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Extracted Content
- Essential services . Promote accessibility to safe essential services, including water and restrooms, to protect worker well-being, promote hygiene practices, and help prevent the spread of diseases.
Worker Safety Training
Safety training and a culture of informed workers are essential in reducing workplace incidents and increasing overall preparedness. Develop tailored safety training modules for each system or service worker role to prepare workers to recognize, manage, and mitigate hazards associated with their tasks or systems.
The safety training modules must cover general ergonomic and safety practices, emergency procedures, proper PPE usage, and role-specific hazard safety. Conduct training with all workers and new hires to familiarize them with current safety protocols, equipment, and potential risks. Continue to provide training on an annual basis to refresh and update employees on safety procedures, equipment, and operations.
Ergonomic and safety practices address tasks that involve moving or handling things by lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying or holding, and prolonged sitting, all of which require appropriate ergonomic practices to prevent poor posture, health problems, and related injuries. [23] Safety practices, particularly for physically demanding tasks, must be implemented to avoid injuries such as lower back injuries and pain caused by improper lifting techniques. Workers are to be familiarized with emergency procedures, including evacuation plans, the location of emergency exits, and the appropriate use of emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers. This aids in the reduced likelihood of accidents and improved response during emergencies.
Educate workers on the proper selection, use, and maintenance of PPE. Include guidance on its limitations, clarifying that while PPE provides critical and life-saving protection at times, it is a secondary defense considering hazard protocol and general safety provisions to avoid incidents.
Role-specific safety training includes effectively addressing specific safety hazards associated with each worker’s duties and responsibilities. This includes considerations for cleaning staff and workers that may face chemical exposure risks, while others working in equipment rooms, on rooftops, or on scaffolding must be trained to handle fall hazards and confined spaces appropriately. Tailoring training to roles gives workers full awareness of the risks they face and effective preventive measures.
U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Operations and Maintenance, April 2025 Launch Edition 55