Essay Implementing Safe Design in Construction - 2908 Words

Introduction In the United States, construction has always been one of the most dangerous industries to work in. The number of fatalities that occur in this industry year after year demonstrate this. In 2014, 19.6% of worker fatalities, in private industry, were in construction (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015) despite the industry comprising only 6.8% of the total work force. This epidemic is not unique to the United States. Essentially every country faces similar problems regarding construction safety. For example, in 2004 the Australian construction industry employed approximately 8% of the countries workforce. However, workers compensation statistics indicated that the industry’s incidence rate was 28.6 per 1000 employees,†¦show more content†¦Safe design is the process of identifying, assessing, and eliminating hazards or potential risks that may occur in the workplace during construction or the life cycle of a designed product (Breslin, 2007). Designers have not trad itionally addressed safety in their design and are often unaware of how their design impacts safety, yet research has shown that in construction project management, many safety risks may be eliminated or mitigated and opportunities seized at the design stage if proper analysis and assessment is carried out (Zou et al, 2008). Countries around the world have realized this to be true and numerous countries have passed regulation placing some of the safety burden on designers. This paper reviews the literature on the design and implementation of safe design techniques and programs in the construction industry. Why safe design? Many times, risks faced by contractors exist at no fault of their own. That is, in some cases the contractor is bound by a design that places specific hazards on the construction site. Designers who are cognizant of and responsive to their effort on construction safety would aid in making jobsites safer for construction workers (Gambatese et al, 1997). Situations such as these led the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to create a safe design concept, prevention through design. PreventionShow MoreRelatedConstruction Safety Is An Area Of Much Alarm949 Words   |  4 PagesConstruction safety is an area of much alarm, being a big contributor to annual fatalities and injuries. In 2013, the number of workers who were killed on the job totaled 4,405. The number of fatalities in private industry was 3,929 and out of those 796 were in construction (OSHA). From the year 2002 to 2012 construction contributed to 19.5 percent of deaths in the work place (Smith). Through the establishment of OSHA in 1970, fatalities have been significantly reduced. 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