CONSTRUCTION SAFETY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
A Report from the Construction Industry Pa r t n e rship of New York City
November 2003
ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
The Construction Industry Partnership (CIP) brings together the construction industry’s preeminent management and
labor organizations in New York City, the Building Trades Employers’Association and the Building and Construction
Trades Council.
The Building Trades Employers’Association represents 25 trade associations: 1,500 construction managers, general
contractors and specialty trade subcontractors who employ 25,000 people in their corporate offices in New York City.
Members of the Building Trades Employers’Association awarded over $2 billion in construction contracts to minority
and women-owned businesses in New York City, with 85% of these contracts awarded on private construction projects in
2002.
The Building and Construction Trades Council is comprised of 54 affiliated unions and 100,000 members of the building
trades. Of this workforce:
●
51% of the 7,581 union apprentices in New York City are African-American, Latino, Asian, and women.
●
40% of the 100,000 members of the Building and Construction Trades Council are minority/women.
●
84% of the New York City High School graduates enrolled in the Construction Skills 2000 apprentice program
are minorities.
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ECONOMICS
●
Each $1 million in direct construction spending generates nearly 18 jobs in New York City and a total
of 26 jobs in the entire New York region.
●
Each $1 spent on construction in New York City generates $1.50 of economic activity in New York City
and a total of $2.15 in theentire New York region.
●
Every $1 in direct construction investment generates an additional $0.51 of total spending in New York
City from building maintenance activity when a building has been constructed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A SNAPSHOT OF THE NEW YORK CITY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
FINDING THE CAUSES FOR CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS/FATALITIES
............. 5
THE FINANCIAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ACCIDENTS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SUCCESSFUL MODELS FOR PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
SOURCES OF INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES
A Report from the Construction Industry Pa r t n e rship of New York City
INTRODUCTION
On November 18, 2002, New York City Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, AIA convened
a “Summit On Construction Safety.” This meeting brought together the staff of the New York City
Department of Buildings (DOB), the New York regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and more than 60 representatives of
construction companies, real estate owners, labor leaders and public construction agency
commissioners.
The Buildings Department had just completed the development of its first comprehensive
management information system that would effectively track construction accidents. While it was
virtually impossible to determine whether or not there was an actual increase in construction
accidents from the previous year because of a prior information system that was fragmented and
failed to keep safety information in any useful way—the Department determined the data it had
collected warranted such a summit meeting to take a closer look at critical public and worker
safety issues.
From this meeting, The Construction Industry Partnership decided it would take a further look at the
issue of public and worker safety on construction sites based on the information presented at that
Summit meeting. It is critical that New York City review the issue of public and worker safety as
it embarks upon what could be one of the strongest building eras in our City's history.
It is vitally important that the issue of construction safety be seriously reviewed as we begin the
redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, the Hudson Yards Redevelopment, Downtown Brooklyn, and
prepare for the 2012 Olympics, as well as for construction projects currently being built in the five
Boroughs.
The two principal objectives of this report are:
1) To identify the most common causes of construction fatalities and accidents
on construction sites
2) To recommend changes in public policies that will bring about a higher standard
for public and worker safety
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The single most troubling fact about public and worker safety on construction sites in New York
City is that public and worker safety has, in effect, become:
A TALE OF TWO CITIES:
1) One construction industry in which contractors file for the appropriate building permits,
have their projects inspected, who spend some $40 million per year on training their
project management and trade labor workforces, and comply with the various city and
federal rules and regulations required to build in New York City;
2) A second construction industry, one that is growing in all five Boroughs. One in which
contractors do not file the legally required building permits, where projects go
undetected and thus escape inspection, that jeopardizes the safety of the public and
their workforces because of poor construction practices and the lack of any skill or
safety training, and that fails to comply with any city or federal rules and regulations
to build in New York City.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY FINDINGS
1) 63% of all worker fatalities occurred in the construction industry from October 1, 2001 September 26, 2003.
2) 62% of the victims in all worker fatalities in New York City were Hispanic.
3) 70% of the twenty-five (25) fatalities in construction from October 1, 2001 September 3, 2002 occurred on non-union construction sites.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY CONCLUSIONS
1) The leading factors that contribute to construction safety fatalities/accidents are:
a) a lack of safety training for project management staff and the trade labor workforce and
b) a lack of proper safety supervision on construction worksites.
2) Language barriers are too often at the heart of on-the-job construction fatalities/accidents.
3) The size and complexity of the construction industry combined with limited governmental
resources require new inspection and enforcement strategies to protect public and worker safety.
4) The cost construction fatalities/accidents in New York City was $858 million in 2002.
5) A reasonable reduction in the frequency and severity of construction fatalities/accidents would
have lowered the cost by $266 million in 2002.
2
RECOMMENDATIONS
1) Adopt Mandatory Safety Training Requirements For Project Management and Trade
Labor Personnel Prior to Issuing Building Permits
2) Establish A Task Force of Industry and Government Leaders To Develop New Enforcement
Strategies
3) Adopt Site Safety Requirements For Projects 5-14 Stories Tall
4) Expand Insurance And Tax Verification Filing Requirements For Contractors
5) Encourage Owners To Require Random Drug and Alcohol Testing
6) Establish A Unified Construction Accident Reporting System
A SNAPSHOT OF THE NEW YORK CITY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The construction industry in New York City is large, varied and multi-dimensional. It consists of
a diversity of activities, projects and participants. It is not a single, vertically or horizontally
organized industry that is dominated by a small number of national or multi-national corporations.
On the contrary, it is a huge, fragmented decentralized industry characterized by thousands of
small and medium-sized construction companies.
As the chart below shows, the overwhelming majority of New York City construction
establishments employ nine (9) or less workers.
New York City
Construction Industry
Size
Standard Industrial
Code 15-17
March 2002
# of Construction Firms % of Total
# of Employees
% of Total
0-9 employees
8,175
77.6%
20,948
19.4%
10-24 employees
1,438
13.6%
21,456
19.9%
25-49 employees
536
5.1%
18,303
16.9%
50-99 employees
235
2.2%
15,940
14.8%
100 or more employees
152
1.4%
31,377
29.0%
10,536
100%
108,024
100%
Total
3
Certain construction sub-markets have low barriers to entry, and aspects of work culture with the
industry (owning one's own tools, moving from job to job) encourage workers to think more like
entrepreneurs than the typical company of other industries. The U.S. Census Bureau Non-Employer
Statistics series reports that for the New York Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which covers
the five boroughs of New York City along with Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, there
were 41,209 businesses with no paid employees operating in the construction sector in 2000.
In addition, New York City has some 900,000 buildings with hundreds of thousands of building
permits that are filed each year for some type of construction activity. Inspecting these jobsites
and ensuring that all projects under construction have the appropriate legal building permits is a
task that is undeniably overwhelming.
It is within that context that two very different and distinct construction industries have emerged
in New York City. In effect, what exists today is A Tale of Two Cities.
First, there is the organized construction industry—a sector of the industry that invests some $40
million per year of its own money in the safety and skill training of its project management and
skilled workforce.
These are the contractors that file for the legally required permits when building their projects, that
build in accordance with the requirements of the New York City Building Code, whose projects
are regularly inspected to ensure compliance and consider safety of the public and their workers
as one of their highest priorities.
The second segment of the construction industry is one that is growing in all five boroughs and
can best be described as an “Underground Construction Industry.” These are contractors who
ignore permit requirements. They work at night and on weekends in order to avoid construction
inspections. These contractors take great risks with public and worker safety—especially when
they hire illegal and undocumented immigrants. They invest virtually nothing in the safety
training of their project management and/or trade labor workforce.
It is an industry that goes largely unregulated because of the limited amount of public resources
available to identify, inspect and enforce their projects in such a large and complex industry.
There is nothing new about this phenomenon. A 1988 report, New York City's Informal Economy,
written by Saskia Sassen, Director of Urban Planning at Columbia University, found that:
“Based on a four block survey in Manhattan conducted by the Department of Buildings,
90% of all interior construction work in that Borough is done without building
permits. This finding has been confirmed by other surveys of city-wide “illegal work” in
construction.”
Last year, the Department of Buildings construction inspectors conducted a “sweep” of
scaffolding and sidewalk sheds in Manhattan. They found 25% of the construction sites
inspected did not have the proper building permit required for that project.
4
More recently, there have been two examples of how the “Underground Construction Industry”
has been operating right here in Manhattan.
According to the observation of members of the Building & Construction Trades Council, on
September 26, 2003, at 554-556 3rd Avenue (corner of 37th Street and 3rd Avenue) a construction
company by the name of Super Structure Builders allegedly dismantled a 40-story tower crane.
This work was performed on Friday, September 26, 2003 starting at 5:00 p.m. until Saturday,
September 27, 2003 at 5:30 p.m.
This work was performed without a permit for lane closure on 3rd Avenue as required by the New
York City Department of Transportation and without the appropriate permit from the New York
City Department of Buildings Cranes and Derrick division. There has been no punitive or
remedial action taken to our knowledge with respect to these violations.
On Saturday, October 4, 2003, members of the Building & Construction Trades Council observed
the same company, Super Structure Builders, operating a crane at 116 West 31st Street to erect an
outside hoist. This work was performed without a New York City Department of Buildings Cranes
and Derrick Division permit and a lane closure permit as required by the New York City
Department of Transportation. Once again, there has been no punitive or remedial action taken to
our knowledge with respect to these violations.
FINDING THE CAUSES FOR CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS/FATALITIES
New York City's $13.2 billion construction industry is the most dangerous of occupations, posing
a threat not only to its workers but also to passers-by who cannot avoid proximity to construction
activity.
Research done by the U.S. Department of Labor has identified some important causes for
construction injuries and fatalities. A series of reports by the Fatality Assessment and Control
Evaluation program has revealed:
●
Important shortfalls in the training, preparation and professionalism of construction
management personnel and their trade labor forces. This was found to be especially
prevelant at small companies.
In a February 2003 Safety Conference held in Chicago, several investigators from U.S.
Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) field offices across
the country presented case studies that focused on major construction fatalities and accidents in
their respective geographic areas. The common elements that emerged from these case studies
included:
5
●
Ignoring safety in hopes of saving a few dollars
●
Ignorance of legal requirements
●
Failures in safety monitoring during the course of a project
●
Confusion over safety responsibilities between different levels of contractors and
subcontractors working on a project
●
Improper use or modification of equipment
●
Poor hazard assessment
Recently, federal OSHA Administrator John Henshaw said that the agency would sharpen its
focus in enforcement and inspections in the construction industry. He said that certain employers
would be targeted for inspections and would feel the full weight of OSHA's legal authority when
violations are uncovered.
Another safety concern discussed at the February 2003 Safety Conference in Chicago was the
increasing number of construction related deaths and injuries to Hispanic workers across the
nation. A Milwaukee area federal OSHA construction investigator said:
“Language issues are too often at the heart of on-the-job construction accidents.”
According to an analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Hispanics being
killed and injured in the construction industry is disproportionate to their representation in
construction. The national fatality rate for Hispanic construction workers in 2001 was 18.3 per
100,000 compared with the construction fatality rate for all workers of 13.3. Local press
coverage on construction related accidents show a similar pattern in New York City.
In July of 2001, a New York Newsday investigative series reported that New York has the nation’s
highest rate of immigrants killed in the workplace, with foreign-born workers accounting for three
of every 10 deaths, and that hundreds of deaths have gone uninvestigated by government safety
inspectors.
Patricia Clark, New York Regional Administrator for the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, said in a December 16, 2001 Newsday interview that a scaffolding accident which
had occurred a month earlier, killing five immigrant workers and injuring 14 others, illustrated
some of the dangers faced by immigrant workers. The article quoted Clark as saying that
undocumented workers usually are not unionized and don’t have anyone to look out for their
safety:
“It’s clear that union workers in New York have a great deal of training...and that
training helps them to know what they can do safely and to recognize hazards.”
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has undertaken an initiative to further
analyze information gathered from its investigations of fatalities in all industries. It has found that
immigrant/Hispanic employment was increasing and that these populations were experiencing
high employment in the construction industry. The agency’s analysis further showed that most
fatalities were occurring in urban areas.
6
On October 16, 2003 at the International Conference on Urban Health, the agency presented the
findings of OSHA-investigated fatalities among immigrant workers. In compiling its report, the
agency created an immigrant/language questionnaire it designated as IMMLANG. This project
was initiated in April 2002 and was used in fatality investigations for all industries. Individuals
who responded to IMMLANG-Yes to the survey meant that the worker who died:
●
Was an immigrant worker and/or Hispanic worker or
●
Spoke a language other than English at the worksite and/or there was a potential language
barrier
The tables below show that the primary language of 57% of the victims of fatalities across all
industries in New York City was Spanish and that 62% of the victims of these fatalities were
Hispanic. Of particular concern is the OSHA finding that in New York City, an overwhelming
number of these fatalities occurred in the construction industry—63%.
IMMLANG-Yes / New York City
Primary Language of the Victim
(October 1, 2001 to September 26, 2003)
IMMLANG-Yes / New York City
Ethnicity
(October 1, 2001 to September 26, 2003)
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
IMMLANG-Yes / New York City
Industry
(October 1, 2001 to September 26, 2003)
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
7
And while several of the recent major construction accidents resulting in fatalities in New York
City were suffered by individuals who have been classified as “day laborers,” the OSHA findings
reveal that the problem is even more pronounced. Their survey of victims of fatalities in New
York City across all industries showed that in 84% of the deaths, the individuals were not
classified as day laborers. With 63% of these fatalities occurring in the construction industry in
New York City, the need for safety training to protect both workers and the public and for the
training to be provided in multiple languages can no longer be ignored.
IMMLANG-Yes / New York City
Day Laborer Status
(October 1, 2001 to September 26, 2003)
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
A more local effort to improve construction workplace safety was done by the New Jersey
Department of Labor. That agency reported a decline from 8.3 injury cases per 100 full-time
workers to 5.4 over an eight year period. Labor Department officials credit safety training and
more effective enforcement of safety regulations as the reasons for the lower numbers.
Worker Safety. A review of statistics compiled by the New York Regional office of the U.S.
Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the period
October 1, 2001 to September 3, 2002 shows that:
●
25 workers were killed on New York City construction sites
●
7 of the 25 workers killed were classified as day laborers
●
70% of these fatalities occurred on non-union job sites
8
◆ Employer Information—New York City Construction Fatalities
N=25
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Upon further investigation of these fatalities by OSHA inspectors, 15 Training Citations were
issued to the construction companies involved in these projects:
●
30% were issued because the contractor's workforce had no safety training at all;
●
50% were issued because the contractor's trade workforce lacked the safety training
related to the fatality
◆ Training Citations
N=15
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
9
Below is additional information on these 25 fatalities based on OSHA investigations of the deaths
occurring on these New York City construction sites:
◆ Types of Fatal Accidents
◆ Incidents by Borough
N=25
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
◆ Citations Issued
◆ Type of Contractor or Employer Information
◆ 14 employers cited
■
1 in-compliance
■
5 cases still under investigation
◆ 86 violations issued
■
6.1 violations / citation
◆ 77 serious violations
■
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
89.5% classified as “Serious”
◆ 3 willful violations
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
◆ Operative builder:
1
◆ GC, nonresidential building:
3
◆ Heavy construction:
1
◆ Masonry & stone work:
4
◆ Concrete work:
1
◆ Structural steel:
2
◆ Excavation work:
2
◆ Demolition & wrecking:
2
◆ Building equipment installation
1
◆ Specialty trade contractor:
3
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Public Safety. The New York City Department of Buildings is the public agency responsible for
public safety as it relates to construction activity.
On November 18, 2002, New York City Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster convened a
Construction Safety Summit. Some 60 industry representatives participated in this session.
Industry leaders from various disciplines including construction company executives and field
personnel including construction managers, general contractors and specialty trade subcontractors,
real estate owners, labor leaders and public agency commissioners with responsibility for
building public projects were in attendance.
The Buildings Department staff presented data from its newly implemented accident database.
The new system provides for more accurate classification of the types of incidents and their
probable causes, captures contractor information which had not been available in a single
database, and addresses other gaps in the collection of information that in the past prevented the
10
type of incisive analysis necessary to propose solutions that would address specific safety
problems. The Buildings Department should be commended for this initiative. In fact, even at the
time of this report, the Department is implementing enhancements which will strengthen
documentation, classification and reporting.
Meeting participants were divided into four individual groups in an effort to have them review the
data, relate their own professional experience and knowledge and discuss the possible causes of
construction accidents.
Below is a summary of the New York City Department of Buildings statistics on construction
accidents for 2002 presented and discussed at the Summit meeting:
●
There were a total of 101 recorded construction accidents.
Accidents by Categories of all the recorded construction accidents:
●
Scaffolding accidents comprised 56%.
Scaffolding Accidents 2002
Source: New York City Department of Buildings
●
Construction equipment accidents comprised 23%; of these 80% involved cranes and derricks.
Construction Equipment Accidents 2002
Source: New York City Department of Buildings
11
●
Structure-related accidents comprised 21% with 90% of these accidents involving
falling material from new construction.
Structure Accidents 2002
Source: New York City Department of Buildings
Injuries/Fatalities
●
Of the 101 recorded accidents, 64 did not result in injury or fatality.
●
29 of the accidents resulted in injury, with 9 out of a total of 36 persons injured.
●
The majority involved scaffolds and construction equipment;
material falling from construction sites caused the rest.
●
8% of the accidents resulted in a total of 8 fatalities. Half of these involved
worker falls from scaffolds while construction equipment was involved in 3 fatal
accidents.
Source: New York City Department of Buildings
12
Accidents by Borough
Source: New York City Department of Buildings
After each group reviewed the data and discussed their own experience and professional
knowledge, they each presented their findings to the whole assembly.
At the conclusion of the meeting, all parties concluded that the two (2) leading factors that
contribute to unsafe conditions and practices on a construction site are:
1. The Lack of Safety Training. More safety training is essential, ranging from
jobsite-specific training to post-apprenticeship training for trade union workers and
including training for non-union trade workers.
2. The Lack of Supervision. Active supervision by competent project managers,
superintendents, foreman and other supervisory personnel is acknowledged to be a
highly effective safety measure if put in place.
The effects of these primary causes are typically compounded at construction sites by other
potential factors which the Department of Buildings continues to study: congestion at job sites
due to fast-tracking and accelerated construction schedules, noncompliance with permit filing
requirements, uneven accident reporting and alcohol/substance abuse.
13
THE FINANCIAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ACCIDENTS
There is no dollar value that can be placed on the loss or injury to human life. But jobsite
accidents do have a severe and quantifiable impact on the cost of construction. Owners should
recognize that the principles of management control commonly applied to costs, schedules,
quality and productivity are equally applicable to safety and that, if used, will improve safety
performance.
In one of the only studies of its kind in the nation, the Business Roundtable in 1995 released its
report More Construction For The Money. This report was part of a Construction Industry Cost
Effectiveness Project conducted by the Stanford University Construction Engineering and
Management Center.
Classified as direct costs (insured) for study by the research team were medical expenses and
premiums for workman's compensation benefits, as well as liability and property losses. Indirect
costs, which are not insured, make up the bulk of the total. They included reduced productivity,
delays in project schedules, administrative time and expense, and damage to equipment and the
facility under construction. While the possibility of punitive damages awarded in lawsuits also
exists, no estimate was made.
The data developed for this study indicated that construction accidents cost $8.9 billion or 6.5%
of the $137 billion (1979 dollars) spent annually by users of industrial, utility and commercial
construction across the nation. The Stanford University study team also estimated that a
“reasonable reduction in the frequency and severity of construction accidents would lower the bill
of $8.9 billion by $2.75 billion.” This estimate includes both direct and indirect costs of accidents.
Applying these formulas to the 2002 New York City construction market value of $13.2 billion
shows that:
●
The cost of construction fatalities/accidents in New York City was $858 million
●
A reasonable reduction in the frequency and severity of construction fatalities/accidents
would have lowered the cost by $266 million
Enforcing Public and Worker Safety
The size, complexity, and sheer volume of activity in the $13.2 billion New York City
construction market makes enforcement of public and worker safety as well as other regulatory
requirements a formidable challenge even under the best of circumstances.
The public agencies responsible for the enforcement of public and worker safety, the New York
City Department of Buildings and the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), simply do not have the resources to adequately enforce and carry out
their very significant responsibilities.
14
This is nothing new. The lack of financial resources for enforcement and inspection has been
going on for decades. The difference this time is that the growing “underground construction
industry” has reached such a level that the time has come to consider radical new strategies in the
areas of construction inspection and enforcement to better protect public and worker safety.
This report does not make an effort to review budget data relating to the federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administration so it will not specifically comment on it. It is obvious to those
in the construction industry that the resources of the agency essentially limit enforcement and
inspection efforts to the large construction projects in New York City.
This does not mean medium and small projects are ignored. It simply means the agency must be
judicious in the allocation of its limited personnel and resources. The New York regional office
of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does an outstanding job monitoring
construction safety based on the limited resources they have to work with. There is no better
example of this than their response throughout the cleanup of Ground Zero. While there are many
people who are deserving of the outstanding safety record achieved in the cleanup of that site—
the employees of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration deserve our thanks and
gratitude for being an important part of that team.
New York City Department of Buildings. The lack of financial resources allocated to this
Department and its related shortcomings has been a decades old problem.
In a report entitled Protecting Public Safety: Preserving Public Trust submitted to the Mayor's
Oversight Commission on the Buildings Department by several real estate and construction
organizations in November of 2000, two points are illustrative of the historical problems the
agency has suffered from:
1) From 1990-2000, fees and fines paid to the Buildings Department exceeded the
agency's total operating budget by $205 million—an average of $18.6 million per year.
These are funds that should have been dedicated to the operation of the Buildings
Department. Instead, these fees were placed in the general treasury of the City.
2) From 1992-1999 the number of construction permits issued increased by 57% while
the number of actual construction inspectors declined by 22%.
The Administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made improving the Department of
Buildings and the enforcement of public and worker safety a higher public policy priority than it
has been in the past. Working with the New York City Council, increased financial resources have
been allocated in an effort to hire more building inspectors at a time when fiscal resources are
severely limited.
So how do we increase the enforcement of public and worker safety in New York City? How does
New York City rid itself of the type of contractor (and the owners who hire them), that
flagrantly violate public and worker construction safety and other requirements to build; and put
at risk the lives of the public and its workforce?
15
This report suggests a framework for moving forward:
●
Stronger standards need to be established before contractors (and the owners that hire
them) have their permits to build approved;
●
New strategies for enforcement and identification of projects being built illegally need to
be identified;
●
Stronger penalties should be established for those contractors (and the owners who hire
them) who attempt to build in violation of the law.
SUCCESSFUL MODELS FOR PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY
The most effective model of construction safety is the cleanup of Ground Zero. Readily
acknowledged as the most dangerous construction site in our nation's history, it was completed
with no fatalities, life-threatening or serious injuries to any of the 3,000 workers that labored for
over 3.7 million total work-hours.
How did this happen? First, all of the project management personnel and skilled labor force
responsible for the cleanup had previously attended thousands of hours of safety training long
before the catastrophic event occurred.
On this project, a mandatory safety training program was adopted that required every single
project manager, superintendent, foreman and member of the trade labor workforce, to
successfully complete before they could work on this site.
Each individual, prior to working on the site, was required to first take a 3 hour orientation
program. This program included:
●
An orientation to the site
●
Description of access points
●
Personal protection requirements
●
Equipment requirements
●
Fall protection
The program started with a single trainer who trained an additional 60 trainers who were already
trained in specific safety courses. Soon, every company project manager and skilled tradesperson
working on the site had someone to utilize as a trainer.
16
Each individual was required to complete the following training prior to working on the site:
●
Rigging and Wire Ropes
●
Cranes
●
Fall Protection
●
Silica (dust)
●
10-hour OSHA course—all supervisors and stewards were required to take this course
Every individual working on the site had to have in their possession a card that was issued to them
upon their successful completion of the safety training courses. Representatives from the public
agencies responsible for monitoring safety compliance on the site asked the individuals working
there to show them the card or they could not work on the site.
A similar approach was taken in the mid-nineties during the casino boom in Las Vegas. Entitled
the Smart Mark program, it included many of the same elements as those in the Ground Zero
cleanup.
A mandatory safety training curriculum consisting of five courses, mostly OSHA related, were
required in order for all project managers, superintendents, foremen and skilled tradesmen to work
on any of the casino construction projects.
Cards were issued to each worker to verify the fact that they had successfully completed the
courses and individuals responsible for inspecting the sites for public and worker safety checked
to see that those individuals did in fact complete the training. Simply put, any supervisor or
worker who did not have the card indicating they had successfully completed the training did not
work on that job site; no card-no work.
17
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Adopt Mandatory Safety Training Requirements For Project Management and Trade Labor Personnel.
The lack of safety training is the single most glaring deficiency in the construction industry. If
there is to be a serious effort to establish professional standards and improve public and worker
safety in the construction industry, it must start with mandatory safety training for both project
management personnel and the trade labor workforce.
A Safety Training Council should be established in order to determine the specific training
requirements and to develop implementation procedures working with the New York City
Department of Buildings. Contractors applying for building permits should be required to certify
that their project management and trade labor workforce have completed the required safety
training prior to having a building permit approved. Project managers, superintendents, foreman
and the trade labor workforce should be required to show proof when asked during inspections that
each individual employed has successfully completed a standard safety training course. Failure to
comply and/or falsification of certification in this area should result in heavy fines, the suspension
of building permits or both.
This process need not be overwhelming or costly. Existing safety training courses offered by the
federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) should be the core of the
curriculum. Along with current Department of Buildings requirements, it would be relatively
simple to establish a basic core safety curriculum.
Federal OSHA rules have long embodied a “train the trainers” concept. That is, when one
individual receives an OSHA card certifying they have successfully completed the safety training,
that individual is then certified to instruct others in that specific training course. That individual
can then be a safety trainer for additional employees in the company-both for construction
contractor supervisory staff and the labor workforce.
In addition, given the number of Spanish-speaking workers in the construction industry and the
number of accidents and fatalities in which Spanish-speaking workers have been involved,
training should be provided for workers in multiple languages.
2. Establish A Task Force Of Industry, Government, and Law Enforcement Officials To Develop Additional
Enforcement Strategies.
In a City with over 900,000 buildings, 10,000 construction companies and 125,000 managerial,
administrative and trade labor personnel—the task of inspecting construction sites and
identifying sites that are illegally building is incredibly daunting.
However, that does not relieve both the public and private sector of the responsibility of ensuring
public and worker safety to the best of our abilities.
18
Public and worker safety demand an additional array of enforcement strategies to accomplish this
task. City and federal agencies with the responsibility for enforcing these requirements will never
have the financial resources necessary to carry out their responsibilities. Today, tax dollars are
spread too thin and the public has no appetite for tax or fee increases. So we must find
additional ways to protect public and worker safety.
For those companies who comply with the law, the frustration level has never been greater. There
are simply too many companies who are building without filing building permits, escape having
their job sites inspected and jeopardize public and worker safety. These companies must be
identified and penalized when they fail to comply with the law.
A Task Force of industry, government, and law enforcement officials should be convened to:
1) Establish standards for contractors to meet as a condition for building permit approval;
2) Identify new enforcement strategies;
3) Establish stronger penalties for contractors who violate building code requirements.
3. Adopt Site Safety Manager Requirements For Projects 5-14 Stories Tall.
The New York City Building Code currently requires projects with 15 stories and above to have a
New York City Department of Buildings-certified Site Safety Manager responsible for public
safety. This requirement acts to ensure construction work sites are maintained for public safety
but also have had an additional impact on worksite safety. By requiring a specifically trained and
designated individual who is assigned the responsibility for maintaining a safe work site—it has
also improved worker safety conditions on the jobsite.
There is nothing magical about the 15-story threshold. Data from both the federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administration and the New York City Department of Buildings clearly show
that most accidents occur on construction sites under 15 stories, projects currently not required to
have anyone trained or assigned the responsibility for ensuring public or worker safety. Five
documented incidents at buildings of less than 15 stories in New York City between November
1999 and October 2002 alone resulted in 8 deaths and more than 9 seriously injured workers and
non-workers.
●
November 1999—a 3-story building collapse in Brooklyn killed 1 and seriously injured
several others.
●
August 2001—a wall collapse of a 3-story building seriously injured a mother and son
in Brooklyn.
●
October 2001—a 13-story scaffolding collapse killed 5 and seriously injured 4
in Manhattan.
●
April 2002—a 9-story building ceiling collapse on the seventh floor killed one in Harlem.
19
●
May 2002—a 5-story partial town house collapse killed one and seriously injured 3
in Manhattan.
The Building Code must be amended to require projects 5-14 stories to have a certified Site Safety
Manager with responsibility to protect public safety.
4. Expand Insurance And Tax Verification Filing Requirements For Contractors.
Current provisions of the Building Code require contractors to submit proof their companies carry
workman's compensation and general liability insurance on new building projects.
Yet, too many construction companies are working on projects in New York City without the
proper insurance coverage, jeopardizing the building owner, construction company owner,
workers and the public. No permit should be issued on any project to a company that cannot show
proof of general liability and workers compensation insurance for the entire project. Too many
anecdotal stories are heard in this industry in which construction companies file the appropriate
paperwork with the Buildings Department at the time they file for a permit—and then cancel their
insurance at some point during the very same project in order to reduce costs.
Contractors should also be required to provide verification of a tax identification number. The state
of West Virginia successfully implemented a tax identification requirement several years ago and
experienced a 25% increase in tax receipts, since a heavy financial penalty was imposed on
contractors caught building without the required tax identification number and/or required permit.
These requirements should also be instituted for all subcontractors on construction sites by having
the general contractor include this requirement in contract documents signed by the subcontractor.
5. Encourage Owners To Require Random Alcohol and Drug Abuse Testing On Construction Sites.
None of the available safety data can attribute any accident or fatality to the influence of alcohol
and/or drug abuse. However, it is an issue that must be addressed. The use of alcohol and drugs
on construction sites has been greatly reduced over the years. The only permanent solution,
however, is to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for construction job-sites. Public and private owners
should be encouraged to require random drug and alcohol testing when they believe it is
necessary and appropriate on a project by project basis.
6. Establish A Unified Construction Accident Tracking System.
The New York City Department of Buildings has made great progress in developing a
management system which will provide information critical to determining the causes of
construction accidents, thus allowing intelligent solutions to be discussed and implemented.
Although the agency responsible for investigating deaths is a federal agency, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, the two agencies must work together to establish a unified
construction accident tracking system. Such a system would enable public policymakers to
identify the causes of accidents and fatalities, develop policies to reduce them, target the limited
resources government has available for inspection purposes and identify and penalize contractors
whose projects consistently have serious accidents or fatalities.
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Accident Reports for the Period Covering March 2001—October 2002, New York City
Department of Buildings.
Accidents Address List from January—October 2002, New York City Department of Buildings.
Article 19, Safety of Public and Property During Construction Operations, New York City
Building Code.
Combating Hazards in the Construction Industry, Presented at the Building Trades Employers’
Association Safety Conference by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the
U.S. Department of Labor, November 26, 2002.
Construction Labor Report, Bureau of National Affairs.
Improving Construction Safety Performance, The Business Roundtable, February 1995.
New York City’s Informal Economy. Saskia Sassen, Director of Urban Planning, Columbia
University, Volume 4, Number 9/1988.
Underlying Causes for the Rise in Construction Accidents in New York City, New York City
Department of Buildings, New York City Construction Safety Summit, November 18, 2002.
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BUILDING TRADES EMPLOYERS’ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL
OF GREATER NEW YORK
ALLIED BUILDING METAL INDUSTRIES
BUILDING, CONCRETE & EXCAVATING LABORERS LOCAL
UNION #731
ASSOCIATION OF CONTRACTING PLUMBERS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
CEMENT & CONCRETE WORKERS DISTRICT COUNCIL, #16
ASSOCIATION OF MASTER PAINTERS & DECORATORS OF NY, INC.
CEMENT MASONS LOCAL UNION #780
ASSOCIATION OF WALL-CEILING & CARPENTRY INDUSTRIES OF NEW YORK, INC.
DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS
BOILERMAKERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION #3
BUILDING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
ELEVATORS CONSTRUCTORS LOCAL UNION #1
BUILDING RESTORATION CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
GLAZIERS LOCAL UNION #1281
BUILDING STONE AND PRECAST CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
HEAT & FROST INSULATORS AND ASBESTOS WORKERS
LOCAL UNION #12
CEMENT LEAGUE
INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEE OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION #282
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK
IRON WORKERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
ELEVATOR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK
MASON TENDERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
METALLIC LATHERS LOCAL UNION #46
GENERAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL UNION #15, A, B, C, & D
GREATER NEW YORK FLOOR COVERERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
PAINTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL #9
MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
PLUMBERS LOCAL UNION # 1
NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER, INC. NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
ASSOCIATION
SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION #28
NEW YORK INSULATION CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
STEAMFITTERS LOCAL UNION #638
TILE MARBLE TERRAZO LOCAL UNION #7
PLASTERING AND SPRAY FIREPROOFING CONTRACTORS OF
GREATER NEW YORK, INC.
ROOFING AND WATERPROOFING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
SHEET METAL & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS OF
NEW YORK CITY, INC. (NYCSMACNA)
STRUCTURAL STEEL PAINTING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
SUBCONTRACTORS TRADE ASSOCIATION
THE HOISTING TRADE ASSOCIATION
WINDOW & PLATE GLASS DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK
22
Louis J. Coletti, President & CEO
Edward J. Malloy, President
Building Trades Employers’ Association
1430 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10018
Building & Construction Trades Council
71 West 23 Street, Suite 501-03
New York, New York 10010