Revisiting Lorent and Szymberski: Evaluating how research in prevention through design is interpreted and cited

This paper examines the evidence behind two widely accepted theories in Prevention through Design (PtD) research. The concept of mitigating/removing construction hazards during design, is relatively new considering the history of construction work. Within this domain, two heavily cited theories serve as a foundation of a substantial portion of the existing knowledge base and are cited as being supported by objective evidence. The first theory, stemming from Lorent's 1987 report for the Belgian National Action Committee for Safety and Health in Construction and his subsequent reports for EuroFound, is that construction accidents result from attributes of facility design. The second theory, originating from the Szymberski's 1997 Time-Safety Influence Curve, is that the ability to positively influence safety exponentially decreases as a project proceeds from concept to completion. This paper aims to illustrate how these theories have evolved from ideas into perceived truths, despite the absence of scientific evidence. Linguistic rules surrounding English syntax were developed to differentiate how researchers have cited these works, either as being a fact or an expert opinion. Numerous researchers have referenced these two works as being factual, but the review of both works showed a lack of empirical evidence. As the construction safety research community matures in scientific rigor, it is of utmost importance that all work is carefully interpreted and cited, especially as it relates to distinguishing theory from empirical evidence. Such care will help to advance safety as a scientific discipline and will improve epistemological positioning, theoretical underpinning, and interpretation of results.