The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in partnership with the American Society of Safety Engineers, the National Safety Council, ORC Worldwide, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is holding a Workshop on Prevention through Design (PtD). The Workshop marks the launch of a PtD National Initiative for:

Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design process to prevent or minimize the work-related hazards and risks associated with the construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities, materials, and equipment.

PtD has been identified by business leaders as a cost-effective means to enhance occupational safety and health. Many companies view PtD as a commonsense necessity in today’s highly competitive business environment and have developed management practices to implement it. A demand is growing for engineers, architects, and other designers to consider occupational safety and health in their designs. Occupational safety and health experts have long recognized the value of preventing or minimizing hazards and risks during design over retro-fitting solutions to problems after workers become injured or ill.

The PtD Workshop will cover three days. Its mission is to take the first steps towards developing a National Strategy and Achievable Goals for the widespread adoption of Prevention through Design principles. The first day of the Workshop, beginning at 1:00 p.m., will consist of a plenary session to set the stage and provide examples of where PtD has been used effectively in various industry sectors. The second day of the Workshop will comprise sector-based breakout sessions to examine where PtD can be applied by different industries. The last day will focus on PtD as it relates to Research, Education, Practice, and Policy. The participants will then come back together in plenary to compare notes and make action plans for the future. The Workshop ends at 1:00 p.m. on Day 3.

We expect to have about 300 people participate in the Workshop. Most will be by invitation and will include a diverse mix of people from many disciplines (business leaders, engineers, architects, labor groups, lawyers, insurers, researchers, safety and health experts, and so on). They will represent most sectors of the economy.

Please consider joining NIOSH, its partners, and the growing number of stakeholders who want to participate in launching the PtD National Initiative and make Prevention through Design the normal way of doing business in the 21st century. More information will be coming soon.

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