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New York City construction worker fatalities have declined to record lows, according to a new report released by the NYC Department of Buildings. Construction-related deaths are now at their lowest point in the past decade despite an increase in injuries at job sites for the third consecutive... View full entry
In the wake of last month’s fatal collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, the New York Times has published an assessment of other vulnerable spans across the country in danger of similar catastrophic failures due to the precarity of critical elements and various... View full entry
Earlier this week, engineering and construction giant Bechtel and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) announced a multiyear partnership dedicated to preventing construction worker suicides. The partnership aims to reach 500,000 U.S. construction workers over five years... View full entry
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced plans to increase protections for workers facing extreme heat, as temperatures across the U.S. soar and large swaths of the country face heat advisories. — HR Dive
The President’s announcement comes as close to 40% of the U.S. population faces heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service. The country currently has no federal standards on workplace heat safety, and there has been no timeline for the finalization of one. As reported by HR Dive... View full entry
With record-high temperatures impacting millions around the world, a spotlight has been cast on the workplace conditions of construction workers, who currently aren’t protected by any strict standard regarding extreme heat. According to a heat tracker by The New York Times, approximately 27% of... View full entry
Eleven men perch precariously on a metal beam, eating lunch, lighting cigarettes or drinking from glass bottles. Wearing only cloth caps as head protection, the men dwarf the hazy background of 1930s New York City and Central Park. Much has changed since workers building the 66-story, 850-foot-tall Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan posed for “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” in 1932, but it remains construction’s most iconic photograph. — Construction Dive
The photograph, which was originally displayed in the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932, was and continues to be a positive and widely admired American symbol. However, when examining what’s being depicted, it is undeniable that there is an array of problematic safety violations... View full entry
[C]onstruction is a risky job, and even more so for undocumented immigrants, who often work under informal verbal agreements. And for women, being vastly outnumbered on every construction site means more pressure to accept lower pay and mistreatment. That’s why, as more immigrant women don hard hats in New York City, advocates are training them to stand up against exploitation – and transform the construction industry itself. — The Guardian
More than half of New York City’s 200,000-plus-strong construction workforce are immigrants. Myriad abuses abound in informal labor markets, adding to a dangerous climate that last year saw fatalities reach a three-year high. The women featured in the Guardian article also... View full entry
A new report from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has shown an alarming increase in construction worker fatalities in the city for 2022. A total of 11 deaths were recorded for the year, up from 9 the previous year and the 8 that were recorded in 2020. A total of 9 fatal accidents... View full entry
In 2021, 12.1 per 100,000 construction workers in New York state died on the job, a 9% increase from 11.1 the year before, according to a new report from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.
The total number of workers who died in the state increased to 61 in 2021, up from 41 in 2020, reported NYCOSH, a membership organization that represents workers, unions and health and safety professionals.
— Construction Dive
The Committee also found that one-quarter of all workplace fatalities across New York state took place on construction sites, a repeat of the figure contained in the Deadly Skyline Report for 2020. Latino workers accounted for 25.5% of the deaths recorded, keeping pace with a larger grisly... View full entry
A massive fire was reported in the early hours of Monday morning at the 8 Boulevard Walk Tower in Downtown Dubai.
Located near the Burj Khalifa, the 35-storey tower was ablaze and was extinguished just before 4am. The building seems to have extensive fire damage on the façade spanning through all floors.
— Arabian Business
The cause of the fire is unknown but appears to have been affected by the structure’s cladding, which residents told The Daily Mail was supposed to be replaced following a New Year’s Eve blaze in 2015 that caused significant damage to the nearby Address Downtown Dubai hotel. 1/ #Dubai The... View full entry
Work on the vast expansion of the Metro Purple Line in Los Angeles has come to an abrupt stop following dozens of worker injuries and safety concerns that officials say have not been addressed.
“Metro has ordered its contractor to temporarily suspend all field work on the Purple Line Extension Section 2 Project due to the unacceptable rate of serious worker injuries,” Metro said in a statement. "The safety of those building our county’s transportation projects must always be protected.”
— KTLA
A total of nine serious incidents were recorded this calendar year alone, with several near-misses that could have been “more serious,” according to Metro’s letter to general contractor Tutor Perini. Parts of the project had previously accelerated thanks to Covid-related street... View full entry
It’s probably no surprise to those who make their career in the construction industry: Many construction workers are feeling a lot of pressure. In fact, 47% of construction worker respondents to a survey by StrongArm Technologies said they are currently stressed on the job. — Construction Dive
The report, titled the Industrial Athlete Workforce Report, by Brooklyn-based safety technology company StrongArm Technologies surveyed more than 600 workers in construction, manufacturing, and warehouse and transport industries about their jobs. Top stressors for workers included not being paid... View full entry
According to a new report by the New York State Comptroller’s Office, 89% of the visited active construction sites across New York City had safety issues, highlighting the need for the improvement of the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) oversight of construction sites. Between June... View full entry
A collapsing floor injured two workers Monday at a midtown office building where falling exterior work killed a prominent architect in 2019. The accident at 729 Seventh Avenue happened just before 10 a.m. During active demolition work on the 18th floor, part of the floor collapsed, sending two workers dropping to the 17th floor. They were taken to area hospitals; their conditions were not immediately clear. — NBC New York
The address is well known as the site where, in December 2019, architect Erica Tishman was struck by a piece of falling debris that her family claims directly resulted from negligence on the part of the property developer and the Department of Buildings. Administrative code charges... View full entry
The white-striped crosswalk sits on top of a hump of asphalt. Pedestrians barely notice as they rush across, but drivers are in for a bumpy ride if they do not slow down. The crosswalk in northern Manhattan was raised four inches in the fall to try to slow traffic and make pedestrians more visible as they navigate a busy intersection where 26 people — including 14 pedestrians — have been injured in motor vehicle crashes in the past five years. — The New York Times
Following a surge in traffic deaths in New York, in which a total of 273 people, citywide, were killed in crashes last year, the highest since 2013, Mayor Eric Adams wants to raise hundreds of crosswalks across the city. With more people on the streets, occupying outdoor spaces opened up due to... View full entry
