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Q&A
Council member inquires about DDC's construction worker safety measures
4:58:24
ยท
3 min
Council Member Brooks-Powers questions Associate Commissioner Margolis about the Department of Design and Construction's (DDC) efforts to ensure worker safety on job sites. Margolis explains the DDC's safety protocols, including site safety plans, proactive inspections, and learning from incidents.
- DDC has approximately 100 staff in their site safety environmental unit
- The department holds site safety summits and works closely with other agencies and industry partners
- DDC has implemented technology to document safety issues in real-time
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
4:58:24
Thank you.
4:58:27
I wanted to start with construction construction worker safety.
4:58:31
According to the 2025 deadly skyline report, construction worker deaths have picked up in recent years.
4:58:38
The report notes that thirty construction workers died on the job in New York City in 2023, which was the deadliest year for construction workers in the city since new since New York.
4:58:58
Committee for Occupational Safety and Health began tracking the data in 2013.
4:59:05
What is DDC doing to ensure worker safety on the job sites?
Jeffrey Margolis
4:59:11
Good afternoon, chair.
4:59:12
Thank you for the question.
4:59:13
We we obviously take safety, very importantly at DDC.
4:59:17
Each and every project before it starts has what's called the site safety plan that's worked on directly with the contractor and our experts in our site safety unit.
4:59:27
We have approximately 100 staff that work for our site safety environmental unit and they look at each project individually to ensure that what the contractor is proposing is done safely.
4:59:38
They also have a team of folks that go out proactively unannounced to check out the construction sites to make sure that things are being done safely and they address issues on the spot as needed.
4:59:51
If an incident does occur, we have a process where we document everything and use that as a learning experience going forward.
4:59:57
We also hold site safety summits.
4:59:59
We actually had one last month.
5:00:01
So we are very aware of, making sure that each and every site is safe.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
5:00:11
Are DDC job sites safer than other construction sites from your lens?
Jeffrey Margolis
5:00:18
I'm not sure we can fully comment on that.
5:00:20
Again, we we do have a lot of internal protocols that we we do feel work very well.
5:00:25
You know again we work also, we work very closely with the Department of Buildings.
5:00:30
When we're in the street we work with DOT to make sure our MPT, the maintenance and protection of traffic is adequate.
5:00:36
So it's a constant conversation with both the internal team and the oversight agencies.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
5:00:43
And has the DDC studied safety models from other large cities when it comes to construction safety?
Jeffrey Margolis
5:00:50
Absolutely.
5:00:51
And we also work very closely with our industry partners, for example, the BTA, BCTC, Building Congress.
5:00:57
So it's not just information that we gather on our own, but also working with the industry each and every day.
5:01:03
I mean they they are truly our partners and the the labor unions for example obviously do our work.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
5:01:09
And what have you learned from studying those the different models from those different groups?
Jeffrey Margolis
5:01:15
Sure.
5:01:15
You know, over time we've modified the way accidents.
5:01:20
We also have started to use technology to document things real time.
5:01:24
So if there's an issue in the field for example, the safety inspector can communicate using an app with their colleagues back at DDC.
5:01:33
We also again regularly share that information across the board so each and every team on both the public buildings and infrastructure site is aware of what's happening at other sites and maybe can learn from that information.