The construction industry is a risky business - How can we be prepared? - by Matt Caruso

Matt Caruso, Construction Realty Safety Group

The construction industry is a risky business, whether we like it or not that’s just the reality of what we do. No matter what systems or new technology we come up with over time, the risk is and will always be there. Our goal as construction professionals is not only to streamline our construction processes but also to provide an increasingly safe work atmosphere for our workers and the public.

Exterior Wall Building Consultants (EWBC) had noticed roughly six months ago that temporary fixtures built and maintained for the construction process are being increasingly scrutinized during the construction process. After an accident takes place the fingers begin flying, who’s to blame? It is becoming clear that even simple temporary fixtures (outside the realm of edge protection, ramps, short walls, barriers) will eventually require engineering drawings just as costly and time consuming as the permanent structure – there goes the budget. At the same time can a construction company be expected to stop and take days even weeks to come up with a safe and cost effective engineered design for say a small ramp without holding up progress of work? There goes the schedule. At EWBC we have decided to take proactive action in response to these issues instead of pointing fingers and alerting lawyers to displace liability, we at EWBC will be prepared and go above and beyond what is expected in the industry.

For several months our professionals have been coordinating with site safety managers as well as workers on site to identify where they may have some concerns with safety systems that are standard when providing temporary protection.

Almost immediately we heard questions to the effect of “How do I know this ramp can support my lift and my equipment?,” or statements such as “It’s a temporary structure, we don’t have to worry about it.” The issues quickly became clear, we can never assume that anybody makes the correct assumptions when it comes to safety. Though engineering drawings are always provided for protection systems as is required according to Chapter 33 of the New York City building code, we need to make sure we are better prepared at the same time we do not have the luxury of time in designing unique systems for every obstacle that arises. We at EWBC felt that however challenging the task may be, it was pivotal to finding a solution instead waiting for answers.

In response to clear issues EWBC has mobilized its staff to work closely with an accredited professional engineering firm, Domani Tech and Design, to identify high risk and common obstacles on construction sites to develop safer and more logical ways to provide temporary protection for our projects. We have begun gearing our staff to identify the common protection obstacles we face every day and have commissioned Domani Tech and Design to create engineered systems that are practical and can be tailored to correctly address required safety standards for temporary protection. While these protection systems are safe for all workers, construction and engineering professionals worked side by side to ensure designs are simple enough to install as to not delay the construction schedule.

Of course this does not solve every obstacle as we at EWBC are all too aware that every project is unique and that not every existing condition on site can be “generalized” but we are confident the process above can cut down on design time for the unique conditions as these designs can be easily altered to fit the unique conditions of any job. Currently EWBC and Domani Tech and Design have over 60 drawings for temporary protection on file, each one has been easily tailored to more than 12 different construction projects. In short, in addition to preserving tight schedules and reducing engineering costs we have managed to reduce guess work and risk on construction sites.

Working this close with an engineering company has been beneficial to both parties, as EWBC employees have been educated in safer work practices and the engineers are increasingly understanding the importance of keeping to the project schedule with little or zero delay, how’s that for Synergy?

EWBC will continue to build a collection of conditions as time passes so we can better serve a wider range of clientele more efficiently. It’s a risky business people. We at EWBC will do all we can to change.

Matt Caruso is the president of Exterior Wall and Building Consultants, New York, N.Y.