New training rule may increase New York construction accidents

In the coming weeks, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will make a decision that could potentially increase the occurrence of construction accidents in New York City. Under a proposed new rule, construction workers could become licensed to operate giant tower cranes without any prior experience in New York City.

Under the current regulations, tower crane operators must operate cranes in the city as an apprentice for at least three years prior to being approved for a license. The proposed new rule eliminates that requirement, and simply states that crane operators must have two years of prior apprenticeship experience in any “urban area of comparable density.”

The proposition has been met with much debate on both sides of the issue. Members of the crane workers union argue that crane operators who have never worked in the unique and complicated infrastructure and busy streets of New York could significantly harm both workers and city residents. According to one union consultant, the current law requires that operators are sufficiently prepared to work in New York City, which has “specific rules and regulations that are much more complicated than elsewhere in the country.”

On the other side of the debate, developers and builders argue that changing the rule will make hiring easier and less expensive overall. There is no real difference between New York City and other large urban areas, according to the president of the Real Estate Board of New York. “High rise construction is high rise construction,” he said.

What do you think? Will changing the licensing regulations result in an increase in construction accidents in New York?

Source: New York Daily News, “Proposed new rule lets crane operators get license without prior NYC experience,” Greg B. Smith, Mar. 18, 2012