Health and safety management of offsite construction - how close are we to production manufacturing?

Producing buildings in a factory, Offsite Production (OSP), dramatically improves overall health and safety performance, but there is no room for complacency. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire and interview survey using multiple sources of data linked with peer debriefing from eight major offsite production facilities. In particular, health and safety benefits along with the trend toward a production manufacturing environment are identified. The research found that attitudes toward production oriented health and safety in OSP are still in the embryonic stage, but are developing rapidly with increased awareness from management. To realise the positive outcomes from the health and safety benefits that OSP entails, OSP manufacturers must adopt a mindset akin to that already existing in the mainstream manufacturing sector. Many OSP manufacturers adopt site based techniques “under cover” of a factory. The health and safety benefits of OSP may be well understood and promoted in several arenas, academia, government initiatives and the health regulatory bodies, but unless the manufacturers themselves embrace the full health and safety potential of OSP, misunderstanding and ignorance will remain a barrier to improved health and safety performance. This work formed part of a UK government funded project, HASPREST

How can we prevent construction accidents? Outcomes from a stakeholder consultation: societal and industry-wide influences

This paper presents some of the findings from a time-limited, independent research project that reviewed evidence about underlying causes of construction accidents and levers within and beyond health & safety systems to make further improvements. The triangulated method incorporated national and international expert consultations with a total of 72 participants from across the industry, plus a literature review. An initial ‘sounding out’ exercise was also undertaken to gather feedback on the practical strategies developed during the consultation process. Perspectives on the underlying causes identified: broader societal and industry-wide influences (macro); project and process factors (mezzo); and worker/supervisor/workplace causes (micro). A number of improvement strategies were suggested, some of which have been summarised in this paper

Techniques and strategies to improve conceptual and schematic design

This research has investigated the management of the concept and schematic design stages with particular reference to brief development, the exchange of design and cost information between the client and designers, and the impact of early design decisions on construction. A critical review of current practice by both literature review and case study revealed that early stage design often failed to meet the expectation of clients leading to frequent redesign and inaccurate cost advice. Poor communication of information between all parties was primarily to blame. This led to the research combining the three elements, design, cost, and risk and developing a Scheme Design Process Model (SDPM) based on ADePT principles to provide designers for the first time the opportunity to: • Accurately and systematically, plan ahead for the work required during the scheme design stage. • Identify conflicts that lead to iterative problems. • Mitigate iterative problems by identifying and recording the design risks source. • Qualify the accuracy of the cost advice based on the progress of the design. • Ensure closer cross-disciplinary cooperation. • Reduce overall project timescale. The research identified that a generic programme of work can now be produced that includes all major elements for the multi-disciplinary design team. The research provides a contribution to the design-modelling database by introducing and demonstrating flexibility between design stages. In addition to the SDPM the research has also addressed accountability within the decision making process by demonstrating QFD techniques that can be applied at various stages of early design

Investigation of the potential for applying freeform processes to construction

Investigation of the potential for applying freeform processes to constructio