Sustainable Construction Safety and Health Rating System

Sathy Rajendran, PhD, CSP, LEED APEHS Program Manager

Hoffman Construction Company of Oregon

Presentation Outline

• LEED Rating System• Sustainable Construction Safety and

Health Rating System Development• Sustainable Construction Safety and

Health Rating System Validation• SCSH Website• Future Work• Questions?

2

OHSU River Campus Building, Portland, ORLEED Platinum (Pending)

Hoffman Construction Company of Oregon

Rating System Stimulus

• Construction industry needs– Acceptance of LEED Rating System– New approach (safety is a team effort)– New tool (SCSH rating system)

3

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein, (attributed)US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Green Design/Construction Movement in U.S.

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) Rating System

• Intense movement towards sustainable design and construction

• Potential impact on construction worker safety and health (Positive and Negative)

4

Seattle Library, Seattle, WALEED Silver Certified

Hoffman Construction Company of Washington

Development of a Sustainable Construction Safety and Health (SCSH)

Rating System

5

Sustainable Construction Safety and Health

• The sustainable safety and health concept aims to sustain the construction worker’s safety and health:– from start to finish of a single project;– for each future project the worker is involved

in; and– during the worker’s remaining lifetime after

retirement,without any injuries or illnesses as a result of the construction work.

6

SCSH Rating System Development

Main objective was to develop a sustainable construction safety and health (SCSH) rating system that will provide an opportunity to rate

projects based on the importance given to safety and health and the degree of

implementation of those safety and health elements.

7

QUESTIONS

• What are the important construction worker safety and health elements that should be part of the SCSH rating system?

• What is the effectiveness of each of these elements in preventing construction injuries/illnesses?

• What should be the structure of the SCSH rating system?

• How should credits be calculated for each element of the SCSH rating system?

8

1. Project Team Selection

• R Constructor Selection– Selection Process– Owners look at the safety performance– Intel, OHSU, etc.

• R Subcontractor Selection– Critical to success– Matrix– Corrective Action Plan

Summary of Safety Evaluation

Criteria IDRating

Received

Total Rating RISK

SCALE

EC1 – EMR 0

2 LOW RISK

EC2 – EMR 0

EC3 – TRIR 0

EC4 - TRIR 2

FINAL ACTION No action required

2. Safety and Health in Contracts

• R Safety and Health in Contracts

2. Safety and Health in Contracts

• E Safety and Health Hazards in Drwgs

• E Specification of Less Haz Mats

3. Safety and Health Professionals

• R Competent Person• E Owner Safety Rep• E GC Safety Rep• E Sub Safety Rep

– Depends of Project size and scope– Contract requirements

4. Safety and Health Commitment

• R Contractor Commitment• R Owner Commitment

5. Safety and Health Planning• R Conceptual Planning Phase• R Constructability Review• R Design for Safety• R Life Cycle Safety Review• R Safety Checklist for Designers

5. Safety and Health Planning• R Life Cycle Safety Review• R Safety Checklist for Designers

5. Safety and Health Planning

• R GC/Sub Site Specific Safety Plan (2)

5. Safety and Health Planning• R JHA/PTP

5. Safety and Health Planning• R Look Ahead Schedule

5. Safety and Health Planning• Traffic Control/Housekeeping

6. Training and Education

• R Orientation for all Workers

9. Accident Investigation

• R Accident and Near Miss Investigation

10. Worker Involvement

• R Stop Authority• E Employee Committee

11. Safety Inspection

• R Safety Inspections• E Safety Violations Follow-ups

13. Industrial Hygiene Practices

• R Engineering Controls• E Hearing Protection• E Respiratory Program• E Stretch and Flex• E Ergonomic Task Analysis

13. Industrial Hygiene Practices

• E Stretch and Flex

13. Industrial Hygiene Practices

• E Ergonomic Task Analysis

© Hoffman Corporation

• Example: Awkward Posture• Elevated work station will help in most situations• Two saw horses ~ quick and easy fix to avoid a

back injury and prevent a crew member off the job.

SCSH Rating System Validation

INDUSTRY STATUS

• 25 construction projects• Data from the projects were collected

using questionnaire• Calculated the SCSH points scored• Incident rate decreased as points

increased

INDUSTRY STATUS

Element Name # ofProjects*

% ofProjects*

Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) Plan 25 100Safety Inspections 25 100Safety Violations Identified and Corrected 25 100Safety and Health in Contracts 25 100Competent Personnel for All High Hazard Tasks 25 100Management Commitment 25 100Constructor Site Specific Safety Plan 25 100Accident and Near Miss Investigation 25 100Employees Empowered with Stop Authority 25 100GC full time Safety Representative 24 96

* (Projects that contain the elements)

List of Most Commonly Implemented SCSH elements

30

INDUSTRY STATUS

Element Name # ofProjects*

% ofProjects*

Safety Checklist for Designers 22 88

Life Cycle Safety Design Review (LCS) 21 84

Designer Selection 20 80

Safety Hazard Identification in Construction Documents 20 80

OSHA 10-hour Training for All Workers 19 76

Task based safety exposure database 18 72

Designing for Worker Safety and Health 18 72

Ergonomic Task Analysis and Remediation 17 68

Stretch and Flex Program 16 64

Safety Training for Designers 16 64

List of Least Commonly Implemented SCSH elements

* (Projects that do not contain the elements)

31

WEBSITE

www.sustainablesafetyandhealth.org

CASE STUDY

Future Work

• Make it a standard practice• Integrated System – Green + Safety• Refine this system• Validate based on more projects

Thank You! Questions?