Designing a Safer Built Environment addresses long-standing uncertainties and challenges faced by designers, highlighted by recent events such as the Grenfell Tower fire, by providing a clear methodology for design risk management. Applicable across projects of all sizes, the book shows how designers can effectively manage risks to safety and health over a structure’s life-cycle whilst also raising standards. Importantly, it is also written for those professionals who manage, oversee, or have a wider interest in the consequences of design work.

Coverage includes

• a clear methodology for the Designer duties in the 2015 CDM Regulations


• influence of contract, time, and cost on design risk management decisions


• managing the risk of structural failure during construction and over the life of the structure


• techniques to facilitate collaboration, and the importance of effective communication


• wider business benefits to good risk management including the avoidance of civil claims


• incorporating contemporary industry practice into design


• Appendix B, an updated resource containing specific industry guidance, that will help designers to comply with their duties under the CDM Regulations. The latest version, which is free to download now.

The book also has an extensive list of references to further sources of information.

Designing a Safer Built Environment questions, challenges, informs and explains. It is an essential companion for construction industry designers, and also those with associated responsibilities including Design Managers, Principal Designers, Clients and Contractors.

You can meet the author of the book on our Youtube channel.

John Carpenter also discusses how to improve design risk management in his blog.

Dr Leroy Gardner is a lecturer in Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London. Through his involvement in European and other research projects he has devised methods for designing with non-linear materials and has contributed to the formulation of design rules for Eurocode 3.

Professor David Nethercot has more than 30 years experience in research, teaching and specialist advisory work dealing with steel, composite and aluminium structures. He was chairman of the BSI committee responsible for UK input to Eurocode 3 and is a former president of the Institution of Structural Engineers.