DOB’s message is clear, experience is not enough, safety and protective measure should be put in place in construction sites. Accidents happen all the time, especially in construction sites but these are preventable if proper safety measures are employed at the very onset of construction.
Protective gears and safety measures need to be applied to all construction sites to ensure everyone’s safety, the life you save might be yours. Leading edge and floor openings must have fall protection like cable, netting, guardrails, solid barriers or solid plankings. Workers in and around an open floor area, leading edges or shaft should wear safety harnesses that are attached properly to an approved anchor point.
Protect your life and the life of others. Falling is actually the most common cause of construction fatalities. It is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe work environment for their works and to ensure worker’s protection from falling and other construction related accidents.
For workers it is advised that they be aware of their surroundings at all times, especially around edges, shafts and floor openings. They should also never work near an open floor or open shaft without proper fall protection. For example a properly installed guardrail prevents people without harnesses from falling down an open shaft or off an open edge.
It is a sad statistic but workers die from falling off unprotected edges. So it is necessary to ensure that proper fall protection be installed and safe hoisting methods are employed in all construction sites.
He would be protected if the site had proper fall protection installed and safer hoisting methods were used. Workers needs to know that they have the right to a safety harness,more so if they are working above a 6 foot drop, it should also be always be connected to a lifeline. The OSHA’s 10-hour training program will teach workers how to protect themselves, it is a good idea to attend one. Guardrail and toeboard requirements can be reviewed in NYC Building Code §3308.7