December 2, 2021

Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee and Laura Osburn publish design guide for worker safety

Previous studies on construction hazard prevention have shown that almost 50% of construction fatalities and accidents can be linked to decisions made during the design process. To address the influence of upstream design decisions on worker safety, researchers have developed the Prevention through Design (PtD) concept to proactively eliminate safety hazards in the workplace.

In response, CBE researchers, Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee, PD Koon Endowed Associate Professor in Construction Management and Dr. Laura Osburn, Senior Research Scientist in Construction Management, alongside collaborators from Oregon State University, Valley Electric, & Holmberg Mechanical have studied and developed design strategies for how to apply PtD to improve worker safety in the Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing (MEP) industry, where historically adoption of PtD has been lacking. Read more about their research project here. 

Lee and Osburn’s findings are synthesized in a guide on hazard prevention in the MEP industry titled, “Prevention Through Design for Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Worker Safety .” 

The guide can be accessed here.

A video summary of the guide can be accessed here.