Safety in Design: The Basic Principle

Reflecting on how the recent pandemic has affected our lives over the last two years there are very few organisations who have not had to adapt or take precautionary measures in the workplace.

- ALAA ABDELMOHSEN SAYED

We, like many others, adopted a flexible work policy with much of the office electing to work from home when they could. However there are many within our team, such as those that are site-based, who have not had this option and have continued to work on site throughout to support the ongoing construction process ensuring material approvals, site inspections, engineering input and advice continued despite the challenges. While COVID-19 precautionary measures were put in place very early on and remain so for the foreseeable future, this piece, while not focusing on the environmental impact of certain safety in design aspect, focuses instead on how key considerations at the right stage in a design can identify possible hazards on construction sites enabling mitigating measures to be implemented which lead to a safer working environment on our construction sites.

The concept of safety in design has, at its essence, the process of considering construction site health and safety throughout the design of a project. It requires designers to ensure the safe construction and operation of a project are at the forefront of their minds as they apply pen to paper. A key aspect is prevention through design which addresses the occupational health and safety needs to prevent or minimise work-related hazards and the risks associated with the construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities, material, and equipment.