Prevention through Design Practice and Research: A U.S. Construction Industry Perspective

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Prevention through Design Practice and Research
A U.S. Construction Industry Perspective
John A. Gambatese Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR, USA T. Michael Toole Bucknell
University, Lewisburg, PA, USA Michael G.
Behm East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
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What is Prevention through Design (PtD)?

• The process of addressing construction site
  safety and health in a projects design.
• Construction site safety as a design criterion
• Focus on the design of the permanent facility
• Safety constructability
• Designing for construction safety (DfCS)
• PtD is not
• Specifying means and methods of construction
• Control of, or responsibility for, safety on the
  construction site

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PtD in the U.S.

• Interest in PtD is growing, but PtD is currently
  not part of standard practice
• Barriers
• OSHAs placement of safety responsibility
• Designer education and training
• Lack of design tools, guidelines, procedures
• Designers limited role on the project team
• Designers traditional viewpoint on construction
  worker safety
• Lack of understanding of the associated liability
• Absence of legislative mandate

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National Initiatives

• OSHA
• Construction Alliance Roundtable DfCS Workgroup
• NIOSH
• NORA Construction Sector Council CHPtD Workgroup
• Prevention through Design National Workshop (July
  2007)

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NIOSH Workshop

• Kick-off for national PtD initiative
• Gathered together leaders in PtD in all
  industries
• 225 participants
• Results to form strategy for national initiative
• Focus groups organized by
• Industry (Construction, Manufacturing, etc.)
• Function (Research, Policy, Practice, Education)

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Construction Sector Needs

• PtD Practice
• Availability of tools and resources
• Address liability exposure
• Increased awareness
• Case studies
• Link to sustainability

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Construction Sector Needs

• PtD Policy
• Define what PtD means to construction
• Modify standard contracts
• Regulatory changes not desired

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Construction Sector Needs

• PtD Education
• Continuing education
• Offered through professional organizations
• University education
• Need to engage faculty
• Industry Advisory Board input
• Development of teaching and educational resources

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Research Needs

• Economic/business case for PtD
• Determine economic impact of PtD
• Determine impact on other project criteria
• Productivity, quality, etc.
• Assessments should consider human, environmental,
  and social costs and benefits
• Development of cost-benefit model

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Research Needs

• Design-related causality of occupational injuries
  and illnesses
• How to assess design-related causality
• Connection between specific design features and
  worker safety and health
• Needed to conduct the research
• Better surveillance data
• Consider both injury frequency and severity

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Accidents Linked to Design1,2

• 22 of 226 injuries that occurred from 2000-2002
  in Oregon, WA, and CA
• 42 of 224 fatalities in the U.S. between
  1990-2003
• In Europe, a 1991 study concluded that 60 of
  fatal accidents resulted in part from decisions
  made before sitework began.
• 1 Behm, Linking Construction Fatalities to the
  Design for Construction Safety Concept, 2005
• 2 European Foundation for the Improvement of
  Living and Working Conditions

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Research Needs

• Development of PtD devices, tools, and processes
• Investigate and develop new designs
• Include input from
• Workers
• Manufacturers

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Research Needs

• Worker, machine, structure, and environment
  interaction
• How to design to account for human interaction
  with machines and their work environment
• Address workplace dynamics and organizational
  culture
• Can be conducted through ethnographic studies
• Investigate maintenance through lifecycle

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Research Needs

• Diffusion, sustainability, and communication of
  design innovations
• What avenues are available for diffusion
• How to measure effectiveness
• Determine what drives design community
• Incorporate global perspective

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Research Needs

• Methodologies for PtD research
• How to account for confounding factors
• Develop metrics and measures of performance
• Identify performance benchmarks

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Research Needs

• Leveraging methods and technologies from other
  industry sectors
• Identify PtD practices in each industry sector
• Evaluate transferability
• Create clearinghouse of PtD information

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Roadmap for PtD

• Input from all affected parties
• Design, construction, clients, professional
  organizations, legal counsel, regulatory
  agencies, etc.
• Look outside construction and U.S.
• Communication of need for PtD
• Resources to support PtD
• Training and education
• Change in mindset/culture

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Prevention through Design Practice and Research
A U.S. Construction Industry Perspective

• Questions? Comments?
• For more information
• john.gambatese_at_oregonstate.edu
• ttoole_at_bucknell.edu
• behmm_at_ecu.edu