Greenup's Professional, Engineering and Environmental Services.

What kind of work does an Environmental Consultant do? Environmental consultants and engineers help organizations and industries balance environmental concerns with economic and social needs. They assess environmental risks, develop strategies to reduce negative impacts, and ensure compliance with regulations. 

Environmental consultants

Here are some of the tasks that Environmental Consultants do:

• Assess environmental risks: Evaluate the impact of human activities on air, water, and soil.

• Ensure regulatory compliance: Help organizations navigate environmental laws and secure permits. 

• Manage environmental remediation: Plan and oversee cleanup efforts when contamination occurs.

• Promote sustainability: Guide businesses in reducing their environmental footprint. 

• Communicate findings: Present their findings to clients and employers using graphs and charts.

Environmental engineers are responsible for the following:

• Developing solutions: Create structures, industrial facilities, and transportation infrastructure that improve communities 

• Oversee construction projects: Monitor project progress and troubleshoot problems. 

• Design and install systems: Design and install storage tank systems 

Environmental consultants and engineers work with businesses, governments, and special interest groups. They play a key role in sustainability initiatives. 

Greenup Industries Designs, Builds, and Maintains.

Greenup has provided these services to several industries, including oil and gas, construction, and local, state, and federal governments.

We have succeeded in improving the quality, effectiveness, and cost efficiency while simplifying the process.

Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program

Did you know that the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program was created to help small, disadvantaged, minority-owned businesses compete and work with the federal government? The 8(a) program offers excellent contract opportunities to small, disadvantaged companies.

During the nine-year 8 (a) program, participants can be awarded sole-source contracts up to $4.5 million for goods and services and $7 million for manufacturing and compete in larger 8(a) set-aside contracts.

Companies certified as 8(a) can also participate in the SBA's Mentor-Protégé program. Additionally, they can form Joint Ventures with larger contractors to compete for 8(a) and other competitive contracts.

8(a) Program Qualifications and Certification Requirements

The 8(a) certification requires participation approval, annual compliance, and reporting. To qualify for the program, a company must be owned and controlled by at least 51% of socially and economically disadvantaged United States citizens. The personal net requirement is less than $850K, excluding certain assets. The average adjusted gross income must be $400K or less, and the total assets must be $6.5 million or less.

During the nine-year program, 8(a) contractors must demonstrate progress. The first four months are considered the development stage. Advancement must also be displayed during years 5-9, the transitional stage. The 8(a) contractor must show progression from sole-source awards and 8(a) competitive contracts transitioning to non-8a revenue. 8(a) contractors must also comply with small business size requirements to maintain eligibility for contract awards.

How to Apply for the 8(a) Program?

You must meticulously plan and prepare your SBA 8(a) application to gain approval. Follow 8(a) certification checklists to ensure your documents meet the program requirements in fact and appearance.

In addition to completing the online application, you must submit the following documents:

1. Prior income tax returns

2. Financial statements

3. Your company history

4. Personal financial statements

How to Apply for SBA Certification?

The company owner may complete the application on the SBA website. However, you may also benefit from financial advice. Your accountant or CPA can help you review your documents before submission.

The SBA Yearly Reporting and Compliance Requirements

The SBA monitors progress through annual reviews, business planning, and regular evaluations.

The 8(a) participants must submit the Form 1450-8(a) Annual Update Review. Based on the 8(a)'s annual program year, businesses must disclose specific company data to remain in the program, including:

1. Progress on meeting goals

2. Personal yearly financial statements, including your net worth

3. The fair market value of all assets

4. Personal income

5. Excessive withdrawal limitations

In addition, company financial statements are required. 8(a) participants who make over $10 million in revenue must submit an annual audited financial statement within 120 days of the company's fiscal year.

The 8(a) participants with revenue between $2M and $10M must submit annual reviewed financial statements within 90 days of the company's fiscal year. Finally, 8(a) participants with less than $2M in revenue must provide an annual in-house or compiled financial statement within 90 days after the close of the company's fiscal year.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/3q3uDYn.

The Lafourche Basin Levee District in Vacherie, LA

Greenup Industries is delighted to have the North Lafourche Levee District in Vacherie, Louisiana, as a client.

Did you know? The North Lafourche Levee District was formed by an Act of the Louisiana Legislature in 1992. This state board has been responsible for improving flood protection on the west side of Bayou Lafourche from the Intracoastal Waterway in Larose to the northern edge of the Parish.

In 2006, through a statewide re-organization of levee boards, the North Lafourche Levee District was given additional jurisdiction over the east side of Bayou Lafourche, again from the Intracoastal Waterway in Larose to the northern end of Lafourche Parish. This area of the Parish was previously under the jurisdiction of the Lafourche Basin Levee District. The North Lafourche Levee District is now all of Lafourche Parish north of the Intracoastal Canal.

The North Lafourche Levee District works to improve drainage and enhance flood protection for 65,000 residents north of the Intracoastal Waterway in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The District includes over 250 miles of levees and drainage canals and over 40 pump stations.

The map above is divided into the Levee District's eight defined Project Areas. To see a list of individual projects within any Project Area from our Comprehensive Drainage and Flood Protection Project (CDFP) List, click this link. You will be taken to a page that shows currently planned projects (in no particular order) for the selected Project Area.

Greenup Industries is a full-service construction general contractor that provides civil and commercial construction work and construction management for projects in Louisiana. For more information about Greenup Industries, please visit https://bit.ly/3q3uDYn

COMMUNICATION VITAL IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Communication is vital in the construction industry because it can help ensure a project's success: 

• Safety: Poor communication can lead to injuries and accidents. To prevent accidents, hand signals are used to communicate with crane operators. 

• Project outcomes: Effective communication helps ensure project objectives are met, and it can improve collaboration and productivity. 

• Teamwork: Communication can help improve teamwork and morale. 

• Cost control: Miscommunication can lead to mistakes, rework, and additional costs. 

• Reputation: A history of delays, disputes, and accidents can damage a company's reputation. 

• Project status: Communication helps everyone understand the project's status. 

• Decision-making: Communication facilitates timely decision-making. 

• Client expectations: Communication helps manage client expectations. 

For over 30 years, Greenup Industries has excelled at providing professional, specialized services and procurement support to a diverse clientele, including the oil and gas, construction, telecommunication, and other industries, as well as city, parish, state, and federal governments.

We have earned our reputation as a trusted solutions provider and partner in the industrial services business by providing superior quality services to our clients, continually seeking to improve our performance, and by adding value.

Greenup Industries Successfully Installs 15 Thousand Smart Water Meters in St. John the Baptist Parish

St. John the Baptist Parish (St. John) is now in possession of some well-needed water meter upgrades thanks to the efforts of Greenup Industries Inc. (Greenup) with partner Aclara Technology. Greenup was awarded a $5.27 million contract from the Louisiana Parish in December 2019 to install 16,491 residential smart water meters, 382 commercial meters, and 10 fire hydrant meters. Greenup reports that installation on 15,000 residential and commercial smart water meters were completed despite numerous setbacks (COVID, 2020's most active Hurricane Season since 2005, Global Supply Chain Impacts, Hurricane Ida causing extensive damage to LaPlace and damaging some of the installed equipment). St. John Parish officials issued a resolution on March 28 to issue a Change Order on the existing contract and have the remaining 2,600 meters installed at a later date.

The new smart water meters feature more accurate leak detection and improved residential and commercial services. Residents can use a Customer Portal on their computer or mobile device for utility maintenance, such as setting up alerts for their water consumption, monitoring leak detection in real-time, and viewing live data to keep their water bill down. The water meters are networked into the St. John Parish data management system, allowing the parish to bill customers more accurately and monitor any potential infrastructure issues. “This new smart water meter system allows us to efficiently detect and minimize water loss for the residents and businesses in the parish,” said Rodney Greenup, CEO of Greenup. “It is more responsive infrastructure which enables us to pinpoint and respond to potential problems before they happen."

The St. John Parish Council agreed that the benefits of the “state-of-the-art” water meter outweigh its costs as it will provide for water usage readings to be taken every hour and transmitted to base stations that are built on the parish's water towers. Customers can access their water usage online in real-time, and the meters will send out alerts when their batteries get low. With the ability to monitor water usage daily via a computer or smartphone, the new system will eliminate estimated reads, provide customers with consistent billing, ensure smooth revenue collection, and reduce calls to customer service representatives. The new smart water meters also provide real-time leak detection alerts, allowing more accurate readings. Individuals will also be able to set up alerts for water consumption that exceeds a certain threshold. Part of the installation involves attaching a data collector to track water usage to the billing system. “We program the smart meter to transmit its location to the Parish's data collector. This lets us know how much water is being used immediately, every second of every day. This lets us know how much water is being used immediately, every second of every day. The previous meters had to be read manually," Greenup said. “The new meters allow the parish to respond to any leaks or potential infrastructure issues in real time."

Greenup faced adversity as it neared the completion of the St. John Smart Water Meter Project. In addition to the devastating effects of the supply chain crisis, ongoing disruptions from COVID, and hurricane damage slowing down installation efforts, Greenup said rolling layoffs in 2020 affected communication with Greenup Industries' subcontractors. The shipping delays from tech suppliers were a significant challenge the company had to overcome. "This project revealed our resiliency and can-do attitude, as our company faced setbacks time and time again. What we learned from this experience is that Greenup's team is experienced and willing to go beyond what is expected of them and to overcome obstacles to get our projects completed in a timely and efficient manner. I am so proud of them," Greenup said.

The construction phase broke the parish into six areas, or “water cycles.” Each cycle was completed before moving on to the next one. After the DCY network and installation routing plan were completed, training on the installation and smart meter software began in September 2020. The initial installations began in October, and by the beginning of 2021, Greenup had already completed several thousand installations. Recognized by Parish officials for their professionalism and communication throughout the project, Greenup expressed pride in being able to help solve a problem that affects so many people.

The St. John water meter project is one of several successes this year for the growing construction and maintenance firm. Greenup is nearing the end of its clay excavation efforts in the Bonnet Carre Spillway as part of the West Shore Lake Ponchartrain Project and have excavated 100,000 cubic yards of material for the LaReusitte to Myrtle Grove Levee and drainage canal, placing them ahead of schedule for the joint project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Cajun Industries of Baton Rouge, LA.

Based in Kenner, Greenup Industries offers contracting and specialized construction services for industrial, commercial, and municipal clients. From refurbished roads and bridges to industrial construction and maintenance, the company is behind countless projects across the Gulf South that contribute to the region's growth and vibrancy. Since its start in 2012, Greenup has experienced unprecedented growth, becoming a leading construction contractor and provider of maintenance and third-party procurement services. President and CEO Rodney Greenup is a New Orleans native who began his career as a mechanical engineer and project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "There's a lot of growth potential and work to be done throughout the region," said Greenup. As we continue to grow and diversify, we owe our success to our relationships with our employees, clients, and vendors.

For more information on Greenup Industries, visit www.greenupind.com or email info@greenupind.com.

The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion Efforts in the Construction Industry

Diversity, equity, and inclusion drive a workforce because everyone is encouraged and empowered to be their best authentic selves. To ensure that a culture of diversity is continually developed in the construction industry, we enjoy opening the dialogue on why workforce diversity is a chief asset. Since Greenup strives to reflect the rich diversity in the communities where the labor force lives, works, and builds, we thought we'd highlight why minority inclusion is a business priority. 

Diversity in Construction is Lacking

Women make up just 9% of the construction workforce in the United States. In 2017, women held just 7% of construction-management jobs in the United States, though it's nearly twice that in the United Kingdom. The construction industry has made significant progress to be more inclusive over the last few years, yet LGBTQ+ employees are still largely underrepresented. Of 24,000 staff surveyed by The Construction Leadership Council, just 1% identified as bisexual, 0.8% as gay, and 0.2% as lesbian. The most common ethnicity of construction workers is White (52.9%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (27.7%), Black or African American (11.1%), and Unknown (4.0%).

Potential solutions to improve diversity in the workforce include policies that affirmatively promote the use of companies owned by minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups and bystander intervention. Changing how minority-owned businesses are viewed in the construction industry is another. Greenup addresses this concern in our workforce through intentionally inclusive recruiting and hiring efforts, safe spaces for learning discussions, and industry forums to address systemic racism. 

Lack of D&I Sinks Productivity

Despite being one of the largest sectors in the global economy, the $10 trillion construction industry needs to catch up in productivity growth, which slowed to 1% last year. The result? Poor performance, project management, and execution, as well as cost and time overruns. The problem can only worsen in the United States, where construction's contribution to the economy has hit a seven-year high point.

At the same time, companies complain about a shortage of skilled workers. For these reasons and more, recruiting talent from underrepresented groups is a business imperative. 

EDI Action Plans Can Shift the Industry Culture

Construction companies have committed to initiatives designed to foster D&I, often packaged in EDI action plans. These programs include focus groups, coaching, training, mentoring, networking, and career development. Competitive advantage may go to companies whose workforces look more like the communities where they work.

D&I infuses organizations with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a willingness to consider alternatives. With a more diverse workforce better at problem-solving and decision-making, construction companies can outperform their peers financially and fairly—with inclusion and respect.

About Greenup Industries

Based in Kenner, Greenup Industries offers contracting and specialized construction services for industrial, commercial, and municipal clients. The company's proprietary software, the Greenup Tracker, can connect third-party vendors with facilities that need painters, plumbers, groundskeepers, carpenters, etc.

If you would like more information on our diversity efforts, please contact Greenup Industries at 225.283.4843 or info@greenupind.com.

Rodney Greenup Featured as Speaker in Black Enterprise Member Seminar with his Presentation "How I Won a $100 Million Dollar Contract"

On March 2, 2023, Rodney Greenup, the Founder and CEO of Greenup Industries, presented, “How I Won a $100 Million Dollar Contract” to the Black Enterprise’s Black Directory ALL Members-Only Zoom.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, awarded Greenup Cajun JV, LLC, a fixed-price construction contract to build hurricane protection structures and move levees and drainage canals in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish.

Greenup Cajun JV, LLC, presented the lowest bid of four for the "New Orleans to Venice 1st lift levee and drainage canal relocation project, La Reussite to Myrtle Grove, Plaquemines Parish". The project will consist of clearing, grubbing, excavating new drainage canals, placing culverts and drainage structures, building new T-walls and levee ramp crossings, placing levee embankments, geotextile work, turf establishment, and surfacing. The estimated cost of the project is $102,452,461.00. The project has an expected completion date of November 30, 2026.

Greenup Cajun JV, LLC is a joint venture partnership that features the skills and experience of Greenup Industries (Greenup) and Cajun Industries, LLC, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Greenup was awarded a portion of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Project (WSLPP) in January 2020, a major hurricane and storm damage risk reduction project benefitting a three- parish area in southern Louisiana. The company’s scope of work includes excavating, processing, and stockpiling clay material and other work within the Bonnet Carre Spillway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that levee construction is expected to require 7 million to 9 million cubic yards of clay material. The Bonnet Carre Spillway has roughly 3.5 million cubic yards available, while the rest of the clay is to come from commercial sources. The $20,520,000 WSLPP contract ("Stockpile II) included excavating, processing, and stockpiling of 1.5 million cubic yards of clay from the Bonnet Carre Spillway to two stockpile sites.

Greenup Industries provides a full range of onboarding solutions, maintenance and design services, and specialty construction services to our diverse set of clients. We offer effective onboarding, reduced costs, accountability, and consistent vetting of vendors. Greenup Industries has clocked over 500,000 plus safe work man-hours and is the recipient of several awards for safety, including the Gold Medal Award, presented by Shell/Norco, the Contractor Safety Award, presented by CAST, and the Safety Excellence Award, presented by Gulf South Safety Council.

February construction Project Updates

Stockpile 1 - Progress has been severely impacted by rain every few days.  When weather permits, we are working our haul roads in the Spillway and the stockpile location in LaPlace.  We are also continuing to excavate material allowing it to begin the drying process, because the material that is excavated is very wet.  As a result of the weather, we are currently scheduled to complete this project in the early fall of 2023.

Myrtle Grove - This project continues to progress quickly and is ahead of schedule.  So far we have placed 74,000 square yards of separator fabric under access roads, 55,000 Cubic Yards of sand for those access roads and preload location, excavated over 230,000 cubic yards of material for the drainage canal, placed 76,000 square yards of Levee Support Geotextile, and built 170,000 cubic yards of clay levee.

This project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025 but we anticipate a change request from the Corps of Engineers that will significantly extend the execution period.  

About Greenup Industries

Based in Kenner, Greenup Industries offers contracting and specialized construction services for industrial, commercial, and municipal clients. The company's proprietary software, the Greenup Tracker, can connect third-party vendors with facilities that need painters, plumbers, groundskeepers, carpenters, etc.

If you would like more information on this project, please contact Greenup Industries at 225.283.4843 or info@greenupind.com.

Rodney Greenup

Greenup Industries 

+1 225-383-4843