The Need for Academia to Address Construction Site Safety through Design

摘要

Although it might seem natural for construction site safety to be addressed in the design phase, this has not evolved as a traditional task for designers. The need for change in this arena is quite apparent, as owners become more insistent on safety on their projects. From a purely ethical perspective, it is an obvious obligation for designers to address construction safety in their designs. From the professional codes of ethics, this is most clear for members of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and less so for members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Despite this difference in the codes of ethics, the moral obligation is equally compelling for each group. The dilemma for designers is that they have not generally been trained to address construction safety in their designs. Designers generally learn about these techniques once they enter practice. This often occurs in an environment in which the legal advisors are very insistent that the designers not address construction safety in their designs, lest they increase their liability. While there are detractors from addressing safety in design, change is taking place and it is taking place at an accelerated rate. It therefore becomes incumbent on designers to know how to meet this task. Perhaps the best solution is for designers to enter the professional world well equipped with the needed knowledge so that designs will be safer for the construction workforce. This must be addressed aggressively in the various universities with full support of the accreditation bodies. Addressing safety in design is the right thing to do and with the necessary training this task can be performed effectively. Zero injuries should be the goal of every party in the construction process, including the designers.