This is a picture from National Wind of a wind turbine under construction. Can you see the familiar hazards?
I recently attended an OSHA seminar in Washington, D.C. concerning the growth of “green jobs” and the role safety plays in those jobs. Green jobs are jobs related to preserving or restoring the environment or natural resources. Green however, does not mean a job is safe.
The focus of green jobs, carbon footprints and sustainability is to limit human impact on the natural environment. We do this by using new technologies in building construction to limit wastes, by creating new and different ways to produce energy and by rethinking the ways our industries operate with the end goal of being more environmentally friendly. What about safety? How can we use the things we have learned in the green movement and apply those to safety issues? How can we make green jobs safe?
The answer is easy. Green jobs are just like any other job, and it is essential to protect our nation’s workers on the job. The overall consensus was that green jobs are no different in terms of compliance as all the rest. Common hazards still exist, such as electricity, falls, heavy equipment, that can potentially injure or kill workers. Therefore, safety must not be forgotten when dealing with green jobs. A job is not sustainable unless all the workers come home safe!
We can also use some techniques of the green jobs movement to improve the way we “do” safety. At this conference one of the speakers introduced a safety system based on the LEED model that was geared toward safety. This model uses a LEED type points system in construction projects as a way to rate them based on the importance given to safety and the degree of implementation of safety elements. Essentially it is a scoring system for how safe a job is. Using a system such as this, safety remains an essential component in the construction industry.
Green jobs MUST be safe jobs!
Rating System: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/3805/1/Rajendran%20Dissertation%20Report.pdf
