8D BIM modelling tool for accident prevention through design

The construction industry’s incident rate for workplace injuries has consistently remained at about double that of all other industries. There has long been compelling evidence that many safety risks are created in the early design stage of projects. Hence, it can be argued that one of the most effective means of dealing with a hazard is to eliminate it at source, that is, Prevention through Design (PtD). But until now the tools for effectively managing the links between design and safety on site have not been available. Building information modelling (BIM) is an emerging paradigm in the design and engineering field. BIM has been utilized quite extensively to simulate and optimize designs in view of feasibility studies and stakeholder concerns, value analysis, constructability analysis, sustainability analysis, site operational efficiency and site layout, and facilities management. These studies have confirmed that the utilization of BIM enhanced the optimization of the design to yield the best outcome at the design stage. Nonetheless, the potential of BIM for PtD is yet to be explored. This paper discusses the conceptual model of an 8D modelling tool for PtD.