How is safe design verified?

Safe design is verified by ensuring that:

• the information issued by the designer for construction has all necessary information to convey design intent (usually involves quality control processes during the design and construction process)
• the design achieves the occupational safety and health, and environmental outcomes required under applicable legislation, for all life cycle stages, including requirements for:
  • safe construction (e.g. erection of buildings or parts of buildings)
  • operation and maintenance (usually involves auditing against the requirements of original design intent and the statutory requirements of design)
  • decommissioning.

All designs should have a minimum level of suitable verification to satisfy the above requirements (e.g. design of safety, control and process systems).

As the potential risk associated with error in design increases, so should the level of verification. For example, pressure vessel failure is usually catastrophic and has a high risk to life consequence. For pressure vessel and similar high-risk designs, the depth of verification and requirements for independence of the verifier are high.

Further information: Under the Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995, registration of classified plant can only be completed following ‘verification by a person other than the person who prepared the design that the design complies with the Australian Standard applicable under regulation 6.33.’