Buildings as Preventative Care

What does your ideal work environment look and feel like?  How can building design directly support employee health and productivity?  Theresa Lehman, WELL AP, LEED Fellow, director of sustainable services for Miron Construction Co., Inc., lead our August Learning Circle on Worksite Wellness. She covered concepts of health and wellbeing related to the built environment, particularly exploring the WELL and Fitwel certification building standards.

The WELL and Fitwel systems focus on how to design and operate buildings that promote the health and wellbeing of its occupants—conceptually speaking, how to view buildings and the physical environment as tools for preventative care. 

• WELL Building Standard - developed using medical and scientific research to measure, certify, and monitor building features that impact human health and wellbeing

  • 7 Concepts:
    - Air	- Fitness
    - Water	- Comfort
    - Nourishment	- Mind
    - Light

• Fitwel - developed in part by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and aimed at helping employers evaluate design factors that go into creating a healthy workplace

  • 12 Areas:
    - Location	- Workspaces
    - Building Access	- Shared Spaces
    - Outdoor Spaces	- Water Supply
    - Entrance and Ground Floor	- Cafeterias and Prepared Food Retail
    - Stairwells	- Vending Machines and Snack Bars
    - Indoor Environment	- Emergency Procedures

Obtaining authority or the budget to overhaul design and construction for a brand new building with these health-promoting enhancements can be challenging. Addressing this, Theresa shared some cost-effective concepts that could be incorporated into existing company policies and/or utilized to create new policies. Attendees identified and discussed which policies were currently in place at their organizations and which could be achieved, using the WELL and Fitwel scorecards as a guide.  

Sample of the highlighted policies outlined in the WELL Building Standard Certification Matrix:

If you'd like more information on the August Learning Circle content, please contact Theresa Lehman (Theresa.Lehman@Miron-Construction.com).

Angeline Day, MPH, CHES