The Facilities Projects Support Program provides review, consultation and testing for construction projects impacting facilities occupied by UW personnel or students. Any project with potential to impact the safety of UW building occupants or maintenance personnel should include Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) as part of the project team.
Design standards and guides
EH&S develops and maintains a number of design guides and standards to help ensure that health and safety requirements are met, which are described in the General EH&S Requirements on the UW Facilities Design Standard webpage.
Select design guides are available below. Design standards are available in the Environmental Health & Safety section of the UW Facilities Design Standard webpage.
The EH&S Environmental Protection Requirements, including hazardous materials, are located in the Environmental Health & Safety section of the UW Facilities Design Standard webpage.
- Building Modifications and Exit Access
- Fire Extinguishers and Cabinets Design Specifications Template
All projects involving fire detection systems and fire protection systems shall be referred to John Gunderson, EH&S senior fire protection engineer.
Additional fire safety design standards are available in the Environmental Health & Safety section of the UW Facilities Design Standard webpage.
The Laboratory Safety Design Guide is part of the UW Facilities Design Standard on the UW Facilities website.
EH&S lab safety design contact: Denise Bender
The design standard for safe access is available in the Environmental Health & Safety section of the UW Facilities Design Standard webpage.
Additional operational considerations are available in the Fall Protection Resources webpage and the UW Fall Protection Program Manual.
Design support personnel
The EH&S staff assigned to a project usually consists of one or more core reviewers and additional staff depending on the scope of the project. A complete list of review staff and their areas of expertise is available on the Facilities Project Support EH&S Staff Roles reference.
Services
EH&S provides plan review during the design phase, consultation and submittal review during design and construction, and testing of select systems near the end of construction. The level of EH&S participation depends on the scope of the project and the opportunities and needs of the project management team.
EH&S collaborates with UW Project Delivery Group and their consultants, UW Facilities, and others involved in capital development and minor alterations to provide the following services:
- Participate in program & pre-design stages
- Review design plans and specifications
- Review fire safety shop drawings
- Review consultant reports
- Test and certify fume hoods and biosafety cabinets
- Participate in commissioning of facility systems
Emergency response and reporting
UW personnel are required to submit an incident report to Environmental Health & Safety for any work-related event that results in an injury, illness, exposure to hazardous materials, or fire, regardless of the work location. UW personnel are highly encouraged to submit work-related near-miss events. Visit the Incident Reporting page for more information.
Frequently asked questions
A list of design criteria including design guides and specification sections is located in the design standards section above and on the UW Facilities Design Standard website
A complete list of review staff and their areas of expertise is listed in Facilities Project Support Staff reference.
Leased facilities are constructed or remodeled through a similar processes but the project is not managed by the UW.