“Prevention through Design” is a national initiative for preventing and controlling occupational illnesses, injuries and fatalities being led by The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  Several national organizations have partnered with NIOSH in promoting this process of recognizing the hazards of each industry and designing more effective prevention measures.

Partners in this process are:
American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights, Kaiser Permanente, Liberty Mutual, the National Safety Council, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ORC Worldwide, and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering. The list is expected to grow.

Stakeholders whose input is needed in this process are:
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retail, Transportation, Warehousing, Utilities, Services, Healthcare and Social Assistance.

The ultimate goal of PtD is: Prevent or Reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities through:
1.    Research
2.    Education
3.    Practice
4.    Policy
Through the inclusion of prevention deliberations into all designs that impact workers, intermediate goals will be identified to provide a path toward achieving the ultimate goal.

NIOSH will serve as a catalyst to establish this Plan, but in the end, the partners and stakeholders must actively participate in addressing these goals to make PtD business as usual in the 21st century.

If this is successful, all workers will benefit from the planning that is put into it; however, it will take teamwork from all industries.