With a nearly 10,000-foot perimeter to secure at its newly constructed solar farm in the Midwest, an independent power producer turned to SmarterFence and SmarterBeam solutions from SmarterSecurity Inc. Systems integrator MidCo Inc. took on the task of installing the solutions to help secure the owner’s investment and operations from intruders to allow the site to be routinely unmanned.

While most people like the idea of conserving energy and going green, moving from theory to practice in their daily lives requires more than just a philosophy. “Everybody likes being green if it’s not too much work,” explains Gene Jordan, president of Advanced Security Engineering, an Alarm.com dealer located in Pleasanton, Calif.

Throughout the channel and around the industry, security just keeps getting greener all the time.

Many integrators have already discovered that adding home energy management features to residential systems provides opportunities for additional sales and recurring monthly revenue (RMR).

For Thomas Marino, president of Advanced Technologies, Baton Rouge, La., “green” projects were nothing new. He had done projects that involved low-power, solar or other green elements. But when he ran into local attorney Joe Simmons at a trade show, the extremely environmentally conscious lawyer asked him to do the security and home automation for the custom home he was building. The home was new construction in a community of older homes and would feature as many green elements as possible, from the material in the countertops to the security and audio elements.

Legrand, North America has installed a 500kW, solid-oxide fuel cell system to provide cleaner and more efficient power to its headquarters in West Hartford, Conn. The Fuel Cell will sit adjacent to the company’s corporate offices and Wiremold manufacturing facility, and is expected to produce up to 88 percent of the electricity to every building on its 263,000-square-foot, 100-year-old campus.

The intelligent building automation technologies market is anticipated to reach more than $118.7 billion by 2026, according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. 

Cleveland – Health care workers frequently contaminate their skin and clothing when removing gloves or gowns, and researchers from the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center are recommending additional education and redesigned personal protective equipment.

Boston – Women who work rotating night shifts face a higher risk of heart disease, indicates a study of nurses from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Uppsala, Sweden – A study of current and former shift workers shows that shift work may contribute to cognitive difficulties that take years to recover from, according to researchers at Uppsala University and Malmö University.

Vallejo, CA — Citing multiple studies that suggest shift workers are at increased risk of developing sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome – raising their chances for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes – a recent analysis led by a researcher from the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine concludes with actions both employers and workers can take to help improve shift worker health.

Spokane, WA — Night shift schedules “throw off the timing of expression of cancer-related genes in a way that reduces the effectiveness of the body’s DNA repair processes when they are most needed,” results of a recent study led by researchers from Washington State University show.

Shanghai — Night shift workers may be at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation – an abnormal heart rhythm that can trigger serious health issues – as well as coronary heart disease, according to a recent study led by researchers at Jiao Tong University and Tulane University.

College Station, TX — Adverse health effects of shift work – including increased risk of stroke – may persist even after workers resume traditional, 24-hour circadian cycles, according to a recent study by researchers from Texas A&M University.

Wuhan, China — Shift work is linked to two kinds of mental health issues – and lifestyle factors can play a role, results of a recent study out of China suggest.

Genea offers a cloud-based access control and visitor management platform built on non-proprietary hardware that empowers users with the ability to monitor their buildings and provision credentials from anywhere.

Winston-Salem, NC – Housing for migrant farmworkers may not provide adequate relief from hot temperatures, reducing workers’ ability to rest and recover from work exposure to heat, according to a new study from the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Los Angeles – Pesticide exposure may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, and individual risk varies based on a person’s genetic makeup, according to a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 20 proposed new safety measures intended to protect farmworkers from the harmful effects of pesticide exposure.

Washington – After a recent visit with workers in tobacco fields and labor camps in North Carolina, members of an international delegation said they were shocked and saddened to see widespread worker abuse.

Santa Fe, NM – The New Mexico Occupational Health & Safety Bureau has teamed up with the Consulate of Mexico to provide the state’s Spanish-speaking employees with workplace safety training.

Washington – A new voluntary program from the Environmental Protection Agency aims to protect agricultural workers from pesticide drift.

Washington – A recent blog post by NIOSH sheds light on the thought process that goes into choosing the most effective art for safety materials.

Washington – A new resource from the Environmental Protection Agency aims to help regulators and the public learn more about pesticide exposure incidents among agricultural workers.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency and the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative have released a guide intended to help agricultural pesticide handlers, workers and managers comply with 2015 revisions to the federal Worker Protection Standard.

Washington – United Farm Workers and several community health groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend widespread use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide already acknowledged to pose poisoning risks to workers.

Olympia, WA — Pesticide spray tanks are considered confined spaces if they’re big enough to enter (through a manhole cover or access port) and occupy, and require a permit for full or partial entry, emphasizes a new hazard alert from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Houston — Filipino seafarers often delay or completely avoid medical care – despite their rights to it under maritime law – for fear of retaliation from employers, including potentially losing their jobs, results of a recent study show.

San Francisco — A recent study of stone fabricators in California who have been diagnosed with silicosis shows that virtually all of them were immigrant, Latino men.

Washington – The ruptured steel pipe at the center of the 2012 hydrocarbon release and fire at the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refinery in Richmond, CA, was corroded and should have been replaced, concludes a report released by the Chemical Safety Board and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Sacramento, CA – Reacting to a Chevron refinery fire last year that resulted in thousands of people seeking medical attention after breathing toxic emissions, a California lawmaker has introduced legislation to require abatement of unsafe conditions during any appeals process.

Washington – Large facilities that store and sell chemicals may no longer be exempt from OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard, the agency announced July 22 in a revised interpretation of its rules.

Washington – OSHA failed to follow federal rulemaking requirements when it used a memorandum to announce a revised definition of retail facilities exempt from the Process Safety Management Standard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.

Los Angeles – The Los Angeles garment manufacturing industry – the nation’s largest cut-and-sew apparel base – is “plagued by workplace violations and marked by a lack of worker protections,” according to a new report released by the Garment Worker Center, the UCLA Labor Center and UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health.

Retail workers experienced a combined injury and illness rate higher than the construction industry in 2016. Experts say top-down commitment is needed to prevent a work environment that values inventory over safety.

Washington — NIOSH has published its National Occupational Research Agenda for Wholesale and Retail Trade, as well as its NORA for Traumatic Injury Prevention – both intended to spotlight the research, information and actions most needed to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.

Washington — To help protect retail pharmacy workers from exposure to COVID-19, OSHA has issued a safety alert.

Sacramento, CA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 22 signed into law a bill intended to further protect the health and safety of warehouse workers.

Washington — OSHA has issued a proposed rule to update design and construction requirements in its powered industrial trucks standards for general industry and construction.

Philadelphia — A new Regional Emphasis Program from OSHA is aimed at reducing worker injuries and illnesses in warehousing, storage and distribution yard operations.

Morgantown, WV — Researchers at West Virginia University are working on a project that uses robots to help reduce slips and falls in retail workplaces.

Iselin, NJ — A recent survey of manufacturing and warehouse employees shows that 75% receive less than 30 minutes of safety training a week, while 20% receive no weekly training.

Ann Arbor, MI — Most paper receipts at large retailers contain chemicals with possible links to hormone disruption and other adverse health effects, results of a recent study show.

Boca Raton, FL — Retail workers “are being asked to do too much,” and many are “leaving or throwing up their hands,” says a researcher from Florida Atlantic University.

Washington — OSHA will launch a National Emphasis Program “this summer” that will focus on high injury rates in warehouses, agency administrator Doug Parker said June 13.

Northampton, England — Prompted by workers’ safety concerns about the quietness of electric forklifts, British researchers are working to develop an audible alert.

Washington — OSHA has begun a National Emphasis Program that targets hazards in warehouses, distribution centers and “high-risk” retail establishments.

This year’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards looked a bit different than usual. While the awards have historically been announced live at the Electronic Security Expo (ESX) annually held in the summer, due to COVID-19 the in-person awards were canceled, along with ESX.

The investment, together with AMP’s renewed senior debt facility, provides AMP with a growth capital structure in excess of $60 million.

These products and services were selected by an independent panel of judges based on a set of criteria that considered innovation, end user experience, response to market need and more.