The Environmental Health and Safety Department’s (EHS) Employee Safety Oversight Unit (ESOU) monitors NYCHA’s compliance with regulations and standards governing employee safety. ESOU also investigates reports of unsafe conditions at workplaces.
As a part of their work, ESOU performs activities such as:
Assessing compactor room safety throughout the Authority and providing appropriate guidance to property management for improvement, conducting follow-up assessments to monitor improvements;
Attending Safety Congresses and events and creating task forces that provide technical guidance;
Providing an annual respiratory protection program training and ensuring that program participants are properly fit-tested for personal protective equipment; and
Overseeing the industrial hygienist consultants as they conduct exposure assessments, reviewing the results, and presenting data to relevant departments to ensure compliance with OSHA’s respiratory protection program and NYCHA’s standard procedures.
One of NYCHA’s critical safety programs is its Confined Space Safety Program. Confined spaces are enclosed or partially enclosed spaces that are not primarily designed or intended for human occupancy for a prolonged period. Such spaces are configured so that workers can enter and perform assigned tasks; however, they have limited or restricted entries. To help staff recognize the potential hazards and the precautions needed to safely work in these areas, ESOU’s safety trainers provide confined space training for relevant employees.
This photo essay involves photos taken from a confined space inspection at Pelham Parkway Houses.
Senior Employee Oversight Specialist Larry Pucciarelli meets with the Pelham Houses Property Manager to inspect the air monitoring equipment and confined space folder.
An ESOU Specialist inspects the GX2012 4-gas monitor (air monitoring equipment). This tool checks for methane, oxygen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfite.
Specialists check GX2012 4-gas monitors for calibration, batteries, or any defects.
ESOU Specialists explain the gas monitor calibration process to the Property Manager and Property Maintenance Supervisor.
A docking station is connected to a computer to automatically calibrate the gas monitors.The gas monitor is calibrated in the docking station.The required confined space folder in the property management office. ESOU checks the confined space folder for up-to-date cancelled permits, surveys, sign-in sheets for staff training on confined space standard procedure, and site maps. If these items are not present, property managers are instructed on how to correctly maintain the folder.An ESOU Specialist reviews the confined space folders with the Property Manager.ESOU Specialists meet with the Supervisor of Caretakers to go over the areas and items to be inspected.ESOU Specialists sign the heating plant logbook.
An Occupational Health Specialist photographs an area with missing signage and documents the findings.
The Senior Employee Oversight Specialist explains the missing signage to the Supervisor of Caretakers.The Senior Employee Oversight Specialist determines there is no signage in the basement crawl space.ESOU found that the vacuum tank room pit sign required replacement due to damage.The Senior Employee Oversight Specialist points out asbestos pipes to the Supervisor of Caretakers.
ESOU Specialists document where the signage should be at the entry point.
The Supervisor of Caretakers takes notes and confirms findings with the Specialist.The Senior Employee Safety Oversight Specialist and Occupational Health Specialist discuss their findings with the Property Manager and Property Maintenance Supervisor.
The Senior Employee Safety Oversight Specialist shows the property managers how to locate the confined space section on the SafeNYCHA webpage, makes recommendations on the proper signage to be posted, and provides guidance on ordering the correct parts for the GX2012 4-gas monitor.
The ESOU Specialists document findings while at the development.The ESOU work on safety reports at the development.The ESOU verifies that data entered on the handheld is in the system.
EHS encourages NYCHA employees and residents to report any unaddressed, previously reported safety conditions by calling the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 (select menu option 7, then option 3) or by visiting on.nyc.gov/submit-concern.
For more information about employee safety at NYCHA, please visit the SafeNYCHA section of Connect.
