Press Release - Buildings

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For Immediate Release:
May 6, 2019
CONTACT: dobcommunications@buildings.nyc.gov,
(212) 393-2126

DOB KICKS OFF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY WEEK

New Ad Campaign: “Safety. The only job more important than the job”
Department to Host Citywide Construction Safety Awareness Events

New York, NY – Today, Acting Buildings Commissioner Thomas Fariello, R.A. announced the official kick-off of the Department’s annual Construction Safety Week activities designed to raise awareness about the critical importance of safety on the work site. In addition, DOB unveiled a new public awareness campaign with the slogan, “Safety. The only job more important than the job,“ which highlights the theme that regardless of whatever your individual job is on a construction site - safety is everyone’s job. The campaign, which features television and radio PSAs, as well as subway ads, targets construction professionals with the goal of fostering a shared culture of safety on the work site.

"Our highest priority is to promote safe worksites and protect the public, a responsibility we take very seriously," said Acting Commissioner Fariello. “Safety on the construction site is everybody’s responsibility and reinforcing that message of shared duty must be at the center of everything we do at DOB. No building is worth a life, and that’s a belief every person in the development industry should keep in mind whenever they step onto a construction site."

Prior to this year’s Construction Safety Week, DOB inspectors conducted unannounced safety inspections at approximately 6,500 construction sites as part of a coordinated citywide construction safety sweep in the month of April. During these inspections we found serious safety lapses on 322 of these construction sites that necessitated a DOB Stop Work Order, accounting for less than 5% of all the sites that we inspected during this sweep. In total, DOB issued over 1,000 safety violations during this coordinated sweep, and distributed 12,000 leaflets with construction safety information directly to workers.

During Construction Safety Week, DOB staff will fan out across the City to raise awareness about construction safety regulations and Local Law 196 of 2017, which requires construction workers at most sites to receive at least 40 hours of site safety training by September 2020. As part of this effort, a safety-themed food truck will visit construction sites throughout the five boroughs to provide free food and safety training information to workers.

Another highlight of Construction Safety Week will be the return of the Department’s Junior Architects and Engineers Program, where DOB staff visit schools throughout the five boroughs with the goal of educating students about careers in math, construction, architecture, and engineering. The program is designed to get kids excited about math and science, with the knowledge that many of these students will one day be responsible for the design, safety, and innovation of our City’s built environment. This year DOB will visit 11 public STEM schools and will talk with over 1,500 school students around the City.

To close out the week of activities, the Department will host its 2019 Build Safe|Live Safe Conference – a daylong series of seminars where Department experts discuss industry trends and highlight safe construction operations. The annual conference is a critical link between the Department and members of NYC's real estate and construction industries, with a focus on improving safety in the building and construction trades. Seminar topics to be presented at this year’s conference, which will be posted online after the event, include:

Construction Safety Year in Review
Construction Safety: Code Requirements & Implementation with a Focus on Case Studies
Structural Condition Assessment as a Tool for Safe Construction
Tenant Protection in Buildings Occupied During Construction
Upcoming Basement Apartment Pilot Program in East New York
Large Electrical Equipment Design Review, Submittal Requirements and Material Approvals
Future Changes to the NYC Energy Code
Elevators: Door Monitoring and other Retroactive Requirements
Façade Failures in High Rise Existing Buildings
Cranes & Derricks: Codes & Regulations

Please contact the DOB press office if you wish to attend Construction Safety Week events or would like further information.