Construction work is one of the most dangerous jobs in America, accounting for 19% of all workplace deaths in 2019. In New York City, that number is almost 50% higher, with construction accidents accounting for a quarter of all workplace deaths. One of the most positive developments in this area, despite the presence of COVID-19, has been the recent implementation of the “Zero Tolerance” campaign by the New York City’s Department of Buildings.

The goal of the DOB’s latest construction safety campaign was to reduce the number of building site injuries and fatalities by implementing a zero-tolerance standard. While it is too premature to measure the program’s efficiency, a preliminary analysis of the first three months’ results appear to be nothing short of impressive.

During the first five months of 2021, New York City saw seven fatalities resulting from construction site accidents. In contrast, when the Zero Tolerance program was in effect, not a single fatal accident occurred on a New York City construction site. Of course, correlation is not causation, so this data set is less than conclusive. However, it is not unreasonable to infer from the program’s implementation from June through August and the complete absence of fatal accidents during that same period.

The summer of 2021 saw the number of construction sites inspected by the DOB increase by 7,500. As a result of these inspections conducted under the auspices of the Zero Tolerance program, the DOB issued roughly one safety violation for every two sites inspected. Perhaps more impressively, the department issued nearly 1,500 stop-work orders to projects targeted under the new initiative. These orders shut down the most dangerous sites where inspectors found the most egregious safety violations.

Violations cited during the implementation of the Zero Tolerance program included:

• The lack of harnesses, safety lines, anchors and other fall mitigation measures.
• The failure to install safety netting and other measures to protect workers from falling objects, such as tools and debris.
• Neglection to designate a site safety officer to carry out regulatory safety meetings that normally acknowledge the above-mentioned safety hazards.

While its name implies a goal that is likely unobtainable in a less-than-perfect world, the DOB Zero Tolerance program is an impressive effort to improve construction site safety. It thereby prevents a significant number of construction work accidents and the injuries and deaths attributable thereto. Further evaluation of the program is certainly warranted, considering the complete absence of fatal accidents during its implementation. If similar results were replicated, the prevention of 24 fatal accidents each year would be a tremendous boon to stakeholders in every aspect of the construction industry. From workers and their families to the general contractors who will not have to face liability, such a result would be a win-win-win situation.