[log in to unmask] wrote:

> a hooded sweatshirt of a green and white speckled pattern, kind of 
> like those LL Bean reindoor sweaters for women, plus coveralls, plus a 
> white do rag covering much of his face - full Local Law 11 purdah, I 
> guess.

c-

Hooded sweatshirts and the rag are fairly standard gear to keep mortar 
dust away from crawling into one's backside & lungs. Mortar dust 
containing silica can cause silicosis which is somewhat comparable to 
black lung with coal dust. If you spend your time covered with mortar 
dust it has a certain feel to it that takes getting used to. Though a 
dust mask would make sense someone has to pay for them and the mechanics 
have to want to use them. Likewise what you may find is that when their 
shift ends they leave the dusty clothes behind, clean up and look quite 
sprightly and crisp on the street... but that seems to be a cultural 
thing to clean up and put on spiffy clothes. Taking mortar dust home to 
the kids is not a good thing to do.

I remember a job where the guys working on the opposite building were on 
rigs and were standing on upturned plastic buckets and small step ladders.

What nationality do they appear to be? I say that re: lunch cause 
certain nationalities are not known to drink several beers for lunch and 
others are. Hispanics are pretty straight hard workers and their errors 
are more to language isolation and work practice ignorance. There are 
the wodka drinkers and the smokers and I don't mean tobac. There are 
also the Pakistanis who chew weird stuff that I prefer not to go into 
any details as to effects. As an employer... considering here an 
employer that gives a crap... it is difficult to ascertain if there is 
substance abuse on the worksite. Usually the abusers mask their activity 
just enough to make it nearly impossible to catch them out, and to fire 
them outright can create a problem that does not go away any time soon.

Of the two scaffolds which one seems to be dropping the brick on the 
scaffold platform and leaving it there... thus loading it up not only w/ 
their weight but the weight of the brick? It is 'scaffold', though if 
you want to get specific it is a two-point suspended scaffold, otherwise 
known in the English language trade as a flying rig or as you say a 
stage or platform. There are different manufacturers & designs for these 
rig systems and that alone could accomodate the difference in sag. There 
is what is called a Spider Rig that is short sections (4' possibly) that 
are connected together to form a longer platform held together w/ wire 
cable tension... an interesting system that can be shortened or expanded 
as needed but requires a bit more intelligence to use. It can slouch all 
day nearly. Then there is the straight aluminum platform that most folks 
use.because it is easier to understand, cheaper to buy, sold more often 
etc. If that is deflecting as much as you indicate then expect soon to 
see a fall near you.

According to the law in NYC and despite their fashion accessories anyone 
working on a rig has to have had a bit of training (one or two days from 
a certified trainer, which usually means the seller of rigs) and hold a 
card that certifies them to fly. It does not necessarily mean that they 
know what they are doing. Despite attempts at regulation there are more 
people hanging off of buildings than anyone can catch up with to check 
on. My perception is that the system is set up so that if a person falls 
off a rig, or drops something, or there is a complaint then the card is 
supposed to help track back to identify who was the final responsibility 
in the chain, which would be the holder of a special rigger license. The 
individual with the license is responsible for the integrity of the 
equipment, that it be used properly and not in a dangerous manner, and 
for the integrity of the rigging system for which there are pretty clear 
rules as how to rig. All that said, the rigging department for the city, 
within Cranes & Derricks, is terribly overloaded. If you do a 
cantilevered suspended scaffold (no hooks but beams with counter 
weights) then you need to get a permit from the rigging department. The 
last time that I went for such a permit it took us several months to get 
a permit for one drop... and you may note that the drop was needed for a 
project to go ahead that Nicholson & Galloway is now on. If one hangs 
from hooks then one does not need to file for a permit, though that may 
change.

As to clothing. I agree that N & G gives a sense of confidence when the 
workforce wears identifiable and professional looking clothing and gear. 
At Apple (where several key components had come from N & G at one time 
or another) we were big on hats, t-shirts, sweat shirts and coats w/ the 
company logo. I think that it is admirable that there are customers 
willing to pay a cost for the work that translates into a livable wage 
for the mechanic, union or otherwise. Consider that if we want to see 
safe work practice then it is the customers who may need to be regulated 
to pay more to employers who are regulated to do more to assure the 
safety of the workforce. As it is customers who do not understand the 
difference between replacing a lintel in an intelligent manner from a 
stupid manner are apt to only consider the difference in cost and to go 
for the cheaper offer. More than likely what you are seeing is workers 
who shop at the Salvation Army for their work gear. If they went to 
Walmart they could get knock-off Carharts though why spend the money to 
buy new? I bought a belt at Walmart, it looked fairly sturdy, but within 
a week the buckle fell off and I realized that it was designed in such a 
manner that I would not be able to fix it. Yes, it was cheap... it was 
cheap garbage.

Back to rigs and the folks who fly them -- I had an interesting 
conversation several years ago w/ the head of OSHA for the NY area. I 
had to defend for a bucket of chemicals that was brought onto a targeted 
worksite without a label and he must not have had too much to do that 
day. I forget the details. Regardless, I did talk with him about 
suspended scaffolding and what he told me is that they have no capacity 
to oversee safe rigging practice because for 1) they do not have enough 
staff in the field, for 2) the quality of the staff is low in 
intelligence compared to the industry because nobody actually wants to 
work for OSHA if they can help it and 3) the staff does not understand 
rigging and would not be able to tell a safe rig from one not safe.

But stuff happens: one of the most memorable incidents for me was 
hearing that one of our mechanics hanging on a rig on the side of 
Sloan-Kettering was taking a piss off the rig. He had no clue but he did 
have need. He was also diabetic and one day on a rig went into some sort 
of shock and tried to jump off. His partner was much smaller than him 
and had to wrestle the guy to submission. After that we no longer let 
the fellow fly. It was a tough call as years earlier someone on the 
street came at my partner with a knife and this fellow stepped into the 
way and disarmed the assailant.

][<

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