Everyone at NEII wishes a Happy Belated Canada Day to our friends there. And to those in the United States, we hope you enjoy a safe and happy 4th of July this weekend! The NEII offices will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of the holiday.
California Emergency Rule on COVID
On June 17 the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to adopt the revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), and Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to put the revisions in place immediately. The revised regulations reflect the state’s latest COVID-19 public health guidance. The updates include changes to face coverings and physical distancing requirements. More information on the revised standards can be found in Cal/OSHA's Frequently Asked Questions. One question of particular interest is about employee vaccination status: Q: Is documentation required for a fully vaccinated employee to work without a face covering indoors? A: Yes. Vaccination status must be documented. The revised ETS does not specify a particular method. The employer must record the vaccination status for any employee not wearing a face covering indoors and this record must be kept confidential. Acceptable options include:
Employees provide proof of vaccination (vaccine card, image of vaccine card or health care document showing vaccination status) and employer maintains a copy.
Employees provide proof of vaccination. The employer maintains a record of the employees who presented proof, but not the vaccine record itself.
Employees self-attest to vaccination status and employer maintains a record of who self-attests.
Nothing in the revised ETS prevents an employer from requiring all employees to wear a face covering instead of having a documentation process. Q. What if the employee declines to state their vaccination status? A: Under the ETS, an employer is not obligated to require employees to submit proof of being fully vaccinated. Absent such a requirement, an employee has the right to decline to state if they are vaccinated or not. In that case, the employer must treat the employee as unvaccinated and must not take disciplinary or discriminatory action against the employee.
NEII Continuously Tracking Policy for Industry Impact
NEII monitors legislative activity across the U.S. and Canada every year. To date in 2021, we have tracked over 375 unique pieces of legislation in forty-seven states and Ontario. These bills encompass a wide range of issues with impacts to the building
transportation industry such as licensing, cybersecurity, efforts to create new elevator programs, and updates to related codes. Many legislatures have adjourned, while fourteen states are still conducting regular business or are operating under a special session. Only eight state legislatures will continue to meet throughout the entire year. The Ontario House has adjourned for the summer but is scheduled to reconvene on September 30, 2021. On the regulatory side, NEII has monitored 243 regulatory issues in forty-eight states, these on topics include two-way emergency communication, code updates, and resolving conflicts between codes. NEII has provided verbal testimony before eight legislative or regulatory bodies; has submitted technical comments in eight jurisdictions; and has met with policymakers in many more.
NYC Department of Buildings Issues First Annual Safety Report
The New York City Department of Buildings released the first of its kind construction safety analysis for the City. The two-year report provides an examination of major building construction incidents that have led to fatal or near fatal outcomes. The report exposes details on contributing factors that precipitated these incidents. This study provides a more in depth review of the Department’s data on enforcement actions, incidents, and inspections to provide a more thorough understanding of the factors that
affect construction safety in New York City.NEII was invited to provide an industry statement regarding this valuable safety report.
“Safety is a vital part of daily operations in the elevator industry. NEII’s collaboration with the NYC DOB has advanced the innovation of important safety technologies, such as door lock monitors. In addition, we partnered to meet the challenges brought on by COVID and will continue to improve safety at job sites throughout the city. The new annual NYC Construction Safety Report will be an important tool as the elevator industry and DOB work together to create a safer New York.” said Amy J. Blankenbiller, Executive Director of the National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII)
You may view the full New York City Construction Safety Report here.
Model Elevator Code 2022 Edition Nearing Completion
A new edition of ASME A17.1/CSA B44 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators is published every three years, but work is constantly being done to develop and revise the code requirements.All proposals must be approved by August 2021 to be included in the 2022 edition to allow time for public review, editing and publication by the end of 2022.There is still time to for additional proposals to be approved but some of the significant changes already approved pending public review include:
Updates to escalator seismic requirements to align with the building codes and previous changes to the elevator seismic requirements.
Rework/clarification of the requirements for listing and certification of electrical equipment
Updating and clarification of requirements for elevators used in emergencies including Firefighters’ Emergency Operation, Fire Service Access Elevators and Occupant Evacuation Operation.
Clarification of the approaching object door detection requirements
Updates to the emergency communication requirements including the in building controls
Updates to various maintenance, inspection and testing requirements.
Cybersecurity Notices
Recently, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint cybersecurity advisory to address recently disclosed vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server. CISA and FBI assess that adversaries could exploit these vulnerabilities to compromise networks and steal information, encrypt data for ransom or even execute a destructive attack. For more information, see their news release and web page for guidance on detecting, protecting against, and remediating this activity.
