Consulting-Specifying Engineer - August 2008 - (Page 10) Letters While I am a firm believer in job-site safety, I have to disagree about where it should be made part of a project (for U.S. Green Building Council LEED-certified buildings). It certainly should be a part of any contract, but LEED is about energy and efficiency. It should not be watered down by including a bunch of specifications about other aspects of the work. Typically job-site safety issues, whether trench shoring, highsteel harnesses and walkways, or whatever type of safety measure is necessary, should stand as their own specification section as part of the contract. If you want to put safety in the LEED portion, then why not add product quality, workmanship, or methods of payment? There could be a never-ending list of important items to include. LEED certification is not the entire project—it is a concept for design, construction, and use of the project, but it is only a part. DAN CHASE SENIOR ENGINEER PENFIELD & SMITH, CAMARILLO, CALIF. Author response: I thank Tulett and Chase for their excellent points, which carry a lot of weight in terms of practicality. However, I believe that’s part of the problem with LEED and other green building rating systems that are not tied to over-arching sustainability principles, such as The Natural Step, as my Viewpoint discussed. Philosophically, I cannot abide that a building constructed with near-slave labor is green, nor one that experienced preventable deaths because the construction company disregarded safety measures and did not respond to workers’ concerns. Otherwise, the “triple bottom line” is that buildings are good for the environment, the economy, and for people (construction workers are excepted). I agree with what Chase said in a follow-up letter: “As sustainability concepts and environmental protection in general evolves to where it has to be, if we are to continue, these aspects, and some we haven’t even thought about yet, will be worked through.” MICHAEL IVANOVICH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF In memory of Thomas Laskowski, PE With great sadness I would like to inform the engineering community that Thomas F. Laskowski, PE, passed away unexpectedly. My dad was the author of the article “Remaking History,” published in the June 2003 issue of Consulting- FBC_half pg. ad_ConsultingSpec.E1 1 Input #207 at csemag.com/quickResponse 4/8/08 10:46:02 AM 10 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • AUGUST 2008 http://www.fbcbuildingsolutions.com http://www.fbcbuildingsolutions.com http://csemag.com/quickResponse
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