The issue of this paper is green versus non-green construction and focusing in on the health and safety of the construction workers during the building process. Green constructions projects have been a fast growing trend leading for a quick change of how construction practices and causes a higher risk for injury or fatalities for the workers There is a common misconception where it is believed that green and sustainable are the same.. In order to properly determine whether a company has safer work environments depending on the classification of green or not, there need to be a clarification on what the term green actually means. According to the research of Rajendra in a study Impact of Green Building Design and Construction on Worker Safety and Health “green is a term used to address primarily the design and construction practices that impact the environment” (2009). While sustainable is defined as “ [A] broader concept which, in addition to the environmental aspect, addresses the continuity of economic and social aspects of human society”(2009).
What the purpose of this information is to show that by definition Green jobs have no requirement to have designs and practices safe for the construction workers. Although there are no requirements, there was an interest in knowing how green safety compares to ordinary construction jobs. Leading to the topic, how does safety and health differ in workers on jobs that are green versus those working on non-green jobs?
Background
Within the U.S. workforce, construction employees represent around seven percent, for these employees’ only beings a fraction of the workforce they account for approximately twenty two percent of the annual injuries (Dewlaney,2012). There is no research showing ...
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...ategies for high performance sustainable building construction. Construction Management & economics, 30(2), 165-177. Doi:10.1080/01446193.2011.654232
Gambatese, J., Rajendran, S., & Behm, M. (2007). Green design & construction. Professional Safety, 57(5), 28-35. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.uwf.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a204b0ae-6607-481b-8de9-4664c38addbd@sessionmgr4001&vid=6&hid=4208
Rajendran, S., Gambatese, J. A., & Behm, M. G. (2009). Impact of Green Building Design and Construction on Worker Safety and Health. Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 135(10), 1058-1066. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2009)135:10(1058)
Schulte, P. Center of Disease Control, Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2010). Making green jobs safe. Retrieved from website: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/indhealth/48/4/48_MS4804ED/_pdf
Western Australian Department of Education. (2010). Occupational Safety and Health. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/policies/occupational-safety-and-health.en?bbp.s=9&bbp.e=select&bbp.v=4&bbp.i=d0.1&bbp.8.policyID=10918572&g11n.enc=UTF-8&bbp.9.pane=0
LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a certification program for green buildings with stringent requirements for building energy efficient and environmentally responsible structures. Some requirements of this program include specific building materials, smart grid capable, gray water reclamation systems, green space minimums, high levels of insulation and low thermal transfer glass (US Green Building Council). Green buildings are a must if we are to sustain our current level of growth. Despite the higher initial cost of these buildings, the long term energy savings make these buildings a smarter choice for
Professional Safety, 46(10), 20-25. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5367632&site=ehost-live&scope=site McGuire, C. (2011, April). Workplace Safety 100 Years Ago! Safety Compliance Letter(2524), 1-6.
"Workplace Safety." Labour Program. Government of Canada, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
“Little empirical data are available examining the injury experience of hired crop workers in the United States (US).”(Wang, Myers et al. 2011) Work-related injury data from a national survey collected through the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) in the years 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004 on 13,604 crop farm workers revealed that the bulk of injuries occurred to male (84%) and Mexican born (72%) workers. “The use of hand tools, falls, and lifting overex...
As opined by Cassidy (2006), these are intrinsically demanding, hazardous and actually challenging lines of work. Consequently, it is important to consider workers’ health related issues and others connected to the place of work to diminish the effects of drug use in construction sites and to augment the protection contained by the workers in addition to the place of work.
In conclusion, the designers and builders of the tower have an undesirable job: creating a building that is functional, modern, sustainable and unique. At the same time it is honoring the memory of the people that died in and around the buildings that stood there before. While the green sustainable features have been criticized for being too expensive, they will do more than save just water, electricity and emissions. They and the grace of the building will inspire a generation of green and safe skyscrapers for the twenty-first century. This building has become one of the safest, environmentally friendly and expensive ever built, but as critics slate the building for various reasons, one cannot take away the determination through political, social and economic status that designers and workers have created such a beautiful building with great meaning.
Going green in the workplace is a new trend in business. In choosing to go green in the workplace you may be challenged by an elevated initial start-up costs, however savings earned from this investment will more than pay for those initial costs in the future. Many people see this as a controversial issue, and granted it does have its own unique set of pro and cons, but if a business makes careful choices going green can prove to be very rewarding. Companies are doing this to save money on energy expenses as well as deploying it as a means to help reduce the carbon foot-print they are leaving behind.
Globally, green buildings are being recognised and accredited, leading to the introduction of various tools and indices with one common objective that is to evaluate, measure, distinguish and sets apart this uniquely designed buildings from the rest. The Diamond Building carries a Green Building Index (GBI) accreditation, a first in Malaysia. Among the achievement of the ST Diamond Building are:
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
Unites States Green Building Council. (2014). Leadership in energy and environmental design. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/leed#why
A green building (also referred to as sustainable building or green construction) is a structure that employs an approach that is responsible for the environment besides being efficient in regard to resources all through its life cycle: This is from selecting the site to designing it, constructing, operating, maintaining, renovating and demolishing it. To achieve this, the client, the engineers, the architects and the entire design team closely cooperate at all stages of a project (Yan and Paliniotis, 2006). Practicing Green Building complements and expands the conventional building design areas of comfort, durability, utility and economy.
The use of green materials is better for the environment because they have a positive impact on the planet. Looking at our environment today we see a place that has been facing a massive climate change. Scientists have been concerned over global warming for decades. The ongoing increase of the earth’s temperature is believed to be caused by the greenhouse effect (“Global Warming” 27). Building with green materials produces significantly lower greenhouse gas emission. Specifically, wood as a material for building products, requires considerably less energy than other building products such as steel and concrete. Wood product manufacture results in fewer greenhouse gas and other air-polluting emissions (“Green Building Benefits”). Green building also results in waste reduction. In the United States, construction and demolition creates a huge amount of solid waste. Green building limits the waste prod...
The beginnings of today's green revolution can be traced back to the environmental awareness of the 1960s and European design. New construction techniques have lead to the development of innovative materials and design concepts. Green buildings are designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure they are healthy for their occupants. Successfully designed green projects can involve an extensive array of factors, ranging from the resourceful use of materials, to careful consideration of function, climate, and location.
Construction is one of the most dangerous works during this era. The advanced technologies are to be utilized in the construction work but still it is not really safe work. Many of the human beings are now involved in the construction work. It is one of the most typical working fields. Most of the persons who have lack of knowledge, degree and skills join the construction teams in order to earn living. It is said that most of the workers related to the construction industry are not really well educated. This becomes that major cause of their less focus on the work. This proved sometimes very critical condition. One of the most important things in this regard is that workers sometimes not really work with taking great care.