CQUniversity Unit Profile
OCHS13019 Prevention Through Design
Prevention Through Design
All details in this unit profile for OCHS13019 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

You will develop competence and confidence in using prevention through design (PtD) strategies and tools. PtD, or 'safe design', is a process of hazard identification and risk assessment to eliminate or minimize risk of injury and anticipate failure modes throughout the life of the product or system. You will be given the knowledge needed to optimise human performance and enhance safety in a socio-technical environment. Topics include safe design principles, optimisation of the design process, life cycle analysis, hazard and operability studies, Fault Tree Analysis , Failure Modes and Effect Analysis and strategic design risk assessment using the Safety Case. There is an emphasis on human factors engineering, the principles of technology adoption and consideration of the notion of disruptive technologies.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 3
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-Requisite:- 72 credit points including successful completion of AINV11002 and either OCHS13008 or OCHS12019

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 2 - 2025

Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Portfolio
Weighting: 50%
2. Group Work
Weighting: 20%
3. Presentation and Written Assessment
Weighting: 30%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Student Unit & Teaching Evaluation survey

Feedback

Students requested clearer assessment explanations.

Recommendation

In addition to tutorials focused on assessment requirements, it is recommended that short videos on the individual assessment items be pre-recorded to help students comprehend what is required for each assessment item, from the beginning of term.

Feedback from Lecturer reflections on learning and teaching scholarship.

Feedback

Students appreciate the real world examples of concepts covered in this unit.

Recommendation

Continue to utilise real-world examples to enhance student learning of concepts presented in this unit.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Appraise design as an effective strategy to minimise injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
  2. Evaluate designs from a life cycle approach.
  3. Identify past and present opportunities and challenges to achieving 'prevention through design' including the design process, human factors engineering, adoption of new technology and impact of disruptive technologies.
  4. Evaluate potential risks associated with design issues in socio-technical systems around culture, processes, structures, equipment, tools and people by employing appropriate analytical methods.
  5. Assess the value of the elimination of hazards through the redesign of buildings and structures, work environments, materials, plant (machinery and equipment) job tasks and work environments.
  6. Create a systematic response to a design problem that incorporates the prevention through design principles and methods.
  7. Appraise design sub-optimisation and plant operational parameters as a member of a safety case design team
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Portfolio - 50%
2 - Group Work - 20%
3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 30%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Portfolio - 50%
2 - Group Work - 20%
3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 30%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

Additional Textbook Information

No

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Video recording capabilities
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Aldo Raineri Unit Coordinator
a.raineri@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 14 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

Introduction to Prevention Through Design

Chapter

Prevention Through Design (NIOSH 2013)

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Introduce yourself in the Arrivals Lounge so that everyone knows you are present.

Zoom: Assessment & Unit Overview

Week 2 Begin Date: 21 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

Asset Lifecycle

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

 

Review the Major Hazard Facilities for the second assessment.

Zoom: Assessment Item 1

 

Week 3 Begin Date: 28 Jul 2025

Module/Topic

Challenges to Safe Design

Chapter

Socio-technical systems (Baxter & Sommerville 2011)

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Self select into the team case study you prefer. Otherwise, you will be placed in one.

Zoom: System Disruptors

Week 4 Begin Date: 04 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Engineering Design Approaches

 

Chapter

Engineering of Defense Systems Guidebook (Office of the Deputy Director for Engineering 2022)

DoD Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS v. 7.0)

Human Factors in Queensland Mining (Queensland Mines and Energy 2008)

Events and Submissions/Topic

If you have not yet self selected into a team by close of business Friday this week, you will be added to a team. 

Zoom: Engineering Design Models 

Week 5 Begin Date: 11 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Human Systems Integration

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Designing Sociotechnical Systems

Vacation Week Begin Date: 18 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 25 Aug 2025

Module/Topic

Achieving Safe Design

 

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Assessment Item 2

 

 


Design Practice and Standards Due: Week 6 Monday (25 Aug 2025) 10:00 am AEST
Week 7 Begin Date: 01 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Risk Management in Design

 

 

Chapter

Performing Risk Assessments of Emerging Technologies (Kelly 2022)

The Use of Safety Cases in Certificate and Regulation Review (Leveson 2011)

Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)

 

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Safety Cases

 

 

Week 8 Begin Date: 08 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Failure Prediction

 

Chapter

Fault Tree Handbook (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1981)

Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (ASQ 2025)

Hazard & Operability Analysis (HAOP 2015)

Process and Guide Words for Procedural HAZOPs (Broadleaf 2018)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Fault Tree Analysis

Week 9 Begin Date: 15 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Assessing Safety & Controlling Risk

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Assessment Item 3

 


Safety Case Report Due: Week 9 Monday (15 Sept 2025) 10:00 am AEST
Week 10 Begin Date: 22 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Operational Safety and Maintenance

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Safe Design in Action (including Operational Safety)

Week 11 Begin Date: 29 Sep 2025

Module/Topic

Design End of Life

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: End of Life

 

Week 12 Begin Date: 06 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

Beyond Safe Design

Resilient Design Principles

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Zoom: Good Work Design


Concept Map and Presentation Due: Week 12 Monday (6 Oct 2025) 10:00 am AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 13 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 20 Oct 2025

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Portfolio

Assessment Title
Design Practice and Standards

Task Description

Purpose

The purpose of this assessment item is to give you an opportunity to reflect on the theoretical foundations of Prevention Through Design (PTD) practice and to apply this knowledge to design standards.

Task Description

This portfolio contains two parts and has a word limit of 2000 words. The first part involves a set of Prevention through Design (PtD) discussion points related to design approaches, technology, and societal matters, while the second part examines PtD practice through the lens of design standards. Submit your work as a single document, comprised of two parts.

Part 1 – 60 marks

Your task relates to the information presented in weeks one to five. You will be asked to respond to a series of discussion points. The use of examples and case studies can help to illustrate points made. You are required to:

  • Research and discuss past and present challenges and opportunities for applying the principles of PtD.
  • Research and discuss the challenges and opportunities that disruptive technology, automation and artificial intelligence present.
  • Research and discuss emerging trends in technology, regulations, and cultural/societal expectations.
  • Identify and compare three prominent, yet different, design approaches and regarding their ability to capture the nuances of modern sociotechnical systems and growing system complexity.

Formal written expression, use of reputable sources, and correct referencing style are also expected to support your discussion points.

Part 2 – 40 marks

From the list on Moodle, select one case study to analyse. You will need to research and consider how PtD is achieved for your chosen case study. Your investigation is to do the following:

  • Identify design standards associated for your chosen case study.
  • Record their details (document names, numbers, year of publication, publisher and who develops them (organisations/individuals).
  • Identify whether the standards are informed by reactive and/or proactive methods, and
  • Discuss the means used in society to promulgate and encourage or enforce their use.

Resource Material

In developing your assessment piece you should consult peer-reviewed journals, relevant textbooks and the OHS Body of Knowledge. Extensive use of non-peer-reviewed information is strongly discouraged.

Level of Generative AI use allowed:

Level 2 - You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

 


Assessment Due Date

Week 6 Monday (25 Aug 2025) 10:00 am AEST

Submission date and time are AEST.


Return Date to Students

Week 8 Monday (8 Sept 2025)


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

This assignment represents 50% of your total grade.

Out of a possible 100 marks complete the following:

Part 1 – 60 marks

You will be assessed on the depth of discussion and research related to the following:

1. Discuss past and present challenges and opportunities for:

  • applying the principles of PtD (10 marks)
  • disruptive technology, automation and artificial intelligence. (10 marks)
  • emerging trends in technology, regulation, and cultural/societal expectations. (10 marks)

2. Compare design approaches regarding their ability to capture the nuances of sociotechnical systems, and systems complexity (20 marks).

3. Written expression and referencing style (10 marks)

Part 2 – 40 marks

  • Details of the design standard: Document name, number, year of publication, publisher, and the organisations/authors who develops (not publishes) them (10 marks)
  • Discuss whether the standards have been informed reactively and/or proactively and illustrate your points (10 marks)
  • Discuss the means used in society to promulgate and encourage or enforce their use (10 marks)
  • Written expression and referencing style (10 marks)


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Evaluate designs from a life cycle approach.
  • Identify past and present opportunities and challenges to achieving 'prevention through design' including the design process, human factors engineering, adoption of new technology and impact of disruptive technologies.
  • Evaluate potential risks associated with design issues in socio-technical systems around culture, processes, structures, equipment, tools and people by employing appropriate analytical methods.
  • Create a systematic response to a design problem that incorporates the prevention through design principles and methods.
  • Appraise design sub-optimisation and plant operational parameters as a member of a safety case design team


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 Group Work

Assessment Title
Safety Case Report

Task Description

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to provide insight into the purpose of Safety Cases and experience in their development. This assignment relates to the requirement for all Major Hazard Facilities to develop a Safety Case, as outlined in Chapter 9.3 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Model).

Grades

  • Team Grade (75 marks, representing 15% of your total grade)
  • Individual Grade (25 marks, representing 5% of your total grade)

Task Description

This assignment involves group work. The development of Safety Cases requires a collaborative effort to capture multiple perspectives. Though while authentic to real-world situations, group work also supports the development of many interpersonal and project management skills, highly valued in business, and by future employers. That said, in recognition of the individual contribution, the single submission will contain both the Group and Individual components of this assessment item. Please use the model regulations for this exercise. As a Safety Case Team, you are to submit a Safety Case Report which contains:

  1. Title Page
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Safety Case Outline (as per WHS Reg. 552)
  4. Management of Risk Plan (as per WHS Reg. 554 (1a)
  5. Reference list (as per CQUni Harvard Referencing style)

Total word range for the report is 1800 to 2100 words depending on the number of students in the team.

The following activities will help you complete this assessment item.

  • Team - Review Chapter 9.3 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Model) to identify the requirements for developing a Safety Case Outline (r.552)
  • Team - Complete the following items within the Safety Case Outline
    • WHS Reg. 552 (a)
    • WHS Reg. 552 (b)
    • WHS Reg. 552 (d)
  • Team - Decide who will complete the individual sections (as listed below).
  • Individual - Each student in the team is to complete one of the below items. Amongst yourselves, decide who will do what section (label with your name).
    • WHS Reg. 554 (1a)
    • WHS Reg. 552 (c)
    • WHS Reg. 552 (e)
    • WHS Reg. 552 (f)
  • Team - Curate the report
  • Team - One team member is to submit the final report
  • Please ensure individual work is clearly labeled with the student's name.

Teamwork

A list of Major Hazard Facilities (MHF) will be included in a self-select Choice tool on Moodle. From here, you can self-select into a team based on your choice of case study (Major Hazard Facility). Teams of 4 members are required. If you are not in a team by close of business Friday of Week 4, you will be allocated into a team by the Unit Coordinator. Once formed, a private Microsoft Teams (MT) space will be established for your team. To support a smooth teamwork process, it is advised that you develop a team charter (or contract) that contains the rules of process, such as: 1) communication details and arrangements, 2) schedule of meetings, milestones and who will do what and when, and 3) an issues resolution plan for anticipated situations that might slow or undermine a conducive team process. The team charter does not form part of the assessment but is intended to support teamwork process. It can also be useful to discuss your team profile. That is, your collective strengths (and allowable weaknesses) you bring to the team. Please refer to the free Belbin Handouts for team role descriptions and their associated strengths and weaknesses.

Resource Material

In developing your assessment piece you should consult peer-reviewed journals, relevant textbooks and the OHS Body of Knowledge. Extensive use of non-peer-reviewed information is strongly discouraged.

Level of Generative AI use allowed

Level 2 - You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

 


Assessment Due Date

Week 9 Monday (15 Sept 2025) 10:00 am AEST

Submission date and time are AEST.


Return Date to Students

Week 11 Monday (29 Sept 2025)


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

This assignment represents 20% of your overall grade for this unit.

Out of a possible 100 marks, regarding your chosen Major Hazard Facility, you are assessed on the following:

Team grade (75 marks)

  • Comprehensive written plan for preparing the Safety Case, as per WHS Reg. 552(a) (20 marks)
  • Description of methods to be used in preparing the Safety Case, as per WHS Reg. 552(b) (20 marks)
  • Description of the consultation arrangements in preparation of the Safety Case, as per WHS Reg. 552(d) (20 marks)
  • Report formatting as per CQUniversity Harvard Style, structure, grammar (10 marks)
  • Referencing style (5 marks)

Individual grade (25 marks)

  • Quality of one of the following, as agreed by your Team (20 marks)
    • Details of resources applied to the preparation of the Safety Case, as per WHS Reg. 552(c)
    • Draft of the Emergency Plan prepared, as per WHS Reg. 552(e)
    • Summary of any arrangements that are to be made in relation to the security of the Major Hazard Facility, as per WHS Reg. 552(f)
    • Management of Risk, as per WHS Reg. 554 (1, a)
  • Written expression and referencing style (5 marks)


Referencing Style

Submission
Online Group

Submission Instructions
Submit one team report and clearly identify by student name for the individual sections.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Appraise design as an effective strategy to minimise injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
  • Evaluate designs from a life cycle approach.
  • Identify past and present opportunities and challenges to achieving 'prevention through design' including the design process, human factors engineering, adoption of new technology and impact of disruptive technologies.
  • Evaluate potential risks associated with design issues in socio-technical systems around culture, processes, structures, equipment, tools and people by employing appropriate analytical methods.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

3 Presentation and Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Concept Map and Presentation

Task Description

Purpose

This assessment item helps to build big picture thinking. Major Hazard Facilities present societal threats and must therefore be managed as holistically as possible. For this we need to take a systems thinking approach. 

Task Description

This is an audio/visual presentation. Your task is to develop a visual Concept Map and associated 10-minute audio/visual recording.

The Concept Map is to capture the following:

  • A visual representation of the lifecycle of the Major Hazard Facility you examined for Assessment Item 2, from concept through to end-of-life.
  • The major hazards and risks at each phase of the design lifecycle. 
  • Key actors and resources necessary to support the management of risk.
  • Presented on a single pdf file.

The voice recording is to help the viewer comprehend the concept map.

  • Briefly describe the sociotechnical complexity of the Major Hazard Facility
  • Mention the benefits the Major Hazard Facility brings to society.
  • Identify the threats to society the Major Hazard Facility presents throughout its lifecycle.
  • Discuss the methods useful for managing these threats.
  • 10-minute audio or visual recording

Resources on audio/visual options are provided on Moodle.

Resource Material

In developing your assessment piece, you should consult peer-reviewed journals, relevant textbooks and the OHS Body of Knowledge. Extensive use of non-peer-reviewed information is strongly discouraged.

Level of Generative AI use allowed

You may use AI for planning, idea development and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

 


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Monday (6 Oct 2025) 10:00 am AEST

Submission date and time are AEST. Submit the abstract and slide deck together as a pdf.


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Monday (20 Oct 2025)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

This assignment represents 30% of your overall grade for this unit.

You will be assessed on the following criteria (100 marks):

  • Concept Map (50 marks)
    • Presents the sociotechnical complexity of the chosen MHF across its lifecycle (10 marks)
    • Relationships between key concepts and ideas are made clear with symbols and word phrases (10 marks)
    • The map is creatively developed, easy to follow, and includes a legend to support understanding (10 marks)
    • Threats to society across the MHF lifecycle are identified (10 marks)
    • Key actors and resources clearly address noted threats (10 marks)
  • Recorded overlay (50 marks)
    • The audio/visual presentation is clear and easy to follow (10 marks)
    • The sociotechnical complexity of the Major Hazard Facility (MHF) is concisely presented (10 marks)
    • Its societal benefits are outlined (10 marks)
    • The challenges to operational safety and methods/ techniques for managing threats are discussed (10 marks)
    • A well-structured presentation, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion (10 marks)


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Submit a single audio/visual file (as per instructions on Moodle) and submit the concept map in .pdf format.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Evaluate designs from a life cycle approach.
  • Identify past and present opportunities and challenges to achieving 'prevention through design' including the design process, human factors engineering, adoption of new technology and impact of disruptive technologies.
  • Evaluate potential risks associated with design issues in socio-technical systems around culture, processes, structures, equipment, tools and people by employing appropriate analytical methods.
  • Assess the value of the elimination of hazards through the redesign of buildings and structures, work environments, materials, plant (machinery and equipment) job tasks and work environments.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?