A recurring theme from proponents of the UK Construction Design Management (CDM) regulation is that 40 per cent of construction accidents are traceable to the permanent works designer. Those of us who have earned our grey hair designing for the construction industry find this figure counter-intuitive. Consequently, I set about the task of looking for the evidence to support the widely quoted statistics about the designer's alleged role in construction deaths and injuries. Clearly, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is concerned that the original 'research' behind the directive was fatally flawed. It has commissioned a number of studies intended to demonstrate that the designer's culpability is fact rather than fiction. Space does not allow for a detailed critique of the research published in pursuit of these claims, but I can assure any experienced designer (be s/he a chartered engineer or architect) that they will find that the published results do not lead the reader to the conclusions presented.
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