Development of safe design thinking among engineering students

•Prevention through design educational intervention was developed and implemented.•The intervention builds on engineering ethics education focusing on occupational safety.•The development of engineering students’ safe design thinking was measured over time.•Knowledge and awareness of OHS principles increased.•The results supplement NIOSH PtD educational goals.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative recognizes engineering education as a primary source to infuse safe design knowledge with the purpose of affecting change in the United States. In line with NIOSH objectives, we: (1) develop and implement a PtD education intervention with engineering students, and (2) measure the change in knowledge and comprehension of occupational health and safety principles from an engineering design perspective from students’ first-year to fourth-year. The intervention is an addition to engineering curricula and was applied to a cohort of undergraduate engineering students evaluated as a one group pretest posttest design. Over the time from first-year to fourth-year, the engineering students’ thinking developed and changed regarding their design responsibility, what causes accidents, how they can reduce risk, and in applying the concepts in case studies. There was a shift in thinking from safe people to safe place and recognition that the hierarchy of controls can be utilized by engineers. The results supplement NIOSH goals and contribute to the body of knowledge in safe design education.