CONSTRUCTION SAFETY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES A Report from the Construction Industry Pa r t n e rship of New York City

Transcription

1 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

2 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 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.

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4 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A SNAPSHOT OF THE NEW YORK CITY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FINDING THE CAUSES FOR CONSTRUCTION A C C I D E N T ATALITIES S / F THE FINANCIAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ACCIDENTS SUCCESSFUL MODELS FOR PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS SOURCES OF INFORMATION

5 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

6 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, September 26, ) 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, 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 ) A reasonable reduction in the frequency and severity of construction fatalities/accidents would have lowered the cost by $266 million in

7 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 Standard Industrial March 2002 Construction Industry Code Size # of Construction Firms % of Total # of Employees % of Total 0-9 employees 8, % 20, % employees 1, % 21, % employees % 18, % employees % 15, % 100 or more employees % 31, % Total 10, % 108, % 3

8 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 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

9 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 rd 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 A C C I D E N T ATA S / FL I T I E S 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

10 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 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

11 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

12 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

13 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

14 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 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 89.5% classified as Serious 3 willful violations 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 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

15 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 Source: New York City Department of Buildings

16 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

17 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

18 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

19 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 , 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 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

20 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

21 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

22 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. E s tablish A Task Force Of Industry, G ove r n m e n t,and Law Enforcement Officials To Develop A d d i t i o nal E n forcement 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

23 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

24 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. 20

25 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, Construction Labor Report, Bureau of National Affairs. Improving Construction Safety Performance, The Business Roundtable, February 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,

26 BUILDING TRADES EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL OF GREATER NEW YORK ALLIED BUILDING METAL INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION OF CONTRACTING PLUMBERS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK ASSOCIATION OF MASTER PAINTERS & DECORATORS OF NY, INC. A SS O C I ATION OF WA L L-CEILING & CARPENTRY INDUSTRIES OF NEW YORK, INC. BOILERMAKERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK BUILDING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION BUILDING RESTORATION CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION BUILDING STONE AND PRECAST CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION CEMENT LEAGUE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK ELEVATOR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION GENERAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION GREATER NEW YORK FLOOR COVERERS ASSOCIATION, INC. MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER, INC. NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION NEW YORK INSULATION CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION PLASTERING AND SPRAY FIREPROOFING CONTRACTORS OF GREATER NEW YORK, INC. BUILDING, CONCRETE & EXCAVATING LABORERS LOCAL UNION #731 CEMENT & CONCRETE WORKERS DISTRICT COUNCIL, #16 CEMENT MASONS LOCAL UNION #780 DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION #3 ELEVATORS CONSTRUCTORS LOCAL UNION #1 GLAZIERS LOCAL UNION #1281 HEAT & FROST INSULATORS AND ASBESTOS WORKERS LOCAL UNION #12 IN T E R N ATIONAL TRUSTEE OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION #282 IRON WORKERS DISTRICT COUNCIL MASON TENDERS DISTRICT COUNCIL METALLIC LATHERS LOCAL UNION #46 OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL UNION #15, A, B, C, & D PAINTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL #9 PLUMBERS LOCAL UNION # 1 SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION #28 STEAMFITTERS LOCAL UNION #638 TILE MARBLE TERRAZO LOCAL UNION #7 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

27 Louis J. Coletti, President & CEO Building Trades Employers Association 1430 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, New York Edward J. Malloy, President Building & Construction Trades Council 71 West 23 Street, Suite New York, New York 10010