Although summer is the best time of year for construction, with fewer weather-related obstacles to worry about, there is still plenty of work getting done during the long winter months. Snow and ice can’t stop the march of progress in New York City, and our inexhaustible construction workers are out there in the cold dark of a new year working on buildings and making repairs.
But there is a reason warm weather is better for construction—not only do snow and ice make the work harder, they also create much more hazardous conditions. Read the rest »
Worker safety should always be the number one priority for employers, managers, and supervisors. No amount of profit should ever be placed over the well-being of the employees that keep a company running; but it does happen. One of the greatest dangers faced by a NYC construction worker is the 
Construction is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) nearly 6.5 million people work at approximately 252,000 construction sites across the nation on any given day. Fatalities in the construction industry are higher than the national average for all industries. 
When we think of engineering disasters, we often picture black-and-white photographs or films of dams that have burst open, bridges writhing in the wind, or buildings collapsing decades ago. However, despite advances in technology and a greater collective understanding of engineering than ever before, mistakes are still made and disasters still occur. 
Construction is one of the most dangerous jobs in New York City, and construction deaths have been on the rise over the last few years. After months of debate and revision, a law was passed last year that instituted new requirements for construction worker safety training. As this law goes into effect this year, construction companies need to provide their workers with necessary training to ensure they can stay safe on the job. Failing to make sure workers receive this training will not only open construction companies up to large fines, but could also be considered an act of negligence in civil court if an accident does occur. 
In recent years there has been a great deal of debate over the importance of the Scaffold Safety Law. There are advocates on both sides, and arguments about money and insurance, about how to keep New York’s construction industry booming, and how to keep workers safe. Wading through all of the arguments can be overwhelming, which makes apathy toward the issue an easy response.
When we think about dangerous jobs, most of us probably think about police officers and firefighters. Outside of emergency workers and the military, however, some of the workers most at risk of suffering injury in New York are roofers. 
While it may not be as dangerous as working in the logging industry or as a commercial fisher, construction is still among the most dangerous jobs a person can have in the United States. Roofers, in particular, account for a high number of fatal work injuries. 
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), wiring issues that result in electrical shocks are among the most common and deadly standards violations. While not as frequently deadly as falls from roofs or ladders, electrical shocks are especially dangerous since they are not always easy to detect. In movies and TV shows, we see visual representations of electrical hazards as loose wires sparking violently or glowing bolts of electricity spread throughout pools of water. 
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), fall protection is one of the most commonly overlooked safety procedures at construction sites. Because of this, falls tend to result in more serious injuries and deaths than any other type of accident for construction workers, yet these accidents are almost always avoidable. 
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