Role of Designers in Construction Worker Safety

Abstract

In the development of a project, a significant role is played initially by the designer of the project and then by the constructor of the project. Construction worker safety has often been regarded the sole responsibility of the construction contractor. Despite the obvious reasons for placing the primary responsibility on the contractor, the safety performance on a project may well be dictated to a large extent by decisions made by the designer. To investigate this issue of whether designers were sensitive to the safety of construction workers, a survey of major U.S. design firms was conducted assessing the extent to which design decisions are made with specific consideration being given to the safety of construction workers. Of the respondents, only one‐third stated that they made design decisions with the specific intent of improving safety conditions for construction workers. Specific illustrations of such design decisions are given in the paper. The fear of increased litigation is the biggest deterrent to addressing construction worker safety in design decisions. A rationale is developed in the paper for supporting the thesis that designers should consider worker safety in their designs. Suggestions are offered on how construction worker safety might be addressed by more designers.