Central Missouri professor honored with 2nd annual Prevention through Design Award

Itasca, IL — In recognition of his outstanding leadership in reducing workplace hazards through design methods, Georgi Popov is the recipient of the second annual Prevention through Design Award.

NIOSH, the National Safety Council and the American Society of Safety Professionals presented Popov, a professor and interim chair of the University of Central Missouri’s Safety Sciences Program, with the award during a virtual ceremony Oct. 11.

Prevention through Design, or PtD, seeks to protect workers by limiting risks and reducing hazards as soon as possible during the work process – specifically in the design phase. The annual PtD Award recognizes individuals, teams, businesses and other organizations that have eliminated or reduced hazards through design or redesign efforts – or have contributed to the body of knowledge that enables PtD solutions.

“One of the best ways to prevent and control occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities is to ‘design out’ or minimize hazards and risk early on in the life cycle of workplace tools, equipment, processes and organization,” NIOSH Director John Howard said in a press release. “In honoring all the nominees today and recognizing Dr. Popov’s years of contribution to the field, NIOSH hopes to further raise awareness of how useful these prevention methods can be.”

Popov has more than 25 years of experience in the application and instruction of PtD concepts, occupational risk assessments, and risk management. He’s a leading researcher, instructor and speaker in the PtD and risk management field and has taught PtD and risk assessment to thousands of occupational safety and health pros. As a consultant and professor, Popov has helped identify and solve many design-related hazards.

Since 2019, Popov has served as chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z590.3 Prevention through Design Committee. Under his leadership and guidance, the standard on PtD was revised and published in August 2021. Many of the concepts and methods included in the new edition are influenced by Popov’s work.

“Few people have done more for the Prevention through Design field than Dr. Popov,” said Paul Vincent, executive vice president of workplace practice at NSC. “His decades of writing, researching, consulting and teaching helped instill the importance of design into the next generation of safety professionals. That type of ongoing contribution to safety is invaluable.”

Nomination instructions for the 2023 PtD Award can be found on the award website. The nomination deadline is April 3.