Prevention through Design Practice
and Research: A U.S. Construction
Industry Perspective
John A. Gambatese
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
T. Michael Toole
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
Michael G. Behm
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
What is Prevention through Design
(PtD)?

The process of addressing construction site
safety and health in a project’s design.
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•

Construction site safety as a design criterion
Focus on the design of the permanent facility
“Safety constructability”
Designing for construction safety (DfCS)
PtD is not:
• Specifying means and methods of construction
• Control of, or responsibility for, safety on the
construction site
PtD in the U.S.

Interest in PtD is growing, but PtD is
currently not part of standard practice

Barriers:
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OSHA’s placement of safety responsibility
Designer education and training
Lack of design tools, guidelines, procedures
Designer’s limited role on the project team
Designer’s traditional viewpoint on
construction worker safety
• Lack of understanding of the associated
liability
• Absence of legislative mandate
National Initiatives

OSHA
• Construction Alliance
Roundtable DfCS Workgroup

NIOSH
• NORA Construction Sector
Council CHPtD Workgroup
• Prevention through Design
National Workshop (July 2007)
NIOSH Workshop

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Kick-off for national PtD initiative
Gathered together leaders in PtD in all
industries
• 225 participants
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Results to form strategy for national
initiative
Focus groups organized by:
• Industry (Construction, Manufacturing, etc.)
• Function (Research, Policy, Practice, Education)
Construction Sector Needs

PtD Practice:
• Availability of tools
and resources
• Address liability
exposure
• Increased awareness

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Case studies
Link to sustainability
Construction Sector Needs

PtD Policy:
• Define what PtD means to construction
• Modify standard contracts
• Regulatory changes not desired
Construction Sector Needs

PtD Education:
• Continuing education

Offered through
professional organizations
• University education


Need to engage faculty
Industry Advisory Board
input
• Development of teaching
and educational
resources
Research Needs

Economic/business case for PtD
• Determine economic impact of PtD
• Determine impact on other project
criteria:

Productivity, quality, etc.
• Assessments should consider human,
environmental, and social costs and
benefits
• Development of cost-benefit model
Research Needs

Design-related causality of
occupational injuries and illnesses
• How to assess design-related causality
• Connection between specific design
features and worker safety and health
• Needed to conduct the research:

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Better surveillance data
Consider both injury frequency and severity
Accidents Linked to Design1,2

22% of 226 injuries that occurred from
2000-2002 in Oregon, WA, and CA

42% of 224 fatalities in the U.S. between
1990-2003

In Europe, a 1991 study concluded that 60%
of fatal accidents resulted in part from
decisions made before sitework began.
1
Behm, “Linking Construction Fatalities to the Design for Construction Safety Concept”, 2005
2
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Research Needs

Development of PtD
devices, tools, and
processes
• Investigate and
develop new designs
• Include input from:

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Workers
Manufacturers
Research Needs

Worker, machine, structure, and
environment interaction
• How to design to account for human
interaction with machines and their
work environment
• Address workplace dynamics and
organizational culture
• Can be conducted through ethnographic
studies
• Investigate maintenance through
lifecycle
Research Needs

Diffusion, sustainability, and
communication of design innovations
• What avenues are available for diffusion
• How to measure effectiveness
• Determine what drives design
community
• Incorporate global perspective
Research Needs

Methodologies for PtD research
• How to account for confounding factors
• Develop metrics and measures of
performance
• Identify performance benchmarks
Research Needs

Leveraging methods and
technologies from other industry
sectors
• Identify PtD practices in each industry
sector
• Evaluate transferability
• Create clearinghouse of PtD information
Roadmap for PtD

Input from all affected parties
• Design, construction, clients,
professional organizations, legal
counsel, regulatory agencies, etc.
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Look outside construction and U.S.
Communication of need for PtD
Resources to support PtD
Training and education
Change in mindset/culture
Prevention through Design Practice and
Research: A U.S. Construction Industry
Perspective
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Questions?
Comments?
For more information:
• john.gambatese@oregonstate.edu
• ttoole@bucknell.edu
• behmm@ecu.edu