Contruction - designers

Part of the problem with the construction industry is that safety is not considered when buildings and other structures are designed. This is a fundamental flaw that can result in injury to construction workers, and have an impact on future users and maintainers. To avoid this it is important that building designers

* Eliminate hazards where feasible (eg. if specifying roof lights specify non-fragile materials);
* Reduce risks from those hazards that cannot be eliminated (eg. specify designs and coatings for materials at height to reduce the need/frequency for replacement, cleaning and re-painting);
* Provide information on residual risks if they are significant (eg. if a set sequence of assembly or demolition is required to maintain structural stability).

In order to do this a competent designer will need knowledge and experience of the construction process.

In this context a designers include architect, consulting engineers, quantity surveyors, building service engineers, temporary works engineers and others who specify the whats and the hows in detail.