The most used phrase in the construction industry is “safety first”. There is no compromise for safety. Above all, the protection of lives and property are the industry’s greatest priority. To you the developer, another major production concern is getting access to available safety personnel when you need it.
Pyramid Safety & Health Solutions Inc., have experienced and qualified professionals for your NYC Department of Building major buildings classified sites. We can provide NYC DOB licensed Construction Site Safety Managers and Coordinators, Concrete Safety Managers, and Construction Site Fire Safety Management. For projects that are nine stories and below, we can provide weekly, biweekly or monthly inspections to assess existing and potential construction health and safety hazards. Regular inspections can help to reduce general liability as well as reduce potential for worker injuries which can affect workers compensation insurance cost. In both cases, our regular inspections can prevent unwanted Stop Work Orders and regulatory agency violations such as NYC DOB and OSHA that can bring your project to a halt, or significantly delay your schedule.
Pyramid Safety & Health Solutions Inc. offers both OSHA 10-Hour and OSHA 30-Hour Training Courses to comply with New York City DOB Local Law 196.
Site Safety Audit
With the rise in construction in New York City in recent years, there has been a rise in accidents and serious injuries of workers according to NYC DOB statistics. Worker falls and materials fall accounted for the majority of the accidents and injuries between 2013 and 2015, while worker falls and accidents involving mechanical construction equipment accounted for the majority of deaths in the same period. By far the biggest category, 49% of construction related accidents were preventable occurrences. They were reports of minor cuts, bruises, scrapes, pinches, etc., where the worker transported themselves for medical treatment. The economic impact includes a loss of productivity from work stoppage, costly penalties, increase insurance cost and decrease in morale among workers.
Buildings less than 10 stories had the highest rates of accidents and resulting fatality, likely because prior to the enactment of Local Law 196, there were no requirements for an onsite licensed safety professional, site safety plans, worker training or full-time Construction Superintendent. Pyramid Solutions can conduct construction site safety audits for buildings less than 10 stories or 1-3 stories and evaluate them for common contributing factors related to contractor errors.
Examples of factors that contributes to accidents includes:
Improper or no pre-task planning
Lack of, or inadequate temporary protection
Inadequate or improper tools for the task
Shortcuts/unsafe work practices
Providing improper equipment for task
Failure to provide oversight
Improper rigging
Poor housekeeping
Inadequate supervision
Shortcuts/Unsafe work practices
Your partner in Occupational and Environmental Safety & Health Compliance.
Site Safety Management Updates
According to NYC Vital Signs report on construction fatalities between 2007 to 2014, a lack of training was the top serious violation issued by OSHA. The lack of fall protects was determined to be the highest contributing factor in the majority of the deaths of NYC construction workers. Administration of training and providing fall protection can all be easily remedied.
There is an important new requirement of the NYC Department of Buildings that may affect your construction business. As of March 1st, NYC DOB requires all workers and supervisors are to be minimally OSHA 10hr trained on NYC construction projects that require a site safety plan (including a construction superintendent).
The annual "OSHA Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standard" for 2017 was not a surprise. For the sixth year running, fall protection is the most sited serious violation in all of the United States. What will it take for the construction industry to prevent deaths, prevent embarrassing violations and save money?
Stay updated on all the updates on Site Safety Management.