ADOSH-SF Code of Practice 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction)

Article-level navigation isn't available for this document — showing the full text as extracted.

Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and
Health System Framework
(ADOSH-SF)
Code of Practice
CoP 20.0 – Safety in Design (Construction)
Version 4.0
July 2024

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 2 of 14
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Training and Competency ........................................................................................................................... 4
3. Requirements .................................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1 Definitions ............................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Designers Duties ................................................................................................................................... 6
3.3 Competency Assessments................................................................................................................. 6
3.4 Preparation of a Design ...................................................................................................................... 7
3.5 Provision of Information .................................................................................................................... 8
3.6 Cooperation and Coordination........................................................................................................ 10
4. References ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
5. Document Amendment Record ............................................................................................................... 12

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 3 of 14
1. Introduction
(a) This Code of Practice (CoP) obligates those persons or employers that are classed
as designers under
ADOSH-SF – Element 1 – Roles, Responsibilities and Self-
Regulation to eliminate or reduce risk that can arise through construction or end
use of a structure or piece of equipment. At each stage of design, designers shall
ensure that all foreseeable risks have been identified and analyzed to reduce the
risk to as low as a reasonable practicable.
(b) The scope of this CoP covers the construction, operational and decommissioning
design of buildings, structures, and workplaces. It does not cover product design
which shall be designed to the appropriate international or local standards (e.g.
European Conformity “EC Marking”).
(c) Designers of operational workplaces / areas shall incorporate ergonomic and
material flow considerations.
(d) Designers’ earliest decisions fundamentally affect the health and safety of
construction and operation activities. These decisions influence later design
choices, and considerable work may be required if it is necessary to unravel earlier
decisions. It is therefore vital to address health and safety from the very start.

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 4 of 14
2. Training and Competency
(a) Employers shall ensure that OSH training complies with the requirements of:
(i)
ADOSH-SF – Element 5 – Training, Awareness and Competency;
(ii)
ADOSH-SF – Mechanism 7.0 – Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner and
Service Provider Registration.
(b) The client shall ensure that persons competent to undertake the roles and
responsibilities are engaged for the project. This shall be done through an examination
of the person’s or entity’s experience, qualification and resources, both financial and
staffing as highlighted in Section 3.3.
(c) The client shall ensure that each designer engaged has appropriate experience and
technical expertise, in relation to the scheme they are engaged for.

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 5 of 14
3. Requirements
3.1 Definitions
(a) Designers:
(i) designers are those who have a trade or a business which involves them in:
1. preparing designs for construction work and operational design and
layout, including variations. This includes preparing drawings, design
details, specifications, bills of quantities and the specification (or
prohibition) of materials, as well as all the related analysis, calculations,
and preparatory work; or
2. arranging for their employees or other people under their control to
prepare designs relating to a structure or part of a structure.
(ii) it does not matter whether the design is recorded (e.g. on paper or a
computer) or not (e.g. it is only communicated orally);
(iii) designers therefore include:
1. architects, civil and structural engineers, building surveyors, landscape
architects, other consultants, process design engineers, manufacturers
and design practices (of whatever discipline) contributing to, or having
overall responsibility for, any part of the design, this includes for
example drainage engineers designing the drainage for a new
development;
2. anyone who specifies or alters a design, or who specifies the use of a
particular method of work or material, such as a design manager or
quantity surveyor who insists on specific material, or a client who
stipulates a particular layout for a new building;
3. building service designers, engineering practices or others designing
plant which forms part of the permanent structure (including lifts,
heating, ventilation and electrical systems), for example a specialist
provider of permanent fire extinguishing installations;
4. those purchasing materials where the choice has been left open, for
example those purchasing building blocks and so deciding the weights
that bricklayers must handle;
5. contractors carrying out design work as part of their contribution to a
project, such as an engineering contractor providing design,
procurement and construction management services;
6. temporary works engineers, including those designing auxiliary
structures, such as formwork, false work, façade retention schemes,
scaffolding, and sheet piling;
7. interior designers, including shop fitters who also develop the design;
8. heritage organizations who specify how work is to be done in detail, for
example providing detailed requirements to stabilize existing
structures; and

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 6 of 14
9. those determining how buildings and structures are altered, for example
during refurbishment, where this has the potential for partial or complete
collapse.
3.2 Designers Duties
(a) Designers shall:
(i) ensure that they are competent and appropriately resourced to address the
health and safety issues reasonably foreseeable to be involved in the design;
(ii) ensure that the design complies with all applicable legislation and building
codes;
(iii) ensure that clients are aware of their duties;
(iv) avoid foreseeable risks to those involved in the construction and future use of
the structure, and in doing so, they shall eliminate hazards, so far as is
reasonably practicable, and reduce risk associated with those hazards which
remain;
(v) ensure internal design and layout is as safe as reasonably practicable,
considering process design, ergonomic, material flow, etc.;
(vi) provide appropriate information about any significant risks associated with the
design to relevant persons; and
(vii) co-ordinate their work with that of others in order to improve the way in which
risks are managed and controlled.
(b) In carrying out these duties, designers need to consider the hazards and risks to those
who:
(i) carry out construction work including demolition;
(ii) operate industrial processes / facilities;
(iii) clean any window or transparent or translucent wall, ceiling or roof in or on a
structure or maintain the permanent fixtures and fittings;
(iv) use a structure designed as a place of work; and
(v) may be affected by such work, such as customers or the general public.
3.3 Competency Assessments
(a) It is vital that prior to appointment, all designers are prequalified to ensure that they
have the required Health and Safety competencies to undertake the role they are
being engaged for.
(b) Further to the requirements detailed within
ADOSH-SF– Element 3 – Management of
Contractors, additional competency assessments shall be undertaken for designers.
(c) The competency assessment shall be specific and in line with the complexity of the
project, however shall consider:
(i) complexity of the scheme;
(ii) size of the scheme;

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 7 of 14
(iii) surrounding neighborhood and existing structure; and
(iv) program requirements (e.g. fast-track).
(d) Further consideration shall be given to the competency of people who will be
undertaking the design work from within the organisation and their personal
experience review to ensure they have appropriate experience and understanding for
the role they are being engaged for.
3.4 Preparation of a Design
3.4.1 Planning
(a) Designers have to weigh many factors as they prepare their designs. OSH
considerations have to be weighed alongside other considerations, including cost,
fitness for purpose, aesthetics, buildability, maintainability and environmental impact.
(b) Designers shall take into account the reliability while considering the safety factor for
design.
(c) Designers shall consider the impact of construction and operation on neighbouring
structures (if any).
(d) Designers need to take account of other relevant OSH requirements.
(e) Designers shall ensure that other regulatory requirements are considered.
3.4.2 Design Risk Assessment
(a) Designers shall avoid foreseeable risks ‘so far as is reasonably practicable, taking due
account of other relevant design considerations’. The greater the risk, the greater the
weight that shall be given to eliminating or reducing it. Designers are not expected to
consider or address risks which cannot be foreseen, however, designers shall not
produce designs that cannot be constructed, operated, maintained, used or
demolished safely so far as is reasonably practicable.
(b) Designers shall critically assess their design proposals at an early stage, and then
throughout the design process, to ensure that health and safety issues are identified,
integrated into the overall design process and addressed as the work progresses.
(c) Where hazards are identified, designers shall follow the hierarchy of control as
identified in
ADOSH-SF – Element 2 – Risk Management.
(d) The designer risk assessment shall typically focus on the topics listed below:
(i) requirements listed by applicable Impact Assessment studies;
(ii) physical environment (e.g. lighting, noise, vibration, temperature, humidity and
draughts);
(iii) chemical and/or biological environment e.g. sanitary conditions, hazardous
materials, smoke, dusts, fibres, and other contamination/pollution;
(iv) hazardous systems (e.g. gas, electricity, hot water steam, piped gases/liquids,
hot surfaces, storage);

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 8 of 14
(v) normal everyday activities (e.g. posture and manual handling, use of vehicles,
use of doors and windows/glazing, use of lifts, escalators and moving
walkways);
(vi) specific routine and non-routine operations (e.g., use of plant and equipment,
industrial processes);
(vii) slips and trips (e.g. whilst in motion on floors and ramps, whilst using stairs or
escalators);
(viii) need for emergency shutdown of automatic operating systems (e.g. escalators);
(ix) working at heights (e.g. using access equipment such as ladders, at unprotected
edges and adjacent to fragile surfaces);
(x) abnormal events (e.g. fire, explosion, falling objects, disproportionate collapse
etc); and
(xi) consideration for the use of the facility and evacuation of the occupants
including physically handicapped, pregnant women, and children.
(e) For temporary employer supplied accommodation and residential cities, designers
shall comply with
ADOSH-SF – CoP 18.0 – Employer Supplied Accommodation.
(f) The designer shall compile a Risk Register and submit the same along with the design
to the Building and Construction SRA for approval and issuance of a ‘Building Permit’.
When compiling the Risk Register it shall be open to the project interested parties for
input and resolution and management of issues through the design meetings.
3.4.3 Design Safety Review
(a) An independent design safety review shall be carried out at two different stages: (i)
at an early stage, and (ii) at the final draft stage. These reviews shall be documented
and submitted along with the design for approval (through the relevant Municipality).
(b) Regular reviews of the design involving all members of the design team shall be
undertaken to ensure appropriate consideration is given to buildability, usability and
maintainability. When considering buildability, meetings shall include the contractor
so that difficulties associated with construction can be discussed and solutions agreed
before the work begins. When discussing usability and maintainability, meetings shall
involve the client or those who will be responsible for operating the building or
structure so that appropriate consideration is given to the health and safety of those
who will maintain and operate the structure once it has been completed.
3.5 Provision of Information
(a) Designers shall provide information that other project team members or relevant
persons are reasonably foreseeable to need to identify and manage risk.
(b) The information shall be project specific, and concentrate on significant risks which
may not be obvious to those who use the design.
(c) Designers shall also provide information about aspects of the design that could create
significant risks during future construction work or maintenance.

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 9 of 14
(d) Designers shall provide information on the “Asset Integrity Management Approach”,
which shall include reliability centered maintenance for the designed life of the
structure / facility.
(e) Significant risks are not necessarily the greatest risks, but those including health risks
that are:
(i) not likely to be obvious to a competent contractor or other designers;
(ii) unusual; or
(iii) likely to be difficult to manage effectively.
(f) Information shall be brief, clear, precise, and in a form appropriate for the users. This
can be achieved using:
(i) notes on drawings – this is preferred, since the notes will then be immediately
available to those carrying out the work. They can refer to other documents if
more detail is needed, and be annotated to keep them up to date;
(ii) written information provided with the design - this shall be project specific, and
shall only contain information which will be useful to those constructing or
maintaining the structure; and
(iii) suggested construction sequences showing how the design could be erected
safely, where this is not obvious, for example suggested sequence for erecting
pre-cast panel concrete structures. Contractors may then adopt this method or
develop their own approach.
(g) It is not always reasonably practicable to provide all the information at the same time,
particularly when design work is continuing whilst construction work is underway. In
these circumstances, information shall be released as the design develops, but
construction work shall not be allowed to proceed unless all the information necessary
for the work to be carried out safely has been provided.
(h) Designers shall provide information for the OSH file including but not limited to:
(i) any residual hazards which remain and how they have been dealt with (e.g.
surveys or other information concerning asbestos; contaminated land; water
bearing strata; buried services etc.);
(ii) key structural principles (e.g., appropriate bracing, sources of substantial stored
energy – including pre- or post-tensioned concrete) and safe working loads for
floors and roofs, particularly where these may preclude placing scaffolding or
heavy machinery there; hazardous materials used (e.g. lead paint; pesticides;
special coatings which shall not be burnt off etc.);
(iii) information regarding the removal or dismantling of installed plant and
equipment (e.g. any special arrangements for lifting, or orders or other special
instructions for dismantling etc.);
(iv) health and safety information about equipment provided for cleaning or
maintaining the structure;
(v) the nature, location and markings of significant services, including underground
cables; gas supply equipment; fire-fighting services etc.; and

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 10 of 14
(vi) information of the structure, its plant and equipment (e.g. the means of safe
access to and from service voids, fire doors and compartmentalization etc.).
3.6 Cooperation and Coordination
(a) Where more than one designer has been appointed for a project, a lead designer shall
be nominated. The lead designer shall be the main focal point and shall manage the
design process.
(b) Designers shall co-operate with the client, and other designers and contractors,
including those designing temporary works. This is to ensure that incompatibilities
between designs are identified and resolved as early as reasonably practicable, and
that the right information is provided in the pre-construction information.

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 11 of 14
4. References
• L144 – Managing Health and Safety in Construction – HSE Books ISBN
978 0 7176 6223 4

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 12 of 14
5. Document Amendment Record
Version Revision Date Description of Amendment
Page/s Affected
4.0
15 th July 2024
System acronym updated from OSHAD-SF
to ADOSH-SF to accurately reflect
document title
Throughout
Change from OSHAD to ADPHC
Change of Logo
Minor editorial changes throughout the
document without changing requirements.
Title of Mechanism 7.0 updated to ADOSH-
SF – Mechanism 7– Occupational Safety
and Health Practitioner and Service
Provider Registration
OSHAD-SF - Mechanism 8.0 - OSH
Practitioner Registration deleted

ADOSH-SF – Codes of Practice
CoP 20.0 - Safety in Design (Construction) - Version 4.0 – 15 th July 2024 Page 13 of 14