Teo, A L E; Ofori, G; Tjandra, I K and Kim, H (2016) Design for safety: Theoretical framework of the safety aspect of BIM system to determine the safety index. Construction Economics and Building, 16(4), pp. 1-18. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Despite the safety improvement drive that has been implemented in the construction industry in Singapore for many years, the industry continues to report the highest number of workplace fatalities, compared to other industries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical framework of the safety aspect of a proposed BIM System to determine a Safety Index. An online questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the current workplace safety and health situation in the construction industry and explore how BIM can be used to improve safety performance in the industry. A safety hazard library was developed based on the main contributors to fatal accidents in the construction industry, determined from the formal records and existing literature, and a series of discussions with representatives from the Workplace Safety and Health Institute (WSH Institute) in Singapore. The results from the survey suggested that the majority of the firms have implemented the necessary policies, programmes and procedures on Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) practices. However, BIM is still not widely applied or explored beyond the mandatory requirement that building plans should be submitted to the authorities for approval in BIM format. This paper presents a discussion of the safety aspect of the Intelligent Productivity and Safety System (IPASS) developed in the study. IPASS is an intelligent system incorporating the buildable design concept, theory on the detection, prevention and control of hazards, and the Construction Safety Audit Scoring System (ConSASS). The system is based on the premise that safety should be considered at the design stage, and BIM can be an effective tool to facilitate the efforts to enhance safety performance. IPASS allows users to analyse and monitor key aspects of the safety performance of the project before the project starts and as the project progresses.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | BIM; ipass; Singapore; design; safety |
| Index terms: | approval, design for safety, workplace safety, Singapore, design stage, questionnaire, fatalities, construction safety, productivity, prevention, construction industry, programme, intelligent system, survey, audit, safety performance |
| Subjects: | occupational health and safety management, project controls, environmental health, industry analysis, occupational health, professional practice, contractual role, performance measurement, health risk and incident analysis, data collection methods, management, financial risk, Geography, health safety and environment, automation and robotics |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Health and Safety, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Contract Administration, Time Control, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here