Professor Study Seeking FMs, Technicians for Interviews

Why It Matters

Getting facility‑management input at the design stage can dramatically cut retrofit expenses, improve long‑term worker safety, and push the industry toward a proactive safety model rather than a reactive one.

Key Takeaways

• 86% of skylight injuries occur during maintenance, not construction.
• 76% of HVAC incidents happen in the occupancy phase.
• 65.8% of facilities needed safety retrofits after occupancy.
• Integrating FM expertise early can lower retrofit costs and fatalities.

Pulse Analysis

The lifecycle of a commercial building is heavily weighted toward occupancy, yet safety research has traditionally focused on the brief construction window. This mismatch leaves facility managers and technicians—who spend over 95% of a building’s life maintaining systems—exposed to hazards that were baked into the design. Prevention through Design (PtD) offers a paradigm shift, urging designers to consult operational staff early so that engineering controls, rather than administrative fixes, become the default safety net.

Empirical data underscores the urgency: a decade‑long OSHA review found 86% of skylight incidents and 76% of HVAC injuries happen during the operations and maintenance phase, with skylight falls carrying a 50.7% fatality rate. Misclassification of these events further obscures the true scale, hampering funding and policy responses. Facility professionals report that nearly two‑thirds of projects require post‑occupancy safety retrofits, inflating costs exponentially as a building ages. Early FM involvement can identify high‑risk access points, size mechanical rooms for serviceability, and embed protective measures before construction begins, dramatically reducing both human and financial loss.

For owners, designers, and FM teams, embracing FM‑driven PtD translates into measurable ROI: fewer work‑related injuries, lower insurance premiums, and extended asset life. As buildings integrate more complex systems—solar arrays, battery storage, EV charging infrastructure—the safety stakes rise, making operational insight indispensable. The ongoing interview campaign seeks to codify these insights into a reusable framework, positioning the FM profession as a strategic partner in design rather than a cost‑center after the fact. This proactive approach promises a safer, more efficient built environment for the decades ahead.