Alternative Approaches to Incorporate Design for Safety into Construction Engineering Curricula

摘要

From both an ethical and practical viewpoint, civil and construction engineers must design safety into buildings, facilities, and the associated construction processes. The pre-construction phases of design clearly involve information processing, and therefore to change how design is practiced, one must change the knowledge civil and construction engineers use in their design decisions. The objective of this paper is to review design for safety (DfS) principles and practices, then identify and evaluate alternative approaches to incorporate DfS into construction engineering curricula. As BS and MS programs in construction engineering multiply, the appropriate inclusion of safety topics is an important decision for the program faculty. The specific purpose of this paper is to provide construction engineering faculty with a basis for this decision. The approach chosen by faculty at The University of Alabama (UA) is presented. In this paper, we will touch on both design for safety (facility, operators, maintainers, users, public) and design for construction safety (DfCS), the process of addressing construction site safety and health during the design process. An Internet search found one engineering course explicitly focused on DfS and DfCS offered at U.S. universities, and one master of engineering degree based on the related practice Prevention through Design. This course and program will be identified in the appropriate sections that follow. In addition, one finds short courses in DfS and DfCS taught either by consulting firms or university continuing education organizations. After a discussion of what drives engineering curriculum and course content changes, we identify specific options for "Design for Safety" course content. Several textbooks, handbooks, articles, websites, and consensus standards are identified as suitable sources for instructors to familiarize themselves with government, professional society, and academic information on DfS and DfCS. A mix of "good practice" processes, guidelines, checklists, tools, and case studies are available.