A web-based design for occupational safety and health capability maturity indicator

It has been established that design contributes to the occurrence of occupational injuries and illnesses in the construction sector. This has resulted in the need for designers to implement design for occupational safety and health (DfOSH), which is required by legislation in some countries. Consequently, designers (as individuals or organisations) should seek to mitigate occupational safety and health (OSH) risks through design. In order for design firms to do this effectively, they need to have the capability in respect of implementing DfOSH. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies on DfOSH capability as well as a robust mechanism for ascertaining the DfOSH capability of design firms. Drawing on the capability maturity concept combined with the application of expert group techniques, this study develops a novel web-based DfOSH capability maturity model that enables the assessment of the DfOSH capability of design organisations in the built environment. The model captures 18 DfOSH organisational capability attributes mapped onto five stages of capability maturation which are further contextualised by the incorporation of maturity level indicator examples in order to enable ease of use of the model. Results of the model evaluation confirm the model's usefulness. Design firms could apply the model to self-assess their capability in order to understand the areas of capability deficiency and strength. Client organisations could also use the model as part of pre-qualification arrangements in selecting design firms with the needed DfOSH capability.