Achieving LEED credit for ergonomics: Laying the foundation

Issue title: Green Ergonomics

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Lynch, Mallory

Affiliations: University of California, Berkeley, University Health Services, 2222 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720-4300, USA. Tel.: +1 510 643 2540; Fax: +1 510 642 7411; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Despite guidance from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) on the requirements for earning a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ergonomics credit in the Innovation in Design and Innovation in Operations category, few projects have received the credit. The University of California, Berkeley ergonomics program, Ergonomics@Work, has aligned the ergonomics strategy to those of the USGBC and LEED to achieve the ergonomics credit in several new buildings. This article describes the steps needed to obtain the credit and highlights the opportunities it creates to partner with the project team to promote ergonomics. As a profession it is up to ergonomists to create the road map that incorporates ergonomics into the green building design.

Keywords: Ergonomics credit, USGBC, LEED

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-141874

Journal: Work, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 401-410, 2014