Safety by Design Mike Toole , PhD, PE Civil & Environmental Engineering Bucknell University

1. Safety by DesignMike Toole, PhD, PECivil & Environmental EngineeringBucknell University

2. Overview • The Concept • Examples • International and US Initiatives • Barriers • Tools • SbD in Practice • Implementing SbD • Candid discussion

3. Typical Annual Construction Accidents in U.S. • Nearly 200,000 serious injuries • 1,000 deaths

4. What is Safety by Design?Aka Designing for Construction Safety • The process of considering construction site safety and health in the design of a project • Designing for safety constructability

5. Prevention through Design • “Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design process to prevent or minimize the work-related hazards and risks associated with the construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities, materials, and equipment.” (NIOSH)

6. What Safety by Design is NOT • Having designers take a role in construction safety DURING construction. • An endorsement of future legislation mandating that designers design for construction safety. • An endorsement of the principle that designers can or should be held partially responsible for construction accidents.

7. Accidents Linked to Design1,2 • 22% of 226 injuries that occurred from 2000-2002 in Oregon, WA, and CA • 42% of 224 fatalities in U.S. between 1990-2003 • In Europe, a 1991 study concluded that 60% of fatal accidents resulted in part from decisions made before site work began 1 Behm, M., “Linking Construction Fatalities to the Design for Construction Safety Concept” (2005) 2 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

8. Ethical Reasons for SbD • National Society of Professional Engineers Code of Ethics: • Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. • American Society of Civil Engineers’ Code of Ethics • Engineers shall recognize that the lives, safety, health and welfare of the general public are dependent upon engineering decisions ….

9. Considering Safety During Design Offers the Most Payoff High ConceptualDesign Detailed Engineering Ability to Influence Safety Procurement Construction Start-up Low Project Schedule 1 Szymberski (1987)

10. SbD and Sustainability Environmental Equity Sustainability Economic Equity Social Equity

11. Sustainability’s Social Equity Pillar • Do not our duties include minimizing all risks that we have control over? • Do not we have the same duties for construction workers as for the “public”? • Is it ethical to create designs that are not as safe as they could (practically) be?

12. Benefits of Safety by Design • Reduced site hazards  fewer injuries and fatalities • Reduced workers compensation premiums • Increased productivity • Fewer delays due to accidents during construction allow continued focus on quality • Encourages designer-constructor collaboration

13. Examples: Anchorage Points

14. Examples: Prefabrication Bridge Trusses www.ultimateengineering.com Roof Trusses PEB test.jedinstvo.com www.niconengineering.com

15. Establish design for safety expectations • Include construction and operation perspective • Identify design for safety process and tools Design Kickoff Internal Review External Review Issue for Construction Design Trade contractor involvement • QA/QC • Cross-discipline review • Focused safety review • Owner review DfCS Process1 1 Gambatese

16. SbD Practices Around the Globe • Designers first required to design for construction safety in the United Kingdom in 1995 (revised 2007) • Other European nations have similar requirements • Australia also leading in SbD http://www.ascc.gov.au/ascc/HealthSafety/SafeDesign/Understanding

17. National Initiatives • OSHA Construction Alliance Roundtable DfCS Workgroup (began 2005) • NIOSH NORA Construction Sector Council CHPtD Workgroup and Prevention Through Design National Workshop (July 2007) • ASCE-CI Prevention through Design Committee

18. Barriers • Like many good ideas, SbD faces a number of barriers that will likely slow its adoption. • Potential solutions to these barriers involve long-term education and institutional changes.

19. Barrier: Designers' Fear of Liability • Barrier: Fear of undeserved liability for worker safety. • Potential solutions: • Clearly communicate we are NOT suggesting designers should be held responsible for construction accidents. • Develop revised model contract language. • Propose legislation to facilitate DfCS without inappropriately shifting liability onto designers.

20. Barrier: Increased Designer Costs • Barrier: SbD processes will increase both direct and overhead costs for designers. • Potential solution: • Educate owners that total project costs and total project life cycle costs will decrease.

21. Barrier: Designers' Lack of Safety Expertise • Barrier: Few design professionals possess sufficient expertise in construction safety. • Potential solutions: • Add safety to design professionals’ curricula. • Develop and promote 10-hour and 30-hour OSHA courses for design professionals. • Disseminate SbD tools.

22. Design for Construction Safety Toolbox • Created by Construction Industry Institute (CII) • Interactive computer program • Used in the design phase to decrease the risk of incidents • Over 400 design suggestions

23. Safety by Design Checklists

24. Websites

25. Links on www.designforconstructionsafety.org

27. Constructability Tips for Steel Design • Detailing Guide for the Enhancement of Erection Safety published by the National Institute for Steel Detailing and the Steel Erectors Association of America

28. The Erector Friendly Column Include holes in columns at 21” and 42” for guardrail cables and at higher locations for fall protection tie-offs Locate column splices and connections at reasonable heights above floor Provide seats for beam connections

29. Avoid hanging connections • Design connections to bear on columns

30. Eliminate sharp corners

31. Provide enough space for making connections

32. Know approximate dimensions of necessary tools to make connections

33. Design Builders who Practice SbD • URS/Washington Group • Jacobs • Parsons • Fluor • Bechtel Photo credit: Washington Group

35. Bechtel’s Steel Design Process • Temporary access platforms • Lifting lugs • Shop installed vertical brace ladders • Bolt-on column ladders & work platforms

36. Temporary ladder, platform and safety line

37. Modular Platforms

38. Brace Lifting Clips and Rungs

39. Owners who are moving towards SbD • Southern Company • Intel • Harvard University • U.S Army Corps of Engineers

41. Three Steps towards SbD • Establish an enabling culture • Establish enabling processes • Secure clients who value lifecycle safety Culture Processes Clients

42. Establish a Lifecycle Safety Culture • Instill the right safety values • Secure management commitment • Ensure all employees are motivated • Professional Codes of Ethics • Payoff data

43. Establish Enabling Processes • Provide designers with safety training • Ensure designer-constructor interaction • Provide designers with DfCS tools

44. Secure Clients who Value Lifecycle Safety • Design-Builders less dependent on clients’ safety values • International clients favorable • Industrial clients favorable • Negotiated projects in other sectors offer opportunity to educate clients

45. Summary • Safety by Design is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do • Significant barriers are slowly eroding • Steel design has a fantastic design tool • Large design-builders and owners are implementing SbD • Three first steps to implementing SbD

46. Questions for You • Do engineers and detailers have a ethical responsibility to consider erector safety if they are able?  • Are the potential benefits of performing safety by design outweighed by the liability risks?  • Should AISC have a policy regarding safety by design (either for or against)?  • Do most engineers and detailers possess the knowledge needed to perform safety by design? • Should project owners demand safety by design on their projects?

47. Thanks for Listening • Questions? Comments? Let’s talk! • For more information: • mike.toole@bucknell.edu • www.designforconstructionsafety.org

48. Five SbD Trajectories1 • Increased prefabrication • Increased use of less hazardous materials and systems • Increased application of construction engineering • Increased spatial investigation and consideration • Increased collaboration and integration 1Toole and Gambatese, Journal of Safety Research, 2008

49. Implications of the 5 Trajectories • Designers need knowledge of construction safety and construction processes • More safety in architectural and engineering curricula • Engineering licensure requirements • Designers need to become better gatherers and communicators of project safety information • For example: existing site utilities, availability of prefabricated components, likely methods to be used, working clearances.

50. Implications for Education of Design Engineers • Shift in mindset • Holistic view • Exposure to SbD fundamentals • Training in system-specific SbD opportunities • Engineering course-specific SbD modules