This legislation will require workers to complete a minimum 30-hour safety training course offered by an approved training provider before they partake in rigging operations, including the erection and dismantling (including jumping) of a crane. Workers who have completed the initial training will have to pass an 8-hour refresher course every three years. In addition, the master or tower rigger-the individual who is ultimately responsible for crane safety on the job site-must certify to the Buildings Department that the crew members partaking in the rigging operations have completed training specific to that job site, the Mayor’s Office said.

A safety meeting will be required by law before erecting, jumping or dismantling a crane. The Mayor’s Office said: “The legislation will require the general contractor to hold a safety coordination meeting with the responsible parties – the crane engineer, the master or tower rigger, the crane site safety coordinator, and the site safety manager – to review the rigging to be used and the sequence of operations and procedures that will be followed during the installation and dismantling (including jumping) of tower cranes. Safety meetings with the master or tower rigger, crane site safety coordinator, site safety manager, crane operator and oiler, jumping crew and flagmen/communications personnel must also be held before each subsequent jump to inspect the equipment, verify the training of all workers, and confirm the procedures and practices that will be followed.”

The companies would need to give the Buildings Department 48 hours’ notice of the safety coordination meeting and all safety meetings. It also would need to keep a log of all meetings.

Also, the Mayor’s Office said: “The crane engineer must submit plans and specifications to the Department prior to the erection, dismantling or jumping of a tower crane, inspect the crane installation prior to each jump, and certify to the Buildings Department that the crane is installed in accordance the approved plans and there are no hazardous conditions present.”

This legislation will prohibits the use of nylon slings except where a manufacturer’s manual “specifically states or recommends that nylon slings be used” and, when the use of nylon slings is permitted, they can only be used if “softening mechanisms have been applied to all sharp edges, the Mayor’s Office said.

The legislation would also crack down on concrete operations and demolition.

The city’s Buildings Department, the Law Department and the City Council are planning to work together to draft the bills over the next month.

In May, the Mayor announced phase three of the plan to increase construction monitoring and re-inspections of violations.