Constructability and safety: a safety management approach for critical construction phases

In the following paper an approach based on the analysis of construction process is proposed. Such approach provides new tools for a preliminary Constructability analysis during critical site phases. Even if the safety management is widely considered as a secondary and complementary aspect to the building process, it is one of the most important elements which is able to influence the entire process-management if it’s not merely considered as a compliance with legislations. In the article it has been first investigate relationships between design and safety in European and Italian laws, we then clarify the relationships among Constructability, design and safety and at the end we individuate links between graphical representation and safety. This analysis path leads to introduce the BDS method, proposed and tested to perform a simulation process of design Constructability. A further step is the proposal to insert BDS method in a wider processual and operative framework, in order to make BDS free from the theoretical, episodic and unrealistic aspect that could have been attributed to it. To reach this goal it is defined an approach that, making use of the construction management tools, lead to individuate the safety critical activities in construction process and is able to mitigate the critical activities applying BDS method. In other words, the proposal is to implement a site-simulation process through the lens of the sustainability in terms of workers’ safety. Results till now reached are mainly related with the test of BDS method in a lot of case studies; then it has been improved and optimised graphical representation of construction site issues and it has been developed a Decision Support System, trying to guide the initial design choices to obtain the better Constructability in the development of construction site. The analysis, the assessment and the management of Safety by using BDS seems to push future developments in the direction of Building Information Modeling (BIM).