Prevention through Design (PtD) is a movement that seeks to emphasize engineering design to eliminate or reduce hazards. Designs may involve structures and building materials that simplify construction or make construction sequences safer. They may seek to prevent structural failure. Designs may involve changes to machines and equipment. Designs may involve new or revised processes. The concept has been around for a long time and has been adopted once more as a theme for safety and health.
Engineering Revision
In 1925, the National Safety Council’s College Committee gave a report at the Annual Congress titled “Accident Prevention and the Engineer.” The report focused on two ways to prevent accidents: education and the elimination of hazards. The report stated that the two go hand in hand and are inseparable. The authors described two approaches to eliminate hazards. One involved “safeguards” that are accessory devices and not integral parts of machines themselves.
The second approach was engineering revision. Engineering revision involves redesigning operations, processes, and equipment to eliminate or reduce hazards. Engineering revision goes beyond education and the application of safeguards. Engineering revision is the same concept as prevention through design.
The presentation continued by challenging engineering colleges to include safety in design courses of all engineering disciplines. The challenge came from a report of the Safety Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education.
Prevention through Design (PtD)
One primary role for engineers in achieving safety is prevention. This role requires recognition of hazards and applying designs that eliminate and reduce hazards. This focus on designing for safety has increased in the last decade or so.
Why is this significant? The concept teaches engineers the primary responsibility they have in design as stated in codes of ethics. One impetus resulted from the 2007 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) workshop on “Prevention through Design.” NIOSH now refers to this emphasis program with an acronym, PtD.
The NIOSH symposium followed an earlier conference in 1998 that led to a book on the topic. In 2011, the American Society of Safety Engineers published a standard on Prevention through Design. ASSE and NIOSH conducted a symposium on the issue in 2011.
Somehow, the importance of safety through engineering design had lost visibility over the years. Today, the report of 1925 has regained momentum and attention under Prevention through Design (PtD). Engineering design continues to play a very important role in protecting people, property, and the environment.
