Prevention Through Design Initiative to be Launched at July 9-11 Workshop by NIOSH and Partners

Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 401-3749
May 24, 2007

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and several partner organizations will hold a workshop on July 9-11, 2007, in Washington, D.C., to launch a national initiative to promote the widespread adoption of Prevention through Design principles. In Prevention through Design (PtD), occupational safety and health is an important component in the design of workplace facilities, materials, equipment, tools, and operations in order to prevent or minimize the risk of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.

Further details about PtD and the workshop, including a preliminary agenda and information for making a hotel reservation, are available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ptd/. To receive the conference rate on hotel rooms, reservations must be made by June 8.

The workshop will bring together leaders from diverse disciplines and industry sectors to explore what constitutes good design for occupational safety and health, and why it is critical to business success. Major companies and industry leaders will present the business case for PtD, and participants will have the opportunity to learn about the return on investment that may be realized from PtD and to share their own expertise in helping to shape a national PtD strategy.

NIOSH's PtD partners and co-sponsors of the workshop are the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Center to Protect Workers' Rights, Liberty Mutual, the National Safety Council, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ORC Worldwide, and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

The workshop will be held at the Hilton Washington Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.

• Day 1 begins on July 9 at 1:00 p.m. with keynote and plenary sessions that will spotlight the success of PtD in several industries in the U.S. and internationally.
• Day 2 engages participants in industry-centered breakout sessions to identify opportunities and develop recommendations for widespread adoption of PtD in each industry.
• Day 3 includes cross-industry breakout sessions that use the recommendations from the previous day to map out the top over-arching issues for PtD in Research, Education, Practice, and Policy. The workshop concludes at 1:00 p.m.

More information is also available from the CDC toll-free information number, 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or from Rick Rinehart at: rdr0@cdc.gov.