ABSTRACT
Health and safety is a core part of any business operation. It is not an ‘add on’, nor is it something to be looked at with disdain or misplaced humour. Manual handling and exposure to dust particulates, solar radiation and volatile organic compounds can all generate health problems that might not emerge. In the modern world an inability to grasp a core subject is a severe business risk. Therefore, every designer needs to attain a grounded competence in health and safety and understand its relevance to day-to-day practice. Health and safety considerations have been embedded in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 from the outset, recognising the importance of the subject. A Health and Safety Strategy must be established for every project – it will be the constant thread that runs through the project. Design is intrinsically an iterative process and so will develop through the project; therefore, there must be space to allow it to develop successfully.
