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Inherently Safer Design Principles for Construction

The objective of this research study is to develop and/or expand engineering principles of inherently safer design for construction. To accomplish this task we shall draw from four pioneering approaches to safer design.  These approaches that formed the cornerstone of modern system safety engineering principles are the following:

§         Eliminate the hazard if possible, or;

§         Provide guarding to prevent contact with the hazard, and;

§         Provide safety factors to minimize the hazard, and;

§         Provide redundancy to confine the hazard.

HIFI’s study on Inherently Safe Design attempts to introduce such a methodology that reaches beyond these focus groups to make the principles and applications of system safety accessible on all levels of industry. Safe Design processes are of no practical use if they are not accepted and applied to industry. It is designed to provide architects, their design engineers, and construction management engineers an easy methodology to identify hazards that are likely to arise in the erection process and provide reasonable design features to preclude potential peril to be applied during the design phase of any construction undertaking.

 The study provides practical information to construction equipment design engineers to assist them in identifying hazards inherent to construction by distilling information gleaned by fifty years of the development of system safety concepts into five basic principles. It attempts to introduce  a methodology that reaches beyond  focus groups to make the principles and applications of system safety accessible on all levels of industry. Safe Design processes are of no practical use if they are not accepted and applied to industry. This section provides the engineer with a system for identifying hazards with an insight into the nature of hazards and guidance that categorizes the hazards into manageable groups. Specific identification of the different types of hazards in the design stage streamlines the hazard elimination process by providing guidelines to determine general control measures. Our research provides engineers and safety professionals with easy principles of system safety adaptable to construction that ensure for the elimination and control of hazards. Then we provide a method to quantify the ability of the engineering of design improvements to prevent injury, death, and damage in terms of reliability.

            In a world of exponential increases in technology, engineers have new and exciting options available to them.  Part II examines examples of thirty-four common construction hazards that have been or can be eliminated by design. By eliminating or controlling the hazard, each inherently dangerous machine, process, and facility has been or can be transformed into an inherently safe one. Each example uses information provided by standards, current practices, technological innovations, and discovery information uncovered by litigation to examine why the hazard exists and how it can be overcome.

            Part III extends the examples discussed in Part II into a case study. This segment works in context with specific variables to create a picture of the construction safety planning process from start to finish. Starting literally at the drawing board, this segment outlines the role of the architect in designing out hazards and addresses the duties of the construction manager to ensure for additional hazard prevention via safe work equipment and processes.

            Though the study focuses on construction, these principles can be applied for preventive hazard control by virtually any profession because they include a method to correctly and easily identify hazards in the design phase or any project by placing them into categories. Once a hazard has been categorized, it can be controlled by applying the hierarchy of system safety: elimination of the hazard, guarding against the hazard, application of safety factors, and the use of redundant safeguards to ensure for a safe work site. These practical principles can be applied to control construction hazards found on the building site, in structural components, and from materials, processes, and procedures employed during construction. This study is a guide for developing the skills of engineers to control many kinds of hazards at the time of design or before the workers arrive at the work site to achieve optimal safety throughout the construction process and the life of the facility.

Get your own copy and start saving lives today! Copies are available from HIFI.