Still, while there are a bevy of safety apps geared toward construction professionals, few are intended for architects and designers.

The CDM Designer Tool, developed in collaboration with the U.K.-based Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, hopes to allow architects to identify potential hazards in their in-progress designs by using images and video of dangerous design choices categorized by project type, building part and activity.

Designers can search for specific hazards they’re concerned about or browse project categories to build their understanding of the potential hazards involved in a given project.

“I collaborated with human computer interaction academics in my computer science department to make the app user friendly,” Hare said. “The home page is a ‘visual library’ that can be searched, browsed or filtered to find hazards related to parts of a building, type of work, etc.”

“There are then alternatives to the hazards,” Hare continued, “which are created as a result of design choices displayed in a hierarchy known by the acronym ERIC via photos or links to videos. This lets designers see improved options, but the final decision is left to the designer as other factors may influence this.”

The idea of using images instead of visual descriptions came from Hare’s previous research on construction safety and communication within the jobsite.

“The use of images and photos was the result of other research I completed with migrant workers that showed the benefit of replacing text with pictorial representations,” Hare said.

Going visual

Figuring out how to best use visual resources took some time, however.

“The original concept included more video clips to replicate situations on site resulting from design decisions that impact on-site health and safety,” Hare said, “but it was easier to use photos and merely link YouTube videos.”

There were also some logistical considerations that prevented him from maximizing his use of visual resources.