{"id":256,"date":"2026-06-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/built-environment\/?p=256"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:29:43","slug":"tripartite-stakeholder-engagement-for-advancing-design-for-occupational-safety-and-health-in-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/built-environment\/tripartite-stakeholder-engagement-for-advancing-design-for-occupational-safety-and-health-in-malaysia\/","title":{"rendered":"Tripartite Stakeholder Engagement for Advancing Design for Occupational Safety and Health in Malaysia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Patrick Manu [Professor at UWE] and Che Khairil Izam Che Ibrahim [Professor at UiTM]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many countries, construction is one of the most dangerous sectors [1]. In Malaysia, the sector accounts for about one-third of worker deaths and many occupational injuries [2]. Studies have established that design is one of the key underlying causal factors in construction accidents and worker fatalities [3]. This has led to the prominence of the practice of Design for occupational safety and health (DfOSH) which entails designers \u2018designing out\u2019 occupational safety and health (OSH) risks at the early design stages of construction projects to protect workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the UK, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) have been introduced since 1995 to mandate DfOSH implementation. In Malaysia, the Occupational Safety and Health (Construction Work) (Design and Management) (CWDM) Regulations 2024, which have been adapted from the UK CDM, have just recently been passed, as a measure to improve OSH performance of the construction sector. Currently, Malaysia is still at the initial stage of implementing DfOSH, while the UK has garnered many years of experience in DfOSH. The experience and lessons learnt in the UK with regards to challenges in DfOSH implementation and their solutions would serve as a useful resource for construction stakeholders (academia, industry, and government) in Malaysia in building strong DfOSH implementation capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, the University of the West of England (UWE) in collaboration with academic institutions in Malaysia and UK (Universiti Teknologi MARA<\/a> (UiTM), The University of Manchester<\/a> (UoM), and University College London<\/a> (UCL)) are delivering an international project to advance DfOSH implementation in Malaysia via tripartite engagement of Academia-Industry-Government stakeholders to strengthen stakeholder capacity and co-create solutions to address DfOSH implementation challenges. The project entails a series of activities including stakeholder engagement and capacity strengthening workshops, knowledge exchange, and on-going dissemination. This blog offers excerpts of activities undertaken (in 2025), and preliminary outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry\u2013government engagement and capacity strengthening<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two hybrid workshops were organised in Malaysia to bring together a wide range of stakeholders from the construction sector and government agencies. The first was held in Selangor in June 2025, followed by a second in Johor in July 2025. Together, these sessions engaged over 60 participants from industry (including contractors, consultants, architects, engineers, and safety and health professionals) and government agencies (including Department of Occupational Safety and Health<\/a> (DOSH), Public Works Department<\/a>, and Construction Industry Development Board<\/a>). The workshops created valuable dialogue on challenges and practical solutions (from the perspective of industry and government) for improving the integration of occupational safety and health in construction design practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 1: July 2025 Workshop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge exchange \u2013 UK visit<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Malaysian delegation (comprising members of the academic team and a representative of DOSH) visited the United Kingdom from August to September 2025 to strengthen international collaboration and exchange knowledge on DfOSH best practices. The delegation participated in the Association of Researchers in Construction Management<\/a> (ARCOM) 2025 conference held in Dundee, where they shared the project\u2019s initial findings with an international academic audience. The team visited Jacobs<\/a>\u2019 (a multinational engineering professional services (including design) firm) office in Manchester. During the visit, they learnt about Jacobs\u2019 approach to DfOSH, which is encapsulated by their award-winning \u201cde5ign<\/a>\u201d (pronounced \u2018five in design\u2019). To obtain DfOSH implementation insights from a regulator\u2019s perspective, the team visited the Health and Safety Executive<\/a> office in Buxton, where they received useful insights regarding UK\u2019s DfOSH journey, challenges, and improvements over the years, as well as suggestions for Malaysia\u2019s context. The delegation also visited academic partners at the UoM and the UWE. Overall, these activities provided significant opportunities for learning and for building lasting academic\u2013industry\u2013government linkages between Malaysia and the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 2: Members of the project team at ARCOM 2025 Conference (left) and during a visit to Jacobs (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge exchange \u2013 Guest lectures<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guest lecture sessions on the Master of Construction Engineering course at UiTM (Construction Site & Safety Management) were delivered in May 2025. The sessions were delivered by project team members from UWE, UCL, UoM and a USA-based renowned academic in DfOSH. The lectures were attended by over 80 students who are also working professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Figure 3: Line up of 2025 guest lecture series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Project Dissemination<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To raise awareness of the project\u2019s activities among stakeholders locally and beyond, several media posts have been made including use of social media and an article in a local news outlet.  Furthermore, academic outputs (comprising a conference article [4]) and a journal article [5]) disseminating preliminary insights from the project have been produced. Overall, the dissemination has ensured wide reach of among academic, industry and government stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preliminary Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project has yielded a tripartite co-creation framework that aligns the roles of academia, industry, and government to institutionalise DfOSH as a key mechanism for improving occupational safety and health in Malaysia. The framework is guiding stakeholder dialogue to identify and prioritise DfOSH implementation challenges and solutions. Additional outcomes include: 1) insights from the workshops are being used by DOSH to inform revision of a code of practice and training modules for trained persons under Malaysia\u2019s CWDM 2024 regulations; 2) improved stakeholder awareness of CWDM 2024 regulations and early-stage design risk management; 3) enhanced practitioner and postgraduate competencies and shared understanding of DfOSH practices; and 4) a UK-Malaysia-Indonesia collaboration (funded by UK’s International Science Partnership Fund) which seeks to drive OSH improvement in construction beyond the implementation of DfOSH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n