and inefficiency. We are changing the approaches to those systems. We are attempting, little by little and day by day, to combat those common practices and to reshape our thinking and the thinking of those around us, so that we may assist in creating a life that is simple, more efficient, and which allows others to do the same.
In our designs and building practices we have streamlined each process to eliminate unnecessary time on site. This is not only a cost savings which we pass on directly to our clients, but also decreases the impact on our environment during construction. In decreasing our construction time on site by 33% over the past two years, we have been able to decrease the amount of total fuel, vehicle maintenance, and even road wear by that same 33%. And we have just begun.
In 2008 we have started a program at NSC to further decrease our impact on the environment and our overall project costs. It is called the Ten to 55 Program. The program is based upon the simple concept that by driving 10% under the posted speed limit up to a maximum of 55 miles per hour we will decrease our fuel consumption and associated pollution by as much as 45%. That’s it. It’s that simple.
In saying that our Ten to 55 Program is simple, it does not imply that it is easy. We understand very well that changing well ingrained habits, such as driving, can be difficult and can take weeks, even months to get used to. We have adopted the program as mandatory for employees in company vehicles on company time, however, we are encouraging our employees and our families to participate in this program on a full time, voluntary basis and we hope you will consider the same. We have broken the program up into two levels starting with the easiest.
Level One
Drive 10% under the posted speed limit on speeds above 40 mph.
Level Two
Drive 10% under the posted speed limit on speeds above 40 mph to a maximum speed of 55 mph.
(Exceptions include emergencies and coasting downhill without power)
We have done research on the effectiveness of this program and have found that most vehicles will achieve maximum efficiency within the range of 35 to 55 mph. Below 35 mph and above 55 mph, fuel efficiency appears to taper off radically. Obviously, this will vary from vehicle to vehicle but it is a good basis to start from.
Most arguments against our program are based on the time issue and we would like to combat that immediately. Most of the driving we do as a company is not on the open highway. It is done in urban driving conditions so the overall impact of decreasing our top speeds actually has a small impact on overall time due to the percentage of time that is spent stopped or coming up to speed. That segement of travel time is not affected by the decrease in speeds we are discussing and therefore, the overall time difference from point A to point B is not greatly affected by the slower speeds nearly as much as you might think.
In our designs and building practices we have streamlined each process to eliminate unnecessary time on site. This is not only a cost savings which we pass on directly to our clients, but also decreases the impact on our environment during construction. In decreasing our construction time on site by 33% over the past two years, we have been able to decrease the amount of total fuel, vehicle maintenance, and even road wear by that same 33%. And we have just begun.
In 2008 we have started a program at NSC to further decrease our impact on the environment and our overall project costs. It is called the Ten to 55 Program. The program is based upon the simple concept that by driving 10% under the posted speed limit up to a maximum of 55 miles per hour we will decrease our fuel consumption and associated pollution by as much as 45%. That’s it. It’s that simple.
In saying that our Ten to 55 Program is simple, it does not imply that it is easy. We understand very well that changing well ingrained habits, such as driving, can be difficult and can take weeks, even months to get used to. We have adopted the program as mandatory for employees in company vehicles on company time, however, we are encouraging our employees and our families to participate in this program on a full time, voluntary basis and we hope you will consider the same. We have broken the program up into two levels starting with the easiest.
Level One
Drive 10% under the posted speed limit on speeds above 40 mph.
Level Two
Drive 10% under the posted speed limit on speeds above 40 mph to a maximum speed of 55 mph.
(Exceptions include emergencies and coasting downhill without power)
We have done research on the effectiveness of this program and have found that most vehicles will achieve maximum efficiency within the range of 35 to 55 mph. Below 35 mph and above 55 mph, fuel efficiency appears to taper off radically. Obviously, this will vary from vehicle to vehicle but it is a good basis to start from.
Most arguments against our program are based on the time issue and we would like to combat that immediately. Most of the driving we do as a company is not on the open highway. It is done in urban driving conditions so the overall impact of decreasing our top speeds actually has a small impact on overall time due to the percentage of time that is spent stopped or coming up to speed. That segement of travel time is not affected by the decrease in speeds we are discussing and therefore, the overall time difference from point A to point B is not greatly affected by the slower speeds nearly as much as you might think.
But even when we are talking about highway driving, we still find that the time increases are not significant compared to the benefits. On a standard drive within the maximum posted speed limit (75 mph) we will be driving a full 27% under the posted speed limit. Driving 75 mph to cover a 60 mile drive takes 48 minutes. Driving at 55 mph it takes 65 minutes, an increase of 17 minutes. We feel that the exchange of 17 minutes for an increase in efficiency of 27% would be a fine swap… but even that is not the case. In fact, the fuel efficiency is actually much higher than the mere percentage of speed decrease. How much higher? In some very basic studies we have found it to be around 30% but as high as 50% (increasing our delivery vehicle fuel mileage from 18 mpg @ 75mph to 27 mpg at 55mph - when traveling with a full capacity delivery load)! Fuel use does not increase linearly the way speed does. It increases on a ramped scale so simply decreasing your speeds into the range of maximum efficiency is all that is required to make a significant impact on fuel consumption and pollution production.
Finally, in a more ethereal finale to this discussion, the participation in this project has lead us to pay more attention to efficient driving practices such as slow and progressive speed increases and decreases. It has also allowed us to drive at significantly safer speeds, focus on the traffic around us, and to wonder what people are so incredibly late for?
We are getting better at participation in this program daily. We are committed to improving our designs, our production, our product, and our environment while learning from others around us. We hope you will find our solutions to problems interesting and participate in our Ten to 55 Program too.
Finally, in a more ethereal finale to this discussion, the participation in this project has lead us to pay more attention to efficient driving practices such as slow and progressive speed increases and decreases. It has also allowed us to drive at significantly safer speeds, focus on the traffic around us, and to wonder what people are so incredibly late for?
We are getting better at participation in this program daily. We are committed to improving our designs, our production, our product, and our environment while learning from others around us. We hope you will find our solutions to problems interesting and participate in our Ten to 55 Program too.
We hope that you will take the time to visit our company website at http://www.nscnm.com/ as well as our other informational links located on that home page.
AND...
Since beginning our program in early 2008, we have heard that Southwest Airlines has adopted a similar program. Although the speed limits are clearly different for our two policies, they are based in the same concept. SW Airlines has started slowing down their airplanes. They have increased the length of their flights by 1 to 3 minutes per flight. They have calculated a savings of $42,000,000 (that's fourty two million dollars!) for this year alone. Which causes one to do the simple math and come to the conclusion that they will be saving approximately 10 million gallons of jet fuel. That is not what they will use... that is what they will save.
Bravo to SW Airlines... and all of us at NSC LLC would gladly agree to arrive another 3 minutes later if you could save another 10 million gallons by slowing down just a bit more. We're on board.
