BTEA E-NEWS
President’s Message
The BTEA has been meeting with the City Council and officials from the Mayor’s office
on proposed safety legislation. Their schedule includes a public hearing to take place on July 15, 2008. The City Council intends to adopt these bills by July 30, 2008.
BTEA LegislatiVE UPDATE

Proposed Bills:
The six (6) bills that are being discussed are concerning towards:
  1. 6 specific legislative initiatives that the BTEA is meeting with City Council officials within the next 2 weeks:
    • Concrete Safety Managers
    • Enhanced Site Specific Safety Plans
    • Retaining Walls
    • Cranes – Training (includes State approved training and provides only a ninety (90) day effective date)
    • Cranes – Slings
    • Cranes – Safety and Regulating Notice

Please review these bills on the BTEA’s website at, http://bteany.com/pages/s/li.html, and send comments to jcoletti@bteany.com.

Please note, below are changes proposed from the BTEA to the City Council and Mayor’s office.

Proposed Changes from BTEA:

1. Concrete Site Safety Managers

  1. 3310.9

    1. Concrete safety coordinator cannot report to the site safety manager. The concrete safety coordinator is an employee of the concrete subcontractor while the site safety manager is an employee of the CM/general contractor – two separate companies.

  2. 3310.9.1

    1. Recommendation is to establish in the legislation, as is done for all other licenses and certifications, the requirement to successfully complete a 30-Hour OSHA Competent Person training course. Individuals passing this course should then be required to register with the NYC Department of Buildings, as do construction superintendants, in order to protect against fraud.


2. Enhanced Site Specific Safety Plans

  1. 20-22

    1. Unworkable. Each trade holds its own “tool Box” meeting in which the specifics of their job is reviewed.
    2. Need to hear from industry legal and insurance representatives as to the potential liability impact of this legislation.


3. Cranes – Training for Tower and Crane Workers

  1. 3319.10.1

    1. Clarify who is to be trained: Crane Operator Local 14 & 15, Ironworker, Signalmen – who is “jumping crew”?

  2. 3319.10.1.1

    1. Approval of training courses for all entities should include a minimum of areas to be covered in the curriculum:
      • Crane Load Charts
      • Rigging Hardware – erection, jumping and dismantling of all crane types.
      • Rigging using fiber line, wire rope and chain slings
      • Principles of Crane Operations
      • Pre-lift Planning
      • Proper Communication with the Crane Operator

  3. 3319.10.2

    1. 28-404.3.1 (3 $ 4); 28-404.3.2 (3 & 4); 28-404.3 (3 & 4) – Master, Tower and Climber Crane Rigger should be excluded from the 30-Hour training required. They are already required to be licensed by the NYC Department of Buildings.
    2. A special NYC Department of Buildings/Industry Task Force including engineers, contractors and labor should be established to review license requirements – coordinate with NYC Department of Buildings analysis.

4. Cranes Safety and Regulation Notice in Relation to Tower and Climber Cranes
  1. 3319.8.1 (9)

    1. Limiting the erection of a Tower Crane to only daylight hours will cripple the industry. It takes 32-40 hours to erect a Tower/Climber crane. This work almost always is done on the weekends (since Department of Transportation will not allow street closings during the week). That means work starts on Friday nights and is performed continuously on the weekends thru Saturday evening, sometimes ending Sunday evening.
  2. 3319.8.7

    1. Professional engineers have repeatedly stated they will not sign off as to paragraphs 3 and 4. They indicate they do not possess the technical knowledge to do so and cite liability concerns expressed to them by their insurance carriers.