Improving Prevention through Design Implementation by Gobal Safety Risk Repository using Building Information Modeling

Abstract

Most of the construction site injuries and accidents occur due to a lack of proactive involvement of higher management and adaptation of “Prevention Through Design (PtD)” in work-site safety. Prevention Through Design most often leads to safer work-site conditions and has a positive impact on overall project planning, design, and execution. Critical Success Factors (CSFs) related to the PtD implementation are identified through literature review and further shortlisted using two-phased content analysis. This research study uses Building information modeling (BIM) and Django framework to develop a web-based BIM Safety Risk Scoring System (SRSS) that allows managing safety risks during the design phase. The developed BIM-SRSS tool keeps a repository of historical OHS data and updates the risk score systematically as frequent data is incorporated into the GSRR database. To establish the repository, the risk assessment data from the industry is obtained and respective risk scores are rated by three industry experts. To test the BIM-SRSS tool, the design elements are tested on a real-time case study using visual programming. Finally, the working of the BIM-SRSS tool is validated by conducting semi-structured interviews with seventeen (17) industry Designers and OHS professionals. Barriers to implementation of the BIM-SRSS tool and recommendations for its improvements were also discussed with the experts.