ASU Global Center for Safety Proposal

Overview

Arizona State University seeks to create and sustain a collaborative relationship focused on safety with industry partners, thus filling a significant gap in engineering higher education.  In response to this imperative need and in conjunction with a number of meetings held in 2013, we at ASU are actively working to develop the ASU Global Center for Safety (or a similar name).  We are very excited about “going global” in our approach and look forward to significant discussions later this year with a number of industry partners. Some of the main conceptual areas supporting this effort:

• It is clear that there are both national and global needs for engineers to be better prepared to manage project risk, occupational safety and health, as well as environmental demands in the 21st-century
• To respond to these changing needs and requirements, the ASU Global Center for Safety will be established within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (IAFSE). It would most likely be housed in the new Del E. Webb School of Construction (DEWSC) building (currently under construction) and be organized to include several core functions. Those functions would include:
  • A research and education resource hub for “prevention through design (PtD)”[1] to improve skill and knowledge of students in construction management, civil engineering and other engineering and industrial disciplines. 
  • The administrative center for the OSHA Training Institute which provides training and education to various individuals and businesses on compliance-based courses   

The current situation at ASU creates a unique opportunity to:

• Leverage existing programs and leadership support at the institution
• Fill a significant gap in global higher education programs
• Improve students who are in engineering and related programs at ASU, and eventually in other institutions, and
• Improve safety performance across industry through education and new safety research and outreach

Heading up the Center would be a world-class faculty member, occupying a faculty position supported by an endowment established by industry partners. The faculty member, with associated staff support as needed, would have several core functions. Those are envisioned to include:

• Enhancing the existing undergraduate and graduate education curricula within the Del E. Webb School of Construction Management to increase graduates’ skill and knowledge in safely managing construction projects
• Driving a research agenda for improving the skill and knowledge of all engineering students in reducing risks in the practice of engineering across the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and other ASU programs, specifically by collaborating with other faculty. 
• Establishing and sustaining an ASU/Global Safety Business Consortium, which would provide both financial support and input to ensure that the needs of the business community would be met through strategic partnerships. Those partnerships would include development of best practices through research initiatives, sponsoring paid internships for students, asking industry representatives to lecture and act in mentorship capacities and various other activities to meet the values and mission of the Center and needs of the Consortia members.   
• Fostering an annual best practice conference would be established to bring together business and academia and highlight such areas as:
  • Developments in safety through design,
  • Optimization of construction project management processes, and 
  • Creation of a Body of Knowledge for integration of safety, risk and project management.

Vision statement

To establish a global center for safety at ASU that supports world-class education, research, and outreach programs focused on both prevention through design and integration of safety and health into the core business of organizations.

 The Center will leverage ASU existing synergies:

• DEWSC’s new OSHA Training Institute / Education Center (OTI),
• Active safety curriculum (within DEWSC),
• Safety staff and initiatives at work within IAFSE’s Office of Health & Safety (OHS),
• Safety2 Listserv run and Moderated from the IAFSE’s OHS,
• New facilities under construction (College Avenue Commons (CAC)),
• Support and desire by IAFSE administration to:
  • strengthen design emphasis in curricula and also add emphasis on applied ethics in engineering
  • grow the number of students and research expenditures
  • improve the entrepreneurial and collaborative activities with industry

In conclusion, we at ASU are excited and honored to be working with many of the leaders in our industry who are working diligently to create a safer place for the workforce of today.  It is our hope that we can proceed with this important effort in partnership, leading to even greater improvement.  The legacy of this effort will be better informed and educated engineers and constructors, engaging leadership to drive change while helping to integrate safety into corporate practices.  Ultimately the impact will be many more people who go home at night in the same physical condition that they started their work day.

[1] Prevention through design (PtD) is also known by the term “Safety through design (StD)”