PTD(Prevention Through Design) Before Risk Assessment: A Historical Perspective

This article presents a narrow slice of history as known by Mike Taubitz, beginning with employment at General Motors (GM).

It chronicles the foundations and evolution that brought those engaged in the practice of engineering and safety to the current state of PTD(Prevention Through Design) in one company. Many forces and efforts have led those of us who are engaged in the practice of safety to where we are in PTD today, but with this article, the author presents a glimpse of the fundamental occurrences in one industry that have led to the progressive use of PTD in other industries.

Other companies and industries may have had their own lessons and contributions to the current state of the art. Lack of knowledge prevents providing a broader scope. It is hoped that others will offer their own history and lessons learned to help promote broader and more effective usage of PTD concepts in all industries and academia.

This article will show that before risk assessment innovative initiatives that might currently be considered PTD efforts resulted from collaboration of safety and engineering personnel primarily relying on assessments of feasibility. Applying lessons learned from individual projects was problematic because no practical risk assessment methodologies were in use. The advent of risk assessment for manufacturing in the late 1990s established the foundation for today’s PTD initiatives.

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Mike Taubitz spent many years in top positions at General Motors, including stints as Global Safety Director and Global Regulatory Liaison. He has a strong interest in lean manufacturing and its relationship to safety and in sustainability, and is recognized internationally for his expertise in machine guarding. He assists clients in creating efficient and effective safety programs, especially in manufacturing environments.

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