NEWSWATCH
GREEN BUILDING
USGBC Introduces Prevention through Design Pilot Credit for LEED
In February, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) added a new “pilot credit” for Prevention through Design to its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. The credit encourages early consideration of occupational safety and health issues throughout a building’s life cycle. 
Prevention through Design (PtD) is a NIOSH effort to prevent or reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities through inclusion of prevention considerations in all designs that affect workers. The integration of PtD with LEED, a certification system for green buildings, arose from a NIOSH-USGBC partnership to explore connections between occupational safety and health issues and sustainable building practices.
USGBC tests new concepts for possible integration into LEED through the use of pilot credits, according to the organization’s website. Project teams seeking LEED certification are encouraged to try to meet the criteria specified in pilot credits and are asked to provide feedback on those criteria. USGBC uses the feedback to refine the pilot credits and submits successful credits to a vote of its membership for final inclusion in LEED.
The PtD pilot credit promotes a “safety design review” during the operations and maintenance stage of a building’s life cycle, and a “safety constructability review” during the construction phase. For more information, visit the USGBC website to read the descriptions of the pilot credit for LEEDv4 and LEED 2009 on the USGBC website.

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