Elevators, scaffolds, and hoists are a persistent danger to construction workers, with countless employees suffering falls and other injuries. Our New York construction injury lawyers explain state regulations to protect workers on temporary personnel hoists and how violations of these rules might entitle you to more than workers’ compensation benefits.
NY Industrial Code Provisions for Temporary Personnel Hoists on Construction Sites
NY Labor Law 241 requires owners and contractors to make construction sites as safe as possible for workers. Under Section 241(6), owners and contractors must comply with any rules made by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor to carry out the provisions of the law.
The Department of Labor has created specific construction safety rules in Part 23 of the New York Industrial Code to protect people employed in construction, demolition, or excavation work. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 12 § 23-7.1 and 7.2 set forth the following guidelines for temporary personnel hoists:
- Maintenance. Personnel hoisting equipment must be regularly maintained and inspected to ensure its proper operating condition. All hoists must be tested before each use (initially and after extension). Temporary personnel hoists must not be placed in service until their installation has been granted special approval.
- Operation. Personnel hoisting equipment may only be operated by designated persons trained in the safe operation of these hoists. Personnel hoists may be used for carrying material as long as the rated load capacity is not exceeded. When materials are being carried, only the person necessary for handling such materials may ride in the car (in addition to the operator).
- Hoist tower foundations. Each hoist tower must be supported by a firm foundation of such dimensions that adequately distribute the transmitted load upon the ground. Towers must be securely braced to the building, held in a plumb vertical position, remain stable and rigid, and withstand wind pressure. All hoist towers must be secured with guys or rigid braces on each corner at maximum intervals of 26 vertical feet.
- Hoist tower height. Hoist towers may only be erected to heights necessary for the performance of the work. They may be extended only when construction has progressed sufficiently to provide adequate anchorages and bracing. Towers must be erected and dismantled only under the direct supervision of qualified, designated persons.
- Hoistway enclosures. Interior hoistways must be fully enclosed on every floor (except for entrance openings) and adequately supported, braced, and secured. Exterior hoistways for personnel hoists must be enclosed from the lowest terminal points to the cathead elevations on all sides except entrance openings.
- Hoistway doors. Entrances in a hoistway enclosure must be provided with a solid door at least 78 inches in height extending across the entire opening width. The door must have a vision panel securely covered with wire mesh and provided with a lock or latch openable from the hoistway side only. No person except the car attendant may open hoistway doors, and all doors must be locked or latched shut except when in use.
- Car enclosures. Cars in personnel hoists must be permanently enclosed on all sides and the top (except the side used for entrance or exit). The top of the car must be provided with an emergency exit opening fitted with a hinged hatch cover.
- Car gates. The landing side of a personnel hoist car must be provided with a door or gate at least six feet in height made of a material equivalent in strength to the car enclosure. Cars must be equipped with an approved electrical contact that prevents the operation of the hoist unless the door or gate is shut.
- Car attendant or operator. No temporary personnel hoist may be operated unless a designated person is stationed in the car as an attendant or operator. The car attendant may not move the car until the load being carried is prepared for movement, and the car door or gate and the hoistway doors are closed.
- Communications. A means of voice communication must be provided for every temporary personnel hoist operated jointly by a car attendant and a hoisting machine operator stationed adjacent to the hoisting machine.
We Protect Injured New York Construction Workers
If you or someone you love was seriously hurt on a construction site, contact the attorneys at Hofmann and Schweitzer as soon as possible to learn your rights. Call us today at 800-362-9329 to have us explain your options at no cost to you, or read our FREE guide, Hurt in a Construction Accident? You’re Not Alone.
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