New York City Buildings Department Digitizes Construction Safety Compliance

Public sector agencies may lag a lot of private sector companies in digitizing their functions, but the New York City Department of Buildings has moved one program from pilot to policy in making construction site safety compliance paperless.

The pilot program and ensuing change to making digital recordkeeping an option for general contractors resulted from several meetings with industry groups in 2024 to discuss how to modernize safety compliance on worksites, according to a DOB statement. The department declined a request for an interview.

The agency then launched a limited-scope pilot program on the feasibility of allowing on-site construction safety compliance documentation to be kept in a digital format on the tablets and laptops of contractors and site safety professionals. In December 2024, the department made the change official: All New York City construction sites now had the option to switch to digital when it came to on-site records.

BiltOn, a Tel Aviv-founded construction site safety proptech company operating in the U.S., participated in the discussions and the pilot program, said Omer Slavin, its founder and CEO. Earlier this January, the DOB approved BiltOn as a tech vendor whose software can be used by general contractors.

“We are helping general contractors to improve their safety management, compliance management and labor management on construction projects,” said Slavin. “By using our software, we make sure that who’s supposed to be on site is actually there, and we showcase the situations where we were able to reduce claims on the job site, making it much more efficient.”

BiltOn has experience in working with the Israeli government on such matters, so Slavin was not surprised at how difficult and long it can take for U.S. agencies to become more technologically sophisticated.

“It was a two-year process,” Slavin said of the journey that began when he attended a DOB conference on innovation. “And, from experience, from working with government and city departments, those processes take time and education. They are looking to really see that the solutions are of integrity and the level of professionalism to manage the stuff that they could count on — the data, the security aspect and the privacy compliance laws.

“We had to educate the DOB as to solutions and capabilities — what is important to check while assessing those solutions, and what are the requirements you need for those solutions.”

Slavin said BiltOn impressed the DOB with its results from the pilot program. “It saved them 40 minutes per inspection. So it saved our customers, the general contractors, time and money, and increased safety, but it also increased the efficiency of the DOB’s inspectors.”

The DOB was equally pleased with the pilot’s outcomes.

“The department is proud of our collaborative work with the industry to better implement technology on the worksite that is helping to streamline the development process here in New York City,” Ryan Degan, a DOB spokesperson, said in a statement. “By allowing digital recordkeeping as a new available option, we are helping supervisors keep on top of their project, comply with code regulations, and promote safety on the job. Construction shanties filled with reams of paper and thick binders full of documents might still be the best option for some contractors, but we understand that many worksites would prefer a more modern digital approach to maintaining these important safety records.”

The DOB has plans for further innovations, according to the agency. In November 2024, it put out an open call for volunteers from the construction, real estate, labor, technology, architectural and engineering communities to staff a new Innovation Review Board at the department, which will identify innovative technological solutions for the construction industry. It’s also supposed to advise DOB on steps to implement those solutions across the city. The department recently extended the deadline for volunteers to apply to take part in this initiative to Feb. 8.

Philip Russo can be reached at prusso@commercialobserver.com.