Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- New York City's buildings commissioner called for laws to require registration of concrete contractors and hiring of safety managers after a surge in construction worker deaths and injuries during a record building boom.

Fatalities on high rises -- projects of 15 stories or more -- rose to five last year from one in 2006 and injuries increased 63 percent, to 52, according to the New York City Buildings Department. More than 60 percent involved materials falling during concrete pouring.

Two men fell to their deaths in the past three months during concrete operations. On Jan. 14, Yuriy Vanchitskiy died when freshly poured concrete on the 42nd floor of the Trump SoHo hotel and condominium tower in lower Manhattan gave way, city authorities said.

``The construction industry in general and concrete operations in particular, need more regulation,'' Commissioner Patricia Lancaster said a City Council committee hearing on Housing and Buildings today. ``The number of accidents reported at high-rises is growing faster than the number of sites themselves.''

New Laws

Lancaster told council members ``the mere registering of concrete contractors alone would be a tremendous tool for us.''

The city will now require site safety managers for projects of 10 or more stories, or 150 feet in height, instead of the current limit of at least 15 floors or 200 feet, she said in the prepared remarks. Lancaster also proposed requiring ``concrete contractors to designate a concrete safety manager'' to monitor building methods.

The department is concentrating on site maintenance, including incorrectly installed concrete molds and wood and other materials left lying around, said Lancaster's first deputy, Robert LiMandri, in a phone interview.

Spending on construction climbed 7 percent over 2006 to $26.2 billion last year, according to the New York Building Congress, a trade organization.

The city agency started investigating concrete operations on high-rise sites in November after officials noted an increase in accidents related to objects falling while concrete was poured. There were 41 ``material-falling'' incidents last year, 25 during concrete operations, according to the department. In 2006, there were 39 such incidents, 23 involving concrete.

Hong Kong Deaths

Other cities reported higher fatality totals than New York City, although the data aren't compiled in a uniform or comparable way.

Construction nationally is the second-most dangerous industry after transportation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1,258 died on construction jobs in 2006, far exceeding the 110 deaths of police officers and 42 for firefighters.

In London, construction-related deaths in climbed to 10 in the fiscal year that ended last April, from seven the previous year.

In Hong Kong, industrial deaths fell to 26 in 2006 from 58 in 1997, according to the city government. Construction typically accounts for more than 80 percent of the total, the city said.

Tokyo reported 35 deaths in building accidents during the first 11 months last year, according to the Tokyo Labor Bureau; there were 41 in 2006. Singapore construction deaths declined to 24 in each of the last two years from as high as 73 in 1998, according to government statistics.

New York City had 219 active high-rise construction sites in 2006, the department said, 21 percent more than a year before.

Worker Pressure

``Pressure on workers to produce leads to situations where they may feel they have to take shortcuts to build up to speeds that employers are demanding,'' said Joel Shufro, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, which represents 200 New York labor unions, in an interview following the Trump accident.

Increased volume has overwhelmed federal and local safety inspectors, Shufro said. The buildings department says it employs 412 inspectors, 102 more than in 2005, including 19 devoted to high-rises.

In the past three months, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has increased the number of inspectors in the office covering the city to 22 from 18, said Richard Mendelson, the agency's area director. The office is responsible for the city, New Jersey and U.S. Caribbean possessions, he said.

More Enforcement

Kate Lindquist, a New York buildings department spokeswoman, said the city last year allocated $6 million to hire 67 additional employees devoted to ``new operational and enforcement tactics.''

The Vanchitskiy accident is still under investigation, Lindquist said. Among questions is why another worker who fell as a result of the same concrete failure was caught by safety netting and survived, she said. The department declined to identify the second man.

``It appears that the falling form work and concrete broke through the net, that's what allowed the guy to fall through the net,'' Lancaster said.

Lancaster was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

On Jan. 30, construction worker Jose Palacios fell 12 stories to his death when a scaffold attached to a 13-level Brooklyn apartment building collapsed. His death was classified as a low-rise accident.

High-Rise Fatalities

In addition to the five high-rise fatalities last year, there were seven on low-rise projects. In 2006, 17 of the total of 18 construction fatalities were on such sites.

``Industry has proven over and over that if there is a focus on safety from the top down injuries can be avoided, so there seems to be a lack of focus,'' Lancaster said.

Lou Coletti, president of the New York Building Trades Employers' Association of unionized construction contractors, said the New York buildings department should look at low-rise projects and at non-union jobs, both of which he said have been responsible for 75 percent of construction deaths since 2005.

``There's nothing magical about 14 stories,'' Coletti said. He said the victims of serious construction accidents are usually immigrants on non-union jobs who don't speak English.

Code Changes

Coletti called for Building Code amendments to require doubling to 40 hours safety training courses for construction superintendents and a flat ban on supervisors working more than 10 projects at once.

Coletti also called for safety licensing of all city Buildings Department squad inspectors; and requirements for all contractors to carry general liability workman's compensation and disability insurance.

Vanchitskiy was the third person to die since 2006 during concrete operations. Seven concrete workers were injured last year and nine in 2006, according to the buildings department.

LiMandri, the deputy New York City buildings commissioner, said his department is examining the practice followed since 1950 of laying high-rise floor slabs in two days. Builders in Los Angeles use three; London and Las Vegas require four. Boston builders also take two.

``The two-day cycle is not a cause of danger during concrete operations,'' the building trades employers' Coletti said in an interview last week. The city's Lancaster also wrote in her e-mail that concrete can be installed safely with a two- day cycle.

To contact the reporters on this story: David M. Levitt in New York at dlevitt@bloomberg.net; Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 4, 2008 15:02 EST