Safe design
Safe Design is a process of hazard identification and risk assessment to eliminate or minimize risk of injury through out the life of the product.
This is a second report (2005) from the research done in the Flinders University study on the contribution that safe design had to work-related fatal and non-fatal serious injuries duri 1997-2002.
This report provided more depth and breadth to the first report and also provided the Office of the ASCC with some proposals to enable better measurement and better understanding of design-related workplace injury with a view to monitoring and prevention.
This report by Flinders University (Dr Tim Driscoll, Associate Professor James Harrison, Mr Wayne Harvey; with contributions by Clare Bradley and Rachel Newson) presents the results of an analysis of fatal and serious non-fatal work-related incidents looking at the contribution that 'Safe Design' had to the incident occuring. The study found that almost 40% of the fatality cases and 30% of the non-fatal incidents appeared to have design issues contribute to the incident.
This report builds on previous reports commissioned by NOHSC as part of its Safe Design Project, including Gunningham et al. (2000) and provides a sound basis for exploring possible future directions for regulation and enforcement, to lead and encourage safe design in Australia. The report is structured to address regulation relevant to four types of designed-products: (1) plant; (2) buildings, structures and other construction projects; (3) business systems; and (4) workplace substances. It considers existing Australian OHS law and its enforcement relevant to design, outlines the current arrangements and discusses some of the gaps and weaknesses. A comparison is made to relevant international law and provides some examples of alternative approaches that can help inform the process of developing an Australian regulation framework. The report concludes by drawing together some broad guiding principles and elements for consideration in developing a regulatory regime for safe design.
This report by Gunningham, Johnstone and Burritt (2000) provides an overview of trends and initiatives, the variance across jurisdictions in duty holders obligations and standards, terminology; and recommendations to improve clarity in legislation for obligations bearers.
This report by Cowley, Culvenor, and Knowles (2000) reviews previous literature and actions by key players in the early days of developing the focus on the primary strategy for controlling OHS risk - eliminate the hazard at the design stage. This report by David Caple and Associates (2000) provides an assessment of research conducted for the Safe Design project and identifies key themes and suggested strategies to take forward. The recommendations of the report were the foundation for the Safe Design Action Plan. This report by McGregor Tan Research (2000) reported on awareness, understanding and knowledge levels of the target groups (design professional and related fields) with respect to OHS safe design obligations. Two key areas of activity were the focus of the research: safe design of plant and machinery; and design of buildings and structures to be safely constructed, maintained and used as workplaces. The report provides qualitative benchmarks against which the impact of the Safe Design Action Plan could be evaluated. This report provides an overview of the key results from a study on work-related traumatic fatalities that occurred in Australia in the four-year period 1989 to 1992 (WRFS 2). The data were obtained primarily from coronial files. The information is also compared with a similar study of work-related traumatic fatalities which covered the three-year period 1982 to 1984 (WRFS 1).
Links to other resources on Safe Design
Support the National Vision: Australian Workplaces free from death, injury and disease
AS/NZ 4360:1999 Risk Management - A standard detailing the generic risk management approach for an organisation.
Construction Hazard Assessment Implication Review (CHAIR) is a tool to assist designers, constructors, clients and other key stakeholders to come together to reduce construction, maintenance, repair and demolition safety risks associated with design.
How can you help?
If you have any comments or suggestions to make about the safe design, please contact the project manager.
Page last updated: 08/09/2009