Safer Construction – Design Stage

Recent Australia wide OH&S legislation has introduced new safe design duties and legal obligations which each person who has control of the design of infrastructure projects, buildings, plant or of a system must comply with.

This requires designers and those responsible for designs must carry out detailed hazard identification, risk assessments and risk controls for the impact of designs on construction safety risk.

To meet this need at the Design Phase, EEA developed the Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction - Design Stage. This one day course shows what designers need to do at the design stage to meet their legal obligations.

Recognised for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by Engineers Australia (EA) in accordance with EA CPD Guidelines.

Target Audience

For designers, engineers, project managers, construction managers, OHS managers, OHS personnel, safety managers, involved in the planning and design and construction of civil engineering infrastructure and building works. This course is particularly valuable for design managers but will also be important to less experienced design professionals in introducing the concepts of designing for safety as set out in the Engineers Australia Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction.

Course Outline

Australian State and National OH&S legislation has introduced new safe design duties and legal obligations which each person who has control of the design of infrastructure projects, buildings, plant or of a system must comply with.

This means that designers and those responsible for designs must carry out detailed hazard identification, risk assessments and risk controls for the impact of designs on construction safety risk.

Designers are now legally obligated, and can be held accountable, for injuries arising from negligent design decisions affecting construction phase safety. Designers need to consider, by legislation, design elements to reduce safety risks at the construction stage.

To meet this need at the design phase of a project, Engineers Australia developed the Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction – Design Stage. It is a much needed guide to explain these new legal duties that apply to designers, and what they need to do.

The Guide provides practical advice on ways to meet these obligations, and to maximise the safety of construction projects, plant and systems at the design stage.

Key topics include:

• OHS in construction (Serious and fatal incidents, risks to health and safety in construction).
• Designing for safer and healthier construction decisions made during the design stage of a project can have a significant impact upon OHS during the construction and subsequent stages of a building’s life cycle.
• Designers duties: The National OHS Strategy 2002-2012, National Standard for Construction Work, State/Territory OHS legislation,, National Model OHS laws in Australia.
• The Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction: A ‘whole of industry approach’  The Safer Construction Framework, Design Stage tasks
• Managing OHS risk, the risk management process, establishing the context, Stakeholder identification.
• The Risk Management Process – Hazard identification, Risk Assessment Models, Risk assessment examples, Other risk assessment methods, How do you control risks? Risk Control Examples.
• Recording and communicating OHS information, the risk register, Recording the results of the risk assessment, Identifying hazards on design drawings.
• Review and Discussion, questions, implementation steps.

Including detailed case study example and discussions around 'Best Practice' for safer design.

Course Objectives

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Understand the new OH&S legislation and legal obligations of all those responsible for designs
• Become familiar with the Safer Construction principle of designing for construction OHS.
• Gain an understanding of risk management principles and practices as they relate to designing for construction workers’ OHS.
• Gain an understanding of the process of hazard identification, risk assessment, and risk control, in the context of construction design.
• Gain an understanding of the practical benefits, in terms of OHS risk elimination and/or reduction, that can be achieved through the application of OHS risk management in construction design.
• Know what new methods and approaches need to be implemented at the design phase of a project and its completion.

Facilitator Information

Dr George Rechnitzer

Dr George Rechnitzer is a Professional Engineer, graduated in Civil Engineering from Monash University in 1971, and spent the first twenty years of his engineering career as a design engineer, working first for the John Connell Group Consulting Engineers and next the then State Electricity Commission of Victoria, on large variety of major construction projects, including the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, and Loy Yang power stations.

Dr Rechnitzer’s next 20 years involved application of the engineering sciences to safety, from transport to workplace safety. He was a Senior Research Fellow for 12 years at the Monash University Accident Research Centre, with major projects also being undertaken for WorkSafe [Vic] on Construction Industry safety.  

Dr George Rechnitzer is a partner with Delta-V Experts International Pty Ltd, a Forensic Engineering and Safety Solutions consultancy. His work has been published extensively, and he is is Chair of the National Technical Panel of the Safety Institute of Australia.

Registration

Please select your preferred location and date from the below table and then click on the REGISTER NOW button.

A 10% saving applies for Engineers Australia Members or for group bookings of 3 or more participants.