04.02.2009

New York City announces new safety measures

New York City construction industry is bracing itself for more than 40 new safety measures announced yesterday aimed at making high-risk sites safer and to correct problems that led to two deadly tower crane collapses last year.

One new rule, for instance, would require more frequent inspections of older cranes, but as yet, it does not specify how often or after how many years a crane would have to be in service. Spot inspections around the city in November found that one quarter of the 38 active tower cranes were more than 30 years old. The Kodiak tower crane that collapsed on May 30, killing two workers, was 24 years old. Investigators said a badly repaired crane part cracked before the collapse.

The Department of Buildings said it would require crane owners and engineers to sign off on repairs, stand by while cranes are raised and lowered and mandate more scrutiny of older equipment. Officials also are looking at a way to see a crane's maintenance history and age online before it's used, similar to that provided about used cars.

The city will require engineers to closely review plans for pouring concrete, including ways to protect the job from high winds and to inspect construction elevators.

Nine people died in two tower crane collapses between March and May of last year, and more than a dozen others were killed in a spate of deadly accidents, many involving falls during the pouring of concrete.
The city responded with increased inspections, stopped work more often at sites and rewrote dozens of regulations that many in the industry said were onerous.

Since the accidents, the industry has been crippled by the failing economy, with billions of dollars of projects cancelled or postponed. Real estate experts said that developers were seeking to reduce construction costs by up to 25 percent to get projects off the ground.

The city didn't say whether more inspectors would be hired to execute the new rules or whether the contractors would cover more of the costs.

"The rules are headed in the right direction but some of it needs further discussion," said Louis Coletti, president of the city's Building Trades Employers Association.

The city spent $4 million hiring engineering consultants and inspecting more than 600 construction sites before rewriting the regulations. Buildings officials said the rules would be clarified and take effect in the next few months.