New York Construction Accident & Safety News

Construction workers have some of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Now thanks to a new robotics invention, they may not have to be exposed to some of the more dangerous conditions that lead to many construction accidents.

Newswise reports that the autonomous robots are designed to climb scaffolding and buildings by wrapping around a poll or beam and then rolling upward through an oscillating joint motion.
 
“Using built-in sensors and cameras, the robots would then inspect the structures or handle other dangerous tasks now done by humans,” the news service reports, citing Hong, RoMeLa’s director and the faculty adviser on the project.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent report, of 5,488 total occupational deaths in the nation in 2007, the construction industry saw 1,178. About 38 percent of those were from falls, with 21 percent from highway accidents, 9 percent being struck by an object and 2 percent homicides.

News of yet another construction accident in New York City, this time in the Times Square area. Newsday.com has the story:

A construction worker was seriously injured in a pre-dawn excavation accident at a building site in midtown Manhattan, a New York City fire department spokesman said.

A call came in at 4:15 a.m. reporting the "structural collapse" on West 42nd Street near Eighth Avenue, the spokesman said.

One worker was trapped beneath the fallen construction materials, including concrete and a sidewalk shed, he said.

In all, four people were injured. Three of the injuries were minor, while the worker who had been trapped was taken to Bellevue Hospital with serious injuries to his legs.

The retaining wall to a trench caved in at a Manhattan construction site on the corner of 42nd and Eighth Avenue, leaving one construction worker seriously injured. The worker, who was working at the entrance to a subway station was said to be talking after the accident, but couldn’t move his legs.

"An underground excavation site weakened and ended up collapsing on one of the construction workers that was actually within the hole," said FDNY Deputy Chief Steven Morelli.

Crane regulations have been in the news a lot this year, and with that in mind, the city of Philadelphia has become the first city to execute rules on construction sites that utilize tower cranes. The state of Pennsylvania doesn’t enforce any formal construction crane regulations, but the city of Philadelphia proper will take the reigns on enforcing strict guidelines on tower cranes.

In the wake of the Miami and New York City construction site crane accidents in March, the Nutter administration is taking advantage of its unique ability to strengthen and protect its blue-collar workforce.

“These are unprecedented tower crane safety regulations,” said [City Councilman Jim] Kenney, in whose district 10 Rittenhouse lies. The new ordinance requires the tower crane owner to submit a certificate of insurance with a minimum of $15 million in liability naming the City of Philadelphia as an additional insured and certificate holder.

“Prior to today, a 12-year-old child could have run a crane,” said Frank Bardonaro Jr., president and COO of AmQuip, responsible for the construction of 10 Rittenhouse. AmQuip also did extensive work on the Comcast Center.

“The law now requires everyone, [starting with] the person to hook [the crane] into to the ground, to have proper training, certification and experience,” said Mr. Bardonaro. “The company that erects the crane has to have factory-trained technicians on site during these procedures.”