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Planning & Design

  • Author: PIARC
  • Time: 90 minutes
    08:00 UTC or 15:00 UTC
  • August 25, 2026
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Course overview
This session moves from system-level thinking to the project level, introducing lowest total risk as the key design philosophy. It focuses on proactively managing risk at its source, rather than just complying with rules.
Attendees will learn to design inherently safer sites by eliminating hazards upfront, using temporary controls for temporary risks, and assessing risks from safety measures themselves. It also covers on-site execution, including adaptive management and maintaining plan integrity.

Learning Objectives

  • Apply the hierarchy of controls to work zone design decisions
  • Understand and apply the lowest total risk philosophy
  • Recognise the difference between treating symptoms (speed management) and managing risk at its source
  • Identify how the design phase determines the risk profile of the entire project
  • Learn practical methods for on-site change management and adaptive delivery

Interactives Elements

  • Design challenge: Attendees are shown a real worksite layout with known flaws. Using a guided template, they redesign it applying the hierarchy of controls. Selected solutions are shared and discussed live.
  • Risk trade-off simulator: A facilitated exercise where attendees must choose between two or three design options for a given scenario, each with different trade-offs across the three competing objectives. Polling captures preferences and the facilitator walks through the risk calculus.
  • Before and after: Pairs of real-world worksite photos (before and after intervention) are shown. Attendees use the reaction tools to rate improvements and identify residual risks.
  • Quick quiz: Five true/false questions drawn from common misconceptions identified in the literature review (e.g., the assumption that more signage equals more safety).
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