New York City building department rolling out safety credential system

Dive Brief:

myComply, a tech company that uses hardware and software to verify safety training, has been selected by the New York City Department of Buildings to build and administer the software behind a new training credential database.
The new system will require the city’s more than 150,000 construction workers to have a myComply smart badge programmed to the database, allowing the city to have a standardized, verifiable set of training records, according to a myComply spokesperson.
The badges will be programmed with each worker’s account profile, including their training credentials. If a worker shows up to a site with out-of-date or expired credentials, they will be denied access, the spokesperson said.

Dive Insight:

Laws for noncompliance with safety standards have slowly been phased in since Mayor Bill De Blasio signed Local Law 196 in 2017, in an attempt to create safer jobsites. If a DOB site inspector identifies untrained workers on the job, the permit holder could be charged up to $5,000 per worker.

The NYC DOB turned to myComply to help track workers’ training. The five-year contract signed last month by DOB with myComply is worth $1.2 million, according to a department spokesperson.

The deadline for workers to pick up their badges is March 1, at which point myComply will work with the DOB to build the database and software, the myComply spokesperson said.

Contractors will be able to verify a worker’s info in the database by either scanning the badge or searching on a website. When DOB inspectors conduct field visits, they will have access to the database in the field, to ensure that all workers have the appropriate safety training.

Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of the Associated General Contractors of New York State said it is his understanding that the program will be free for contractors to use, although there may be initial startup fees.

“From a contractor’s perspective, it alleviates the need to track all employee training in house,” Elmendorf said.

This story has been corrected to clarify the relationship between myComply and AGC NYS.