Design for Safety is a regulation gazetted and published on 10 Jul 2015, mandatory for projects which contract value is $10 million dollars or more. Developers are to incorporate safety in their planning phase and to mitigate the possible risks of their construction.
“Over the last two years, about 80% of fatal accidents and dangerous occurrences in the construction industry were contributed by projects with a contract value of $10 million and above.” – WSH Council 8 Aug 2018 –
How do you do it?
This regulation places duties on developers and professionals to identify and address any foreseeable risks through the entire construction project. In the rare occasion where risks cannot be mitigated by design interventions, all involved in the project will have to be made aware of the risks.
With every design change or once the project is at a different phase, a process review has to be made to uncover any arising risks. Developers are to devote time and resources to ensure risks are addressed.
As a guideline, developers are to create a register where it contains two information :
(i) safety and health issues identified during the design reviews and actions taken; and
(ii) risks that cannot be removed through design changes
Developers also have the option to discharge their duties to a DFS professional for all aspects of design for safety. Nonetheless, the responsibility falls on the developers for all the risks of the project and also to ensure that DFS professionals carry out their duties with due diligence.
How does QE Safety help?
With a pool of qualified DFS professionals to partner with, we are able to best evaluate the professionals that may be experienced in your type of construction. The experience we have garnered over the years with our WSH professionals also provides additional knowledge on the possible risks that may arise for your projects.