Abstract
Research has shown that up to half of construction accidents in the UK had a connection to the design. The UK’s Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (2015) place duties on designers of construction projects to Design for Occupational Safety and Health (DfOSH).However, the majority of designers fail to recognise the impact on health and safety that they can make. Previous work shows that visual methods have been used to develop shared mental models of construction OSH hazards. There could also be links to alternative construction processes that may be utilised by the designer to reduce the inherent hazards in the design,thereby enhancing their knowledge of construction and maintenance processes.
The study aimed to improve how designers involved in construction projects learn about how their design influences the management of occupational safety and health once the design is implemented. The method involved the development of a multimedia digital tool for educating designers on typical design-related hazards. This tool was used in an intervention study with novice (n:20) and experienced (n:20) designers, split evenly between experimental and control groups. These groups were assessed via a novel hazard test using fictitious CAD drawings.
The results showed all experimental groups outperformed control groups, with the novice groups demonstrating the greatest increase in both hazards spotted and quality of alternative options recommended. Current research in this area promotes automated design choices for designers via building information modelling (BIM). However, the research presented here advocates keeping the ‘human’ in control, supplementing designers’ knowledge with tacit knowledge gained from interaction from the developed digital tool, so that they can make informed decisions.
This study has not only contributed to research-led knowledge in the OSH discipline, but it has also delivered practical tools to help improve industry practice. DfOSH is a moral and legal obligation for designers and the research reported here can help novice designers in particular to improve their effectiveness in this regard.
The study aimed to improve how designers involved in construction projects learn about how their design influences the management of occupational safety and health once the design is implemented. The method involved the development of a multimedia digital tool for educating designers on typical design-related hazards. This tool was used in an intervention study with novice (n:20) and experienced (n:20) designers, split evenly between experimental and control groups. These groups were assessed via a novel hazard test using fictitious CAD drawings.
The results showed all experimental groups outperformed control groups, with the novice groups demonstrating the greatest increase in both hazards spotted and quality of alternative options recommended. Current research in this area promotes automated design choices for designers via building information modelling (BIM). However, the research presented here advocates keeping the ‘human’ in control, supplementing designers’ knowledge with tacit knowledge gained from interaction from the developed digital tool, so that they can make informed decisions.
This study has not only contributed to research-led knowledge in the OSH discipline, but it has also delivered practical tools to help improve industry practice. DfOSH is a moral and legal obligation for designers and the research reported here can help novice designers in particular to improve their effectiveness in this regard.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Wigston |
| Publisher | Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) |
| Commissioning body | IOSH |
| Number of pages | 119 |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
