Safe by design: where are we now?

This paper reviews and discusses the principal findings of the preceding papers in the special issue and draws out the lessons to be learned by designers, safety specialists and researchers.It returns to the questions posed in the editorial and groups them under the headings of the case for design as an important contributor to operational safety, the general principles of the design process and whether they are universally applicable across different technologies and fields of application, the dilemmas facing designers and the help which can be offered to assist them in their vital and difficult work.The paper ends with a summary of the gaps in our knowledge of the design process and its contribution to safety. These are large and cry out for more research to study them.