New York’s Local Law 196 of 2017 places responsibility on contractors to demonstrate that workers and supervisors on job sites have extensive training. To adhere to the new law, workers and supervisors will be required to have a valid Site Safety Training (SST) card while on site.
This law requires workers and supervisors on construction job sites to complete different levels of safety training to receive their SST. To be successful in avoiding fines and limiting injuries on site, contractors need to understand the requirements and have a reliable system in place to track workers’ SST cards.
SST card requirements
Workers need a minimum of 30 hours of training, where supervisors need 62 hours of training by June 1, 2019.
There will be an additional 10 hours of training required for non-supervisor workers by September 1, 2020.
SST Cards expire after 5 years
Workers will need to renew their SST card after five years with additional training. Within a one-year period preceding submission for renewal, workers and supervisors must complete the below training as specified by the Department of Buildings.
Worker SST CARD (8 hours)
- 4-Hour Fall Prevention
- 4-Hour Supported Scaffold User
Supervisor SST CARD (16 hours)
- 8 Hours Fall Prevention
- 4 Hours Support Scaffold
- 2 Hours Tool Box Talks
- 2 Hours Pre-Task Safety Meetings
Hefty fines for non-compliant workers
Multiple stakeholders in a project are at risk of being fined per non-compliant worker, but contractors may be held responsible for covering the entirety of the fines.
- The site owner, permit holder and the employer may be fined up to $5,000 per employee not in compliance.
- Permit holders will be fined $2,500 if they fail to provide a log that demonstrates compliance of all workers.
With a penalty of up to
$15,000 per employee, contractors will need to work proactively to stay ahead of the requirements of New York Local Law 196.
The effects of NYC Local Law 196 What new regulations mean for site owners and contractors
Project Owners
Project owners will have to work closely with contractors and subs to establish a fluid system that will ensure compliance with the law. This system has to be straight forward and easy to maintain to enable GCs to stay on top of training requirements or otherwise face fines and internal dispute.
Contractors
Contractors are going to have to work hard to stay compliant but will hopefully see the safety benefits of more educated workers with reduced accidents. Sponsoring training for employees and maintaining records will ensure compliance and help to avoid fines. Still, the many prongs of this law will require arduous tracking, documentation, and maintenance to avoid significant financial penalties. In addition, contractors will need a way to quickly and easily present proof of compliance in the case of unannounced inspections.
Need more information on managing compliance for this local law?
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How Assignar tracks SST cards
While it may seem like a monster to add more to your task list, tracking your site worker and supervisors’ certifications is simple with Assignar. Our platform does the heavy lifting for you, so your crews can focus on building. With Assignar, you can simplify your processes to reduce costs, enhance efficiency, and manage project compliance requirements.
You’ll find that we built Assignar with self-perform and subs like you in mind.
Track & log
- Upload pictures and expiry dates of all employee SST cards in bulk. Assignar will notify allocators and operations managers when laborer’s SST cards are about to expire or have expired. This will help prevent having non-compliant workers on the job site.
- Crews can update their SST cards themselves from the mobile app.
- Make keeping a log of your workers’ SST cards and other certifications nearly effortless with automatic logging.
Notify
- All information updated in the app can trigger workflows based on the rules you set, so you can automatically notify the right person when action needs to be taken.
- Receive reminders of items to action upon sign-in
Schedule
- When scheduling crews and supervisors, Assignar makes sure they all have the required SST cards (or any other compliance requirements) before you can allocate them to jobs.
- The scheduler provides a clear picture of the status and location of your crews, so you can easily shift them around based on site requirements.
There’s a lot more to the compliance and certification tracking in Assignar.
Request a demo to learn how Assignar can help your contracting business.
