According to Richard Mendelson, regional director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, special teams of building inspectors will check tower cranes, high-rise concrete and steel construction sites, mobile cranes and edifices undergoing demolition and rehabilitation to ensure they comply with building regulations.
To augment OSHA's 38 fulltime inspectors, added manpower would be tapped, Mendelson said.
OSHA usually inspects building only if there are reports or complaints of worker injuries. The agency is under scrutiny by Congress if it had failed to enforce constructions safety rules.
The OSHA team will inspect 300 high-risk construction sites based on a list given by the New York City's Buildings Department and another compiled by its agents.
Four recent construction mishaps highlight the risk on lives of construction workers and city residents. On Friday, a worker was injured after he fell 30 feet from the Statue of Liberty, on Saturday, another was electrocuted at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. On the same day, a worker was hurt after he fell from a First Ave. construction site and on Monday a Brooklyn building collapsed.
Among the recent new rules placed by New York City to protect high-rise workers was to mandate contractors to submit detailed plans on worker safety harness systems used in skyscrapers.
