What’s New
Effective Jan. 1st, NYS law requires that any person who uses truss type, pre-engineered wood, or timber construction in the construction of a new residential structure or an addition to or rehabilitation of an existing residential structure to give written notice to the local code enforcement official and to place a sign or symbol on the exterior of the structure indicating same. Click here for more information.
Recent Projects
- Consultation and evaluation of alleged tripping hazards in the floor slab of a national home improvement and appliance retail store
- Retained to evaluate the design and construction of exterior staircase landings at a condominium complex located in Dutchess County, NY
- Forensic engineering consultation regarding a trip and fall accident at a rental property interior staircase in Philadelphia, PA
Stricter OSHA reporting rules set to take effect
On January 3rd The Providence Journal reported that “as of Jan. 1, private-sector employers nationwide face stricter reporting requirements for on-the-job injuries. Previously, employers were required to notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration of all workplace fatalities, or when three or more workers were hospitalized in the same incident. The new OSHA rules require employers to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours and all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours of learning about it. The reporting requirements will apply ‘to virtually all private-sector workplaces'”.
Yarmus Engineering, P.C. is available to consult with business owners, supervisors, site safety compliance officers, construction and project management firms, labor attorneys, etc. regarding OSHA compliance, safety regulations, and standards. Please contact our office if we can be of assistance to you or your clients regarding such matters.
Residential Leases Now Require Sprinklers
In their January 2015 issue The Cooperator reported that “effective December 3, 2014, all residential leases in New York State now require a notice to residential tenants about the presence or absence of sprinkler systems in the ‘leased premises’…The law is effective through the entire State of New York and makes no exceptions for premises that are governmentally regulated or even governmentally run…However, where there is no question whether the document in question really is some kind of lease, it appears clear that the law covers both main leases and subleases, both new leases and renewal leases…This law will affect at least tens of thousands of dwelling arrangements where people will have absolutely no idea they are in violation of the law. In the city of New York, this will include sublets and apartments of all kinds in buildings with fewer than six residential units. The larger buildings will also be affected, but they are more likely to expect obscure laws to be ruling them. In the vast rural parts of the state, tens of thousands of rentals will be affected in places where people are living in a fool’s paradise that housing regulation is a New York City phenomenon alone”.
Yarmus Engineering, P.C. is available to consult with property owners and managers, condominium and cooperative associations, real estate attorneys, and realtors regarding fire suppression and sprinkler system code requirements. Please contact our office if we can be of assistance to you or your clients regarding such matters.