IMPORTANT! BTEA Safety Brief

Welcome to Building Trades Employers Association of New York’s (BTEA New York) monthly Safety Brief, your virtual briefcase of important safety news and updates. This digital publication contains highlights from BTEA New York’s Construction Safety Committee meetings with New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representatives.

Join BTEA New York for the 2022 SAFEBUILD on April 27 and April 28. The Association’s in-person safety awards ceremony is on April 27, 2022 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Club 101. The national safety forum is happening virtually on April 28, 2022 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

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On March 16, 2022, BTEA New York’s Construction Safety Committee held its monthly safety meeting virtually. Below are important highlights from the agenda.

February Incident Report

In February, there were 59 total incidents, with 43 resulting in injuries and one fatality.

Trends in Incidents

Ladder incidents remain the topmost common incidents on jobsites.
Injuries caused by tools (such as grinders and utility knives) remain a high concern.
There have been workers falling from greater heights than usual (including this month’s fatality in Brooklyn).
Workers should follow the proper safety sequences to avoid such falls.

For DOB Enforcement Report Highlights for January 2022, click here.

COVID-19 Complaints, Stop Work Orders & Summons Report – February 2022

In February, the NYC DOB issued 261 stop work orders, including 183 partial stop work orders and 78 full stop work orders.
500 stop work orders, issued by Construction Safety Compliance (CSC) and Construction Safety Enforcement (CSE), were rescinded with an appointment time of under three days. This is after all the information has been correctly submitted to DOB requesting a reinspection.
Under Local Law 196, the DOB issued a total of 28 violations for February. 23 of those violations were for not having training cards and five were for inadequate logs.

DOB Industry Notices

DOB RELEASES SECOND ANNUAL NYC CONSTRUCTION SAFETY REPORT |The DOB released its second annual New York City Construction Safety Report, providing a comprehensive analysis of safety trends in the five boroughs of New York City over the 2021 calendar year.

UPDATED PROCESS FOR MANDATORY INCLUSIONARY HOUSING | DOB NOW: Flagged buildings not in an MIH Area are not required to submit an HPD Permit.

BOARD OF STANDARDS OF APPEALS DECISIONS | DOB NOW: buildings that have been the subject of a decision by the Board of Standards of Appeals after 1998, are now flagged in the Buildings Information System (BIS) Property Profile and DOB NOW.

For more Building News Updates, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/newsletters/DOB_BN_032222.html

NYC Office of the Mayor Industry Notice

MAYOR ADAMS SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER STRENGTHENING FIRE SAFETY ENFORCEMENT AND OUTREACH | Executive Order 12 strengthens fire safety enforcement and outreach. The executive order will increase coordination between the FDNY and HPD inspectors to identify safety violations earlier and increase fire safety compliance.

Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA)

Transportation incidents remain one of the highest causes of fatalities for the American workforce, so it’s important to remind workers about safety when traveling to and from jobsites.

OSHA Initiatives for 2022

The annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents is taking place April 11 – 15, 2022 in coordination with National Work Zone Awareness Week. Learn more at https://www.cpwr.com/research/research-to-practice-r2p/r2p-library/other-resources-for-stakeholders/struck-by-hazards/

This year's annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls will be held May 2-6, 2022. Visit the campaign webpage for updates.

Learn More

BTEA New York Report

BTEA New York is tracking and plans to highlight the safety data of our union contractor members versus non-union workers.

A principle of a member contracting firm has been compiling and tracking data on union versus non-union injuries and DOB violations.
Initial data shows that the amount of non-union safety violations is much higher than union violations.
BTEA New York has asked for a proposal on tracking this data on a regular basis as it relates to safety.
Once details are clarified, BTEA New York will publicly present this data to dramatically highlight how our union contractors are significantly safer than non-union contractors.

See DBIS: Tracking the New York City Construction Market

BTEA New York’s Superintendent Licensing Subcommittee to discuss how to streamline licensing with the DOB.

BTEA New York members have expressed frustration about the redundant complexity and lengthy timelines for obtaining Superintendent Licensing - including a litany of redundant forms and the physical four-year license only lasting 90 days.
The Subcommittee will present this information to the DOB to hopefully help them make the process quicker and reduce unnecessary applicant forms.

This report was provided by BTEA New York CEO and President, Louis J. Coletti.

Building Trades Employers Association of New York is the construction contractor's unified advocate for construction safety standards, professional development, government affairs, public relations and fostering communication between public officials, public and private owners, labor and the general public. Realizing that a construction industry is essential to the vibrant future of New York City its activities are dedicated to a building environment meeting the highest of environmental standards, integrity, cost efficiency, productivity and value that contributes to improving the quality of life in New York City. BTEA represents 26 Construction Manager, General Contractor, Subcontractor and Specialty Trade contractor associations with over 1,200 individual contractor members.

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