New York Construction Accident & Safety News

With the outbreak of crane construction accidents in New York City recently, it is only fitting that a conference for crane safety experts should be held there. Topics at the conference are set to include national safety standards for crane operators.

Nine people — including two Staten Islanders — died in two crane collapses earlier this year in Manhattan; others have died in crane accidents in Florida, Texas and Las Vegas.

The city and industry officials are talking about new proposed federal crane regulations, including a national testing system for crane operators, and whether a national system can be created to track crane parts.

Some sobering news from AMNY.com regarding safety at construction sites:

The federal government says that fall hazards are the biggest safety problem at New York City construction sites after random inspections last summer.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued $247,400 in fines after inspecting 46 sites last June and July.

The inspectors cited 60 contractors with 129 violations. Nearly a third of the violations involved fall hazards. The contractors were also cited for electrical safety, problems with scaffolds, cranes and improper welding.

OSHA’s Manhattan area director, Richard Mendelson, says the agency will use the information to decide where it should target its federal inspections in the future.

New reports say that construction accidents fell in 2007 over their 2006 numbers. While that is great news, accidents in 2008 have almost exceeded their 2007 numbers with three more months left in the year.

Construction deaths fell by nearly half in New York City last year after spiking the year before, according to a federal report released Monday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics figures came amid heightened concern about construction safety after a spate of deadly accidents this year. Roughly 20 construction workers have died in accidents citywide this year, approaching last year’s total of 24, most of them killed in falls.

The 2007 total shrank from a high of 43 in 2006, the city construction industry’s deadliest year in at least a decade. The 2006 toll was up 87 percent from the previous year, and it came as construction deaths rose just 3 percent nationally.