Section 28
Duties of Designers of Buildings and Structures
Pieter Rienks, Director
Hazard Management Division, WorkSafe Victoria
Duty Effective 1 July 2007
The story so far…
Associations and WorkSafe developed guidance.
List of guidance in ‘notes’ section of this slide.
Spoke to near 1000 designers 05/06 (10%
Victorian design population)
New WorkSafe Best Design Award introduced
2007
Now interviewing design companies to assess
progress- our focus is on small to medium design
companies
Section 28 of OHS Act
Performance not prescriptive duty:
A person who designs a building or structure or part of a building or structure who
knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the building or structure or the part of the
building or structure is to be used as a workplace must ensure, so far as is
reasonably practicable, that it is designed to be safe and without risks to the health of
persons using it as a workplace for a purpose for which it was designed.
Commentary:
1.
This is about the operation of the building or structure as a workplace- how do people
and the building/structure interact?
2.
The duty involves the final workplace, not the construction phase
3.
Reasonably practicable is defined in s20; this are the 5 factors in the risk test:likelihood, degree harm, what you ought to know, the availability controls & cost
4.
Some examples: heights, occupational violence, manual handling of patients.
Process (see guide p 12)
The process recognises the use of Standards (BCA etc) :
Abbreviated Risk Mgt
Adopt the standardcheck standard scope
Standard coverage
Obtain the basic
information from client or
research
Determine Standard (eg
BCA) coverage. If
•Poor safety performance
•No standard, or
•Conflicting standards,
then
Convention centre
Full Risk Manage
Technique depends
on type of risks
Iterative process
Occupation violence
Communicate to Other
designers
Slips trips and falls
Check risk std met
Bar Kitchen Deliverymanual handling
Interviews with designers
Results from checking on progress:
1. 50% of design companies do collect basis information from client or
research.
2. Many designers are using a first principles approach rather than risk
management eg minimising potential for falls for aged care.
3. Principal designers are tending not to let other designers have a view
of the operational and OHS issues of the final workplace.
4. Designers may have a narrow view of OHS- often excludes people on
people issues (occupational violence, manual handling)
‘Getting started’
12 Questions for small to medium designers to ask clients or research
1.
injuries and illnesses in the industry for which the building or structure is designed?
2.
major OHS issues (industry change, hazards etc)
3.
demographics of the workers & people who will occupy the workplace? (eg aged?)
4.
options for siting on the land and impact on OHS?
5.
multiple-fatality potential hazards (high energy sources, major health hazards)
6.
major workflows (systems of work) that interact with building- identify numbers eg vehicle movements,
tonnes, customer interactions etc?
7.
Specialised environment eg laboratory?
8.
What significant incidents must be mitigated by the building/structure
9.
Potential for exposure to regulated hazards including cleaning and maintenance: manual handling,
noise, falls, confined spaces, plant, hazardous substances and dangerous goods?
10. What interactions between people in the building/structure could lead to hazardous situations- eg
occupation violence, manual handling?
11. How can the building or structure have the potential for slips, trips and falls minimised?
12. Advanced Question: What does the company’s analysis of workers compensation claims, incident
and hazard reports indicate are the main design issues for the buildings/ structures?