Stay tuned for all the exciting things United & Gulf will be bringing for 2012

I remember a few years back asking our controller what this Metropolitan Commuter transportation mobility tax was that we were paying.

IRS defines it as:

The metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT) is a tax imposed on certain employers and self-employed individuals engaging in business within the metropolitan commuter transportation district (MCTD). This department administers the tax for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (The MCTD includes the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester.)

The Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (Payroll Tax) is $.34 cents per $100 of income. It was imposed on payrolls of more than $2,500; and self-employed earnings of more than $10,000. It is retroactively effective March 1, 2009. It raised approximately  $1.021 Billion in 2009, and $1.54 Billion in 2010.

But now there is a small break if you qualify. The new MCTMT tax applies to only employer’s with payroll in excess of $312,500.00 in any calendar quarter, in lieu of the $2,500.00. This excludes any educational institutions (public schools District, public elementary and secondary schools and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. They have now imposed graduated rates ranging from .11% to .34% instead of the flat 34%.This could mean a reduction on your company’s payroll tax depending on your quarterly payroll.

Here is a chart of the breakdown

Cutting the cord seems to be the way of the future. As new Li-ion batteries come into play, it makes sense to drop the extension cord for many reasons. The enforcement from General Contractors, OSHA and the building department pushing down on nicked extension cords is what lead us to look into other options. At first we reduced the size of the tales that came out of the tools, assuming this would reduce cords getting nicked and it did. Since we are in a world of light weight batteries with a larger power supply we see the advantages to dropping the cord completely.

Li-on Battery technology has advanced immensely and today we see battery powered jack hammers and chainsaws. The worry of a battery powered skill saw not cutting a few sheets of plywood is now over. We have always seen the typical 12V & less units, today you can get heavy duty 14V to 36V and since we now have this power you will use the tool with greater frequency.

Li-on batteries are what we choose to use because of weight, they are constructed of lightweight lithium. The issue of a heavy cordless tool are now a worry of the past. Also there are fewer safety risks when operating in wet conditions or elevated conditions. The mobility when you are on a ladder, lift or scaffolds is endless.

These batteries are said to make a tool 2 LBS lighter than the cordless equivalent, and also enabling contractors to get two times the capacity over NiCad batteries.

Li-on batteries are built with an onboard computer that manage the batteries power supply. This is said to help the life expectancy of 18 months of a NiCad battery to 3 years with the Li-on.

Initially you would think that the corded unit seems cheaper, but once you do the analysis you will see that fueling a generator, replacing cords and the time finding power will exceed the cost of the tool purchase. Li-on Batteries cost approximately 30 to 50% more than the old NiCad but the advantages are the life expectancy, weight and more power.

As this green movement grows, we in the construction industry keep an eye out for ways to

“save the world” and sometimes it’s our own modern technology and progressions in the world that has made  this environmentally unfriendly world.

Bamboo, being a fast growing and renewable natural resource, was used for construction extensively by our ancient people.

Bamboo scaffold is the diamond in the rough. It has always been here and available, but it wasn’t pretty enough or not esthetically pleasing enough to actually use it in any other place besides India and China.

I think the green factor of this bamboo couldn’t get greener, but what has been said to drives this design out of wack here in the United States is labor cost. China’s convinced that the flexibility and speediness in construction is advantageous over what we know to be scaffold frames.

There have been studies made and I think it’s easy to believe that Bamboo is a lot cheaper than your metal scaffolding. A recent study shows that bamboo is only 6% the cost of a similar length of steel. Also in this study they built a scaffold 7 story building 150’ long by 30’ Wide, and did a cost analysis on material, accessory’s transportation labor & waste of materials. The savings were close to $40,000.00

Can their installations go quicker? It is said to go up 6X faster than traditional scaffolding and dismantle at 12X faster. Amazing and if true that would wipe away any concern of labor cost.

Quality of the bamboo and its life expectancy varies and there are industry standards that are followed and inspected prior to each project and while erected. Bamboo scaffolding is normally seen on buildings with 7 or fewer floors,

So what do I think ?

Bamboo is natural and renewable material for building construction. It is environmentally friendly. As material for scaffolding, the system is flexible in providing working platform and access to building in limited construction space. The system is also efficient and cost-effective. It is a popular scaffolding system in Southeast Asia. However, there is a general misconception from Western World that bamboo scaffolding is a very dangerous system and trade. The safety to users of bamboo scaffolding is, of course, a complex issue. It involves total quality control process from erection, inspection, maintenance, dismantling, and appropriate training in using bamboo scaffolding. It also has the flexibility of bamboo scaffolds in an irregular architectural layout, speediness in erecting scaffolds, and cost-effectiveness in comparing to metal scaffold. I don’t think we should completely shy away from the old system.More research is needed in comparing these scaffolding systems in terms of cost saving, speediness, flexibility, and other concerned issues in order to provide more information for construction professionals to make decision on selecting the right scaffolding system for a project.

References

Appropriateness in using bamboo scaffold for constructing buildings less than seven floors, [WWW document]. URL http://www.tydf.cn/blog/article.php?tid-4309.html

Chung, K. F. and Siu, Y. C. (1999), Erection of Bamboo Scaffolds, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 6.

Guidelines

2561 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island NY 10306

Portion of the proceeds will go to S.I. Heart Society

For more info Contact

718 816 4775

 info@westbrightonldc.com

]]> http://unitedhoisting.com/2012/01/21st-century-business-woman-committee/feed/ 0 http://unitedhoisting.com/2012/01/ansi-approves-two-construction-safety-standards/ http://unitedhoisting.com/2012/01/ansi-approves-two-construction-safety-standards/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:16:22 +0000 United Hoisting & Scaffolding Corp http://unitedhoisting.com/?p=1920 ]]>

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) announced  that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two new ASSE A10 construction and demolition standards aimed at enhancing safety.

The two new standards are the ANSI/ASSE A10.1-2011 Pre-Project and Pre-Task Safety and Health Planning for Construction and Demolition Operations and the ANSI/ASSE A10.26-2011 Emergency Procedures for Construction and Demolition Sites.

The new A10.1-2011 standard establishes the elements and activities for pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning for construction. Its primary purpose is to assist construction owners, project constructors, and contractors in making pre-project and pre-task safety and health planning a standard part of their planning processes and to assist owners in establishing a process for evaluating project constructor candidate safety and health performance and planning practices.

The new A10.26 standard applies to those emergency procedures involving: fires, collapses, hazardous spills, and other emergencies that can endanger workers; emergency rescue of injured or ill workers or other persons, or of injured workers unable to rescue themselves; on-site provision of first aid and emergency medical care; evacuation and transportation of injured or ill workers to appropriate emergency medical facilities; pre-planning and coordination of emergency plan with emergency medical facilities; and training on emergency procedures/plans for workers and other groups. It also provides guidelines for the development of emergency procedures for construction site

These two new standards will build upon our existing documents to enhance work safety and health on construction sites.

With February 1 coming quick its time for many companies to post OSHA Form 300A. Form 300A is a summary log of all work-related injuries for 2011.

From February 1 through April 30, non-exempt companies are required by the OSHA Recordkeeping Standard to post a log. Forms 300, 300A, 301 are available on OSHA’s Illness Recordkeeping Forms Web page.

Included in the log should be the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses from 2011 that were logged on the OSHA 300 form as well as info on the  number of workers and hours worked for the year.

No injuries in 2011?  that’s great, but companies still required to post and must still comply.

The log must be certified by a company executive and posted in a common area for the duration of Feb 1 through April 30.

If you have employees who will not see the form in its posting area, copies should be made available to them.

As mentioned above, some businesses are exempt, like establishments with 10 or fewer employees, as well as certain industry sectors.

Here is an exemption list.

United Hoisting & Scaffolding Corp was proud to be a sponsor for the SIEDC Toys for Tots 2011 and is looking forward to helping out next year.

Congratulations to the 40/40 Group and Shane Sorrento for making this spectacular and meaningful event happen.

SIEDC 40 Under 40 Leadership Group had the most successful toy drive in the 65 year history of the Staten Island Toys for Tots Foundation collecting more than 800 toys in a single event and a whopping 1000 toys at its conclusion!

Please watch a special video message from ArtBridge’s founder, Rodney Durso. He founded ArtBridge with the intention of creating an unprecedented platform for the local emerging artist that could at once transform the urban landscape and the way new artists connect to the public. United Hoisting & Scaffolding has donated all these installations but we still need your help

ArtBridge: The Story of a Crazy Idea from ArtBridge on Vimeo.

Please consider donating to ArtBridge today, by CLICKING HERE. And help us continue our mission to enliven the cityscape with the thought provoking work of some of its finest emerging visual artists.

Thank you for your continued support and everything you have done for ArtBridge and our growing community of ArtBridge Artists.

Happy Winter Holidays,
Joe,Devin, Jordana, and Rodney

Prohibition on Cell Phone Use by Commercial Drivers Starts Jan. 3

Beginning on Jan. 3, operators of commercial vehicles caught using their cell phones will face fines of up to $2,750 and may risk losing their commercial driver’s license if caught more than once under a new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The ruling comes as other federal agencies and divisions, including the National Transportation Safety Board, have begun to call for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phone by drivers of all vehicles. “When drivers of large trucks, buses, and hazardous materials take their eyes off the road for even a few seconds, the outcome can be deadly,” said DOT secretary Ray LaHood. “I hope that this rule will save lives by helping commercial drivers stay laser-focused on safety at all times while behind the wheel.”