The trajectories of Prevention through Design in construction

INTRODUCTION: Construction Hazards Prevention through Design (CHPtD) is a process in which engineers and architects explicitly consider the safety of construction workers during the design process. Although articles on CHPtD have appeared in top construction journals, the literature has not addressed technical principles underlying CHPtD to help designers better perform CHPtD, to facilitate the development of additional CHPtD tools, and to predict the future path of CHPtD. METHOD: This theoretical paper uses the existing literature on CHPtD and current action research associated with several CHPtD workgroups to analyze how CHPtD will likely evolve over the coming decades. RESULTS: There are four trajectories along which CHPtD will progress. (a) Designs will increasingly facilitate prefabricated construction; (b) designers will increasingly choose materials and systems that are inherently safer than alternatives; (c) designers will increasingly perform construction engineering; and (d) designers will increasingly apply spatial considerations to reduce worker hazards. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: By understanding how CHPtD may be manifested in the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) industry, practitioners can better prepare for adopting CHPtD within their organizations and construction and engineering educators can better prepare their graduates to perform CHPtD.     

National Prevention through Design (PtD) Initiative

INTRODUCTION: The most effective means of preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illness, and fatalities is to "design out" hazards and hazardous exposures from the workplace. There is a long history of designing for safety for the general public and to a lesser degree for workers. METHOD: We now have the experience and insight from thoughtful, previous efforts to call for a comprehensive national strategy to implement a Prevention through Design (PtD) Initiative. RESULTS: This paper describes that initiative in terms of four overarching areas where action can be directed: practice, policy, research, and education. To obtain stakeholder input for issues in these four areas and to focus implementation efforts, eight sector divisions of the economy will be addressed. A seven year strategy is envisioned.     

Application of Prevention through Design for hearing loss in the mining industry

INTRODUCTION: Overexposure to noise remains a widespread and serious health hazard in the U.S. service providing and goods producing industries. Excessive noise can lead to poor verbal communication and reduce the ability to recognize warning signals. These dangerous work conditions can also cause stress and fatigue. Occupational hearing loss is a permanent illness, with no recovery currently possible. METHOD: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recognized Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) as one of the ten leading work-related diseases and injuries in the United States, and has emphasized its importance as one of the critical areas expressed in the National Occupational Research Agenda. RESULTS: One of the most serious noise problems in the goods producing industries is the operation of continuous mining machines during underground coal mining. In order to minimize occupational hearing loss, noise hazards are "designed out" early in the design process. NIOSH is leading a national initiative called Prevention through Design (PTD) to promote this concept. This paper describes the quiet-by-design approach of a noise control that reduced noise exposures of continuous mining machine operators by 3dB(A) using the four functional areas of PTD, namely Practice, Policy, Research, and Education.     

Prevention through design: The effect of European Directives on construction workplace accidents

Workplace accidents still occur with distressing frequency, particularly in construction. Industrialized countries have become increasingly aware of this situation and have adopted policies to attempt to deal with this issue. Such policies have led to the development of new laws and regulations with a view to improving workplace conditions.This paper first analyzes policies regarding accident prevention in the European Union, as initially stipulated in the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, and more specifically in Directive 92/57/EEC, on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites, concentrating on prevention through design. Whilst designers previously had some responsibilities for reducing risk under common law provisions in many countries, this directive was the first explicit legislation to enforce particular duties upon them. The adaptation of the provisions in this directive to the national legislation of EU member countries is also studied.The second section of the paper analyzes the incidence rate of workplace accidents in the construction sector in each country from the year when these regulations came into force until the present time. Based on the evolution of these accident rates, the paper postulates the extent to which European policies have contributed to accident prevention in construction. It is now more than a decade since this legislation has been in force which provides a suitable period for a reflective analysis on it is impact.     

草原防火条例

《草原防火条例》1993年10月5日中华人民共和国国务院令第130号公布,2008年11月19日国务院第36次常务会议修订通过,2008年11月29日国务院总理温家宝以国务院令第542号对修订后的《草原防火条例》予以公布,自2009年1月1日起施行。     

森林防火条例

《森林防火条例》1988年1月16日国务院发布,2008年11月19日国务院第36次常务会议修订通过,2008年12月1日国务院总理温家宝以国务院令第541号对修订后的《森林防火条例》予以公布,自2009年1月1日起施行。     

浅谈伤害预防项目的实施与管理

近几年,企业的主要精力用于矿井安全生产,相比而言,煤矿地面生产安全、非煤生产安全、生活安全的地位并不是十分突出,尤其对学生、老年人、儿童、孤寡残障人群等弱势群体的伤害预防并没有引起高度关注。随着企业规模的不断扩大,产业多元化的快速推进,企业面对的已不仅仅是矿井安全问题,同时,伴随着社区人口的不断增加,