Safe design of structures means identifying hazards early and designing them out, or reducing the risks before they reach the workface. For builders, subcontractors, supervisors and tradies, the practical goal is a structure that can be constructed, used, maintained, modified and eventually demolished without avoidable risks created by design decisions.
The best results come when clients, designers and construction people share what they know before drawings and methods are locked in. A design may be safe when complete but dangerous during erection, so temporary stability, access, lifting and sequencing matter as much as the finished structure.
Information current: 5 August 2026. Local WHS/OHS requirements vary. Check current material from the regulator in the state or territory where the work occurs. The national Model Code is useful general orientation, but it is not automatically applicable law in every jurisdiction.
Main hazards
Design choices can create or reduce risks involving:
- falls from roofs, edges, openings, penetrations and fragile surfaces
- collapse or movement during excavation, erection, alteration or demolition
- formwork, falsework, scaffolding, propping, bracing and other temporary works
- lifting, storing, transporting and connecting prefabricated or heavy elements
- mobile plant, cranes, delivery vehicles and people sharing limited space
- underground services, overhead powerlines and permanent electrical systems
- hazardous manual tasks, dust, chemicals, noise and vibration
- restricted access, confined spaces and difficult emergency rescue
- unsafe access for inspection, cleaning, repair or replacement work
- workload, poor visibility, isolation or other psychosocial and physical design hazards.
What to sort out before work starts
Confirm who controls each part of the design, who can approve changes and who coordinates design information. Obtain the current drawings, specifications, engineering details, surveys and available information about ground conditions, existing structures and services.
Bring the designer, relevant engineers, principal contractor, subcontractors and experienced workers into the conversation early. Discuss buildability, temporary stability, access, work at height, prefabrication, crane movements, storage, installation sequence, emergency access and future maintenance.
Record hazards that remain after design controls, along with critical assumptions, load limits, hold points and required construction sequences. Make sure this information reaches the people planning and doing the work. It should be easy to find in the current document set, not buried in emails or attached to a superseded drawing.
What good controls and documents usually cover
Useful project arrangements commonly include:
- a design risk review or hazard register recording decisions, controls and residual risks
- coordinated drawings and specifications with approval and revision control
- engineering details for permanent and temporary stability
- erection, installation, alteration or demolition sequences where order affects safety
- lifting plans, verified lifting points and manufacturer instructions where relevant
- designed access, edge protection, anchorage and maintenance provisions
- inspection points, hold points and sign-off records for safety-critical stages
- change-control records showing that substitutions and design changes were reviewed
- pre-starts, inductions and toolbox talks that turn design information into site controls.
Apply the hierarchy of controls through the design. Eliminate the hazard where reasonably practicable—for example, prefabricate at ground level to remove work at height. If it cannot be eliminated, consider substitution, isolation and engineering controls before administrative controls and personal protective equipment. Review the controls as the design develops and when construction conditions or methods change.
When a SWMS or another site-specific document may apply
Ask before mobilisation whether any planned activity triggers a safe work method statement under the local rules for high risk construction work. Structural jobs often involve activities that warrant checking, such as fall risks, structural alteration requiring temporary support, work near services or powered mobile plant, and tilt-up or precast concrete.
Where a SWMS is needed, match it to the actual work, site, sequence, plant and controls. Other useful documents may include a temporary works design, erection plan, lift plan, demolition plan, rescue plan, permit or inspection checklist. These documents should agree with the approved design and with each other.
Practical warning signs
Pause and clarify the affected work if:
- drawings conflict, lack approval or carry unclear revision status
- site conditions differ from information or assumptions given to the designer
- connections, penetrations, bracing, materials or load paths change without review
- temporary supports are removed early or responsibilities are unclear
- lifting, storage or erection information for an element is missing
- workers cannot explain the sequence, exclusion zones or critical controls
- the SWMS is generic or does not match the workface
- design changes are agreed verbally but not added to controlled documents.
Secure the area where necessary, involve the designer, engineer or other competent person, update the relevant documents and brief the crew before restarting.
How Blue Safe can help
Blue Safe provides compliant WHS documents tailored to the client's activities, applicable Australian WHS/OHS requirements, jurisdiction and industry. Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them.
Customers actively put the compliant documents into practice through controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence. Blue Safe can help connect design-risk information with practical project and activity documents that supervisors and crews can use consistently.