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.”

A new construction safety campaign has been launched in New York City this week by buildings commissioner Robert LiMandri. SILive.com reports:

A new campaign launching in New York City will remind construction workers to wear their harnesses and keep their lifelines attached. Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced the "Stay Connected" worker safety campaign Tuesday morning at a building trades conference in Manhattan.

The Buildings Department said in a statement that four people who died in construction accidents this year might have lived if they had proper safety guards to prevent them from falling. The safety campaign will include print, radio and television advertisements in both English and Spanish.

In the wake of construction accidents involving cranes in New York City, new laws are taking shape to ensure the safety of the workers. But are the new laws too much? Many claim that they are having a harder time getting things done on the jobsite because of them.

[T]he city’s construction industry says the rules have become too unwieldy to follow, are hard to enforce and often cause costly delays. Contractors say construction sites are often shut down for days or weeks for minor violations, like a missing piece of paperwork or a messy site. A shutdown at a high-profile site can run a contractor or developer over $100,000 a day.

"In some respects, it’s already overkill," said Louis Coletti, president of New York’s Building Trades Employers Association. "You’ve got new rules and regulations coming out every day."

Since the March 15 and May 30 crane accidents, the city has passed laws that require a 30-hour training course for tower crane workers, limit the use of nylon slings that hold construction loads, mandate regular safety meetings before raising or lowering the cranes, and overhaul licensing requirements for mobile crane operators.

OSHA is investigating the trench collapse at a construction site in Clifton Park, New York where one worker was killed. The construction accident has lawyers from Trolman, Glaser and Lichtman talking about the value of safety regulations on the job site.

I agree with Edward Jerome, the area’s director of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that there are specific regulations regarding "sloping and shoring a trench to prevent collapses." The rules are there, they must be followed. Furthermore, it demonstrates a failure to adhere to the mandates of the labor law of the state of New York.

While much of this blog focuses on the tragedies that happen surrounding construction accidents in New York, a bright spot has been found. Father Brian Jordan ran the New York City marathon on Sunday with a specific goal in mind: to help start a fund for families of construction workers killed on the job.

Jordan is a priest who was a spiritual advisor to crews at the World Trade Center site. He was particularly affected by two crane accidents that killed eight workers last spring. He decided to run to honor all 21 city construction workers who have died this year and to launch a foundation to help those who are left behind.

"Construction workers work by the hour. Even though they’re members of the unions, there’s no widow and children’s benefit fund for them. So myself and a bunch of labor leaders began to discuss this," said Jordan. "As of Monday, we are beginning a construction worker’s relief fund."

The Building Trades and Construction Council will oversee the fund. Jordan says anyone can donate money towards the cause.

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.