Plan urges scaffold safety review
Construction site inspections sought
State public safety officers may soon regularly inspect all construction sites that use scaffolding, according to a proposal floated yesterday by lawmakers as a quick means to avoid tragedies such as last week's Boylston Street scaffold collapse that killed three people.
Amid calls for improved construction safety after the tragedy, state lawmakers conceded that comprehensive safety overhauls for construction sites may take years to develop and enact because a thicket of legal decisions has delegated power over worksites to the federal government.
Construction of a 14-story Emerson College dormitory at the Boylston site, which may resume later this week, would proceed as it did before the deadly accident, without inspections or any government oversight.
But lawmakers, led by state Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat, plan to ask the Romney administration to empower the state Department of Public Safety to inspect scaffolds, as it currently inspects cranes at construction sites.
''I would hope the administration would adopt a proactive approach like this," said Barrios, who said he would introduce legislation to require the change if the Romney administration doesn't go along.
An administration spokesman was noncommittal on the proposal.
''The purpose of today's hearing was to get feedback and get information and facts to people," said Joseph Donovan. ''We look forward to working with all parties to come out with recommendations and ideas."
A report by Macomber Builders, the construction company in charge of the Emerson site, was released Monday by city officials. It concluded that workers who had been on the scaffold removed the last metal tie that secured the platform to the building, without a crane in place to support it during the dismantling.
City officials emphasized that the report was far from the last word on the tragedy.
''I'm not suggesting it's a definitive statement," said William Good, acting commissioner of the city's Inspectional Services Department, which approved the report. ''The federal government is doing that investigation."
Some union officials challenged several assertions in the Macomber Builders report.
''Macomber is looking to preserve their own business," said Michael Gagliardi, business manager of Laborers' International Union Local 175, which represents the worker who survived the crash, Shawn Armeen of Nashua ''The federal investigation is the only legitimate investigation because they have no personal agenda.
Macomber is seeking permission to restart construction, which requires inspecting the remaining scaffolds at the site and presenting the results to city officials. Good said the process could be completed by the end of the week.
Meanwhile at yesterday's hearing of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, lawmakers sought to look beyond the Boylston Street tragedy. They contend that for years state officials have neglected to assert power over the construction trades.
A series of court decisions has found that most construction regulation is the responsibility of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
But 26 other states have successfully sought permission from the federal government to inspect and regulate sites.
Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com. 