Include safety in design, even in renovation jobs

Safety must be demonstrably ensured continuously, and with a high degree of certainty, before construction, during construction and when objects are commissioned. However, safety awareness often only comes into play during execution. After all, only then are the risks visible and tangible, but you are already facing a fait accompli. For this reason, INNOCY's consultants recommend thinking about what impact a design choice has on safety in the use and maintenance phase as early as during the planning study, even in renovation projects. 

Fortunately, we are noticing more and more that safety is no longer seen as an afterthought, begins Midas Luijer, Integral Safety Advisor at INNOCY. "The awareness of including the safety aspect already during the design phase is growing. And that's good, because the impact you can make then is greater than if you only pay attention to it during the construction phase or, even worse, when it's already too late and you have to put out all kinds of fires in the management and maintenance phase. From our division, we therefore try to join a design team at a very early stage. Especially to stimulate design teams to think about safety. What impact does a design choice have on safety in the implementation phase or during the management and operation phase? Safety is an important consideration factor when coming up with structural and technical solutions in the design."

Security awareness

The traditional "project triangle" currently still consists of three variables for steering and controlling projects: quality, money and time. "Actually, that should be a 'diamond' in which safety is part, because safety is at least as important," believes Ferry Spruit, Industrial Automation Consultant at INNOCY. "From my division we work a lot for ProRail, and there safety is very much in place." Midas adds: "Even in 'regular' road construction, the safety awareness is usually there with the main contractor, but the biggest challenge is to also include all subcontractors in the safety culture. They only temporarily perform one or more tasks. The more links in the chain, the greater the challenge of executing a project safely and in a controlled manner."

Safety and renovation

Not only in new construction should safety be an integral part of a design, also in renovation assignments of assets it is important that safety is already included in the start of a project. Ferry: "For example, when a bridge is renovated, it must comply with the Work Equipment and Machinery Directive/Machine Regulation. Part of this is also that the bridge must be able to be operated, inspected and maintained safely. To this end, a risk assessment is drawn up and, based on the standards in force, any measures are taken to make the whole thing safer." A positive development, as in the 1970s and 1980s the safety issue was not so topical and fewer requirements were imposed. Midas: "So in view of the replacement and renovation task, it is important to include the safety aspect right away. So that the object can still be used, inspected and maintained properly and safely sixty years from now."

Manageable risks

INNOCY's consultants also realize that every management measure or choice creates yet another potential risk. "That's the trade-off you make and those risks need to be well invested in the documentation and ultimately transferred to the asset owner. You can never create a 100% safe environment, but there is still a lot to be gained by starting the conversation and raising awareness in the preliminary stages," Midas summarizes. "Constantly ask yourself the question: suppose things go wrong, what have we done together at this point to prevent this risk? In this way, the labor inspectorate also looks back at what preceded an incident and what measures were taken to best manage or prevent the incident. That is also why we regularly call on technical inspectors to make the right considerations and design choices together and with a fresh perspective."

INNOCY believes in the integral approach to safety in projects. "For each project phase, we look at how safety should be secured in the project, consider various safety themes integrally within it and look for interfaces and confluence risks within those themes." INNOCY thinks and works with foresight so that safety issues of the future become visible and controlled in the present.