The Department of Defense will break ground this month on a $12.5 million Hazardous Material Response Facility (HMRF) targeting LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The design/build team of architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent (Atlanta office) and construction firm The Christman Company (Alexandria, Va. office) was selected from among four shortlisted teams to design and construct the HMRF. The award was a best value decision that included, among other things, the team’s proposed enhancements to the design of an existing facility program as well as its experience in designing and building laboratories and sustainable facilities.

The HMRF will be located on the Pentagon Reservation and will be home to members of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), a Department of Defense Agency charged with protecting the Pentagon Reservation and other DoD-occupied facilities in the National Capital Region.

When completed in summer 2011, the two-story HMRF will house lab, storage, training, and administrative spaces to be shared by PFPA responders.

Some of the building’s sustainable design features and products will include:

• Use of recycled content materials, including a steel frame with 95 percent recycled content

• Use of regionally sourced materials

• Sunshades for control of solar heat gain and glare

• A high-efficiency air handling unit with a heat recovery wheel and a building management system

• Bike racks and showers

• Low-flow toilets and faucets

In addition, The Christman Company will carry out construction site waste management practices.

Design speaks to safety and permanence

Sheathed in a ground face concrete masonry unit, both smooth and corrugated aluminum panels and a Low-E glass curtainwall with an anodized aluminum framing system, the HMRF’s exterior design will complement other industrial structures on the Reservation.

“The building’s architectural style can be described as ‘contemporary industrial,’” said Dan Nemec, who is Lord, Aeck & Sargent’s project designer and project architect. “Although the exterior uses industrial materials such as corrugated metal panels, they’re scaled and fastened in such a way as to soften the hardness of the material. Furthermore, the smooth machined metal panels are sleek and refined, and large areas of glass allow light to spill into the occupied areas to give the building a contemporary look appropriate to its office and administrative functions.

“Overall,” Nemec continued, “The building’s design - especially the solidness and texture toward the base - lends a feeling of safety and permanence that is appropriate to the function of the building.”

OSHA’s Means of Egress standard (1910.37 [b][1]) states “Each exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route.”

The new technology behind photo luminescent products is going to make the emergency exit sign industry the “green” envy of the world. Photo luminescent products use ambient light from your buildings fluorescent lights to power and charge photo sensitive material that then releases that energy as light. For lack of a better term we are basically talking about “glow in the dark” exit signs and tape for striping and outlining evacuation routes to comply with fire codes.

By law public buildings must mark exits with lighted signs, or signs that are visible in the dark or smoky conditions due to fire. Egress or evacuation pathways must be clearly lit and marked. Photo luminescent striping tape is the perfect answer for this requirement. Again this “glow in the dark” film is used to mark doorframes, steps, stairways, hallways and hand railings to assist in evacuation during a blackout or fire.

Since photo luminescent products do not use electricity, their use in public buildings would significantly conserve tremendous amounts of costly energy. Currently over 1 billion dollars annually is spent on lighting egress systems and emergency signage in just the United States alone. This cost would be eliminated by the use of photo luminescent products and the carbon footprint left behind on the planet would be significantly reduced.

Because of this technology’s sustainable architecture and planet saving “green” quality it has really exploded on the commercial building scene. Not only will you find photo luminescent exit signs and fire striping in today’s public places, but you will also find this product used for OSHA exit signs, school emergency exit signs, fire extinguisher signs, fire equipment signs, office door signs, outdoor signs, and the list goes on and on. You will find photo luminescent signage basically anywhere and everywhere you need emergency lighting or lettering that is visible in darkness.

It is truly amazing how a simple idea can be transformed into an industry-changing product that could save billions of dollars annually and help keep the planet healthy. All the above data is based on just the United States switching over to photo luminescent emergency exit systems. Just image if the whole would changes over!

Some places which sell photo luminescent are:

The Exit Store, www.theexitstore.com

Jessup Manufacturing, www.globritesystem.com

Exitsigns.com

What is VPP?

The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) promote effective worksite-based safety and health. In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system. Approval into VPP is OSHA’s official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.

What Is the Authority for VPP?

The legislative underpinning for VPP is Section (2)(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which declares the Congress’s intent “to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources - (1) by encouraging employers and employees in their efforts to reduce the number of occupational safety and health hazards at their places of employment, and to stimulate employers and employees to institute new and to perfect existing programs for providing safe and healthful working conditions.”

How Does VPP Work?

In practice, VPP sets performance-based criteria for a managed safety and health system, invites sites to apply, and then assesses applicants against these criteria. OSHA’s verification includes an application review and a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of OSHA safety and health experts.

OSHA approves qualified sites to one of three programs:

• Star
• Merit
• Star Demonstration: Recognition for worksites that address unique safety and health issues.
  Sites that make the grade must submit annual self-evaluations and undergo periodic onsite reevaluations to remain in the programs.

When Did VPP Begin?

• 1979 - California began experimental program
• 1982 - OSHA formally announced the VPP and approved the first site.
• 1998 - Federal worksites became eligible for VPP.

How Has VPP Improved Worker Safety & Health?

Statistical evidence for VPP’s success is impressive. The average VPP worksite has a Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART) case rate of 52% below the average for its industry⁽¹⁾. These sites typically do not start out with such low rates. Reductions in injuries and illnesses begin when the site commits to the VPP approach to safety and health management and the challenging VPP application process.

How Does VPP Benefit Employers?

Fewer injuries and illnesses mean greater profits as workers’ compensation premiums and other costs plummet. Entire industries benefit as VPP sites evolve into models of excellence and influence practices industry-wide.

How Does VPP Benefit OSHA?

OSHA gains a corps of ambassadors enthusiastically spreading the message of safety and health system management. These partners also provide OSHA with valuable input and augment its limited resources.

Another benefit to OSHA is a safety and health advocacy group that came into existence as a result of the VPP, the Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association (VPPPA). The VPPPA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985. As part of its efforts to share the benefits of cooperative programs, the VPPPA works closely with OSHA and State Plan States in the development and implementation of cooperative programs. The VPPPA also provides expertise to these groups in the form of comments and stakeholder feedback on agency rulemaking and policies. Additionally, the Association provides comments and testimony to members of Congress regarding legislative bills on health and safety issues.