OSHA, NYC Department of Buildings in Construction Safety Alliance
Hazards faced by construction workers in all five boroughs of New York City are the target of a new alliance involving OSHA and the New York City Department of Buildings. The pact builds on recommendations from the Suspended Scaffold Worker Safety Task Force and extends a current working relationship of DOB with the three OSHA area offices that cover New York City: Manhattan (overseeing Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn), Tarrytown (overseeing the Bronx), and Avenel, N.J. (overseeing Staten Island).
Both parties will cross-train their inspectors and managers on each other's safety standards, regulations, and procedures while focusing on the most common construction hazards likely to harm employees. The parties will share best practices and construction safety information with employers, employees, and personnel; and they'll participate in outreach activities.
"Sharing knowledge, data, and resources is the key to this alliance," said Patricia K. Clark, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "The more familiar we are with each other's procedures and the more knowledge of hazards and safeguards we can share with employees and employers, the better our chances of having the city's construction employees end each workday whole and healthy." OSHA posted a release about the new alliance yesterday but said it was signed May 1 in Manhattan by New York City Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, Clark, and OSHA Area Directors Richard Mendelson (Manhattan), Diana Cortez (Tarrytown), and Robert Kulick (Avenel).