Below is an extract from a Construction Productivity Network (CPN) workshop held on 3 December 2002 in Sheffield on designers’ responsibilities for health and safety. The workshop heard presentations from Tim Johnson of the Health and Safety Executive, John Carpenter representing the Standing Committee on Structural Safety, and Andrew Stevens of Atkins. The chairman was David Watson of Professional Construction Skills, who provided support for this event.
Efforts to improve health and safety on site have and always will be of primary importance in an industry that continues to kill and maim its people every week. There is great emphasis on safety input, recording accidents and benchmarking performance across the industry, with awards for accident-free projects. There is, however, increasing focus on the role of the designer in designing out or mitigating risks both in the construction phase and during the operational life of the facility. Where safety risks are designed out and health issues of both constructors and end users are properly taken into account by designers, radical improvements can be realised in helping to reduce the emotional and physical cost of suffering as well as the inevitable financial cost.
The designer's responsibility for safe design procedures and considerations applies to all design, construction and maintenance works, and should not be seen as restricted only to design work specifically covered by the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994.1
1. SPEAKERS
The workshop heard how, following the recent publication of its new work plan,2 the Health & Safety Executive has announced that it intends to get more involved at the planning and design stages of major projects. It believes that it will not only be able to provide guidance, but will also have greater awareness of the more risky operations and enable its inspectors to plan site visits more effectively. Tim Johnson stated that problems often arise from the fact that designers, on the whole, are not aware of what happens during the construction phase of a project. In order to improve the health and safety record, far greater integration between the design and construction teams is required. Furthermore, if contractors were able to comment on designs more readily, they could lend their experience and avoid potential problems.
John Carpenter reported on the business benefits that can be attained by employing a successful health and safety (H&S) policy, which starts in the design office. To understand the business case for health and safety, we have to leave behind previous prejudices and experiences. We have to make the cultural shift and view H&S requirements as a business tool rather than a legislative burden. The business case can be illustrated by looking at the cost of accidents, which is estimated at £18 billion a year, and represents a large drain on the economy. Health and safety risk management is concerned with the safe construction, use, maintenance and decommissioning of a facility. It is concerned with the whole life cycle. Of course, this requires financial investment, but by working more efficiently, and by paying more attention to the H&S issues, money will be saved overall.
Andrew Stevens reported on how H&S has impacted on the work that Atkins have been doing with the British Airports Authority (BAA). BAA projects utilise the Manual of Design for Health and Safety in Construction3. This allows BAA to ensure that there is a common approach to design risk assessment throughout its projects. This manual was written in order to limit the number of accidents occurring on BAA sites. BAA also found that, on some occasions, designers were not taking into account the specific problems that can be faced on airport sites, with design faults such as a lack of maintenance access causing problems in the future. Alongside the manual each BAA job requires the production of a project health and safety design risk register, which itemises the unique risks attributable to that project. By insisting on this comprehensive approach to assessing risks, and by employing a process-driven methodology, BAA has improved its construction safety record to 0·28 accidents per 100 000 man-hours.
The three presentations were followed by a lively discussion session in which some of the key points were further addressed. One of the key messages to come out of the day was that it is the designer's responsibility to design in such a way that the contractor can take all the necessary steps to build safely. It is the contractor's responsibility to take all these steps and to work in a safe way.
2. KEY POINTS
Get early involvement from contractors so that they can have an input to the design and give assistance on practical issues.
Risk should not be considered as the responsibility of any individual party; rather, it is everyone's responsibility to reduce risk.
Designers should be more aware of what actually happens during the construction phase of a project.
A good health and safety record can improve business performance.
It is important to have a culture of safe working throughout the project.
Designers must ensure that the design of the asset enables maintenance to be performed through a safe system of work. As this is by far the costliest phase of a building, it will also drive down the life-cycle cost.
