Virtual Badge Protects The JDS Development Group’s $2B 111 West 57th Street Skyscraper Construction Project

Virtual Badge Protects The JDS Development Group’s $2B 111 West 57th Street Skyscraper Construction Project


JDS Development Group are using Virtual Badge at their $2B 111 West 57th Street Skyscraper project for safety, risk management, and liability protection — all related to COVID-19 infections.

111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower, is the largest residential tower as well as the thinnest skyscraper in the entire world.

JDS Development Group is an American real-estate development group headquartered in Manhattan, NYC. To learn more about JDS, click here: https://jdsdevelopment.com/.



THE CHALLENGE

COVID-19 infections can completely put a halt to any construction project. Because of this, JDS Development Group needed a way to ensure business continuity at its $2B construction site — a luxury skyscraper that overlooks Central Park in New York City. Due to this being an extremely high profile project, JDS Development Group had to find an affordable solution to reduce risk and potential financial loss, protect their liability and reputation by protecting worker safety from COVID-19, and find a solution that was easy to implement and easy to use for everyone involved.




JDS Development Group didn’t have a way to keep track of who was entering the building, if they were sick, or if they had signed liability waivers. With NY State and New York City both passing extremely restrictive COVID-19 safety regulations, it wasn’t really possible to keep the 111 West 57th Street project open until an identification and safety solution was implemented.


THE SOLUTION


Because Virtual Badge is rapidly deployable and can create temporary badges that require COVID-19 wavier forms, JDS Development Group is easily able to issue, track, and validate a Virtual Badge for every worker at the 111 w57th St project every single day. As of January 2021, there have been more than 800 badges issued for the multi-year project. Virtual Badge provided easy to follow onboarding instructions which JDS Development Group sent to each worker prior to them arriving on-site.




Each worker is able to watch a youtube video that explains how to get a Virtual Badge, download the mobile app on either iOS or Android, and start their badge application. Each worker is able to get a badge that identifies that they work for both a) their contracting company and b) JDS Development Group, and each badge application requires the worker to upload a selfie photo, a photo of their government ID, and complete several COVID-19 waiver forms, including liability and attesting to zero symptoms.




Once completed, the JDS Development Group project team would approve or deny each badge, so that the worker can have his badge ready before they arrive. When workers arrive at the construction site, a site supervisor or security guard scans the QR code on each worker’s Virtual Badge, checking them in for the day, and when they leave, each worker gets checked-out. This provides a daily man-count report that shows who entered, what company they worked for, and how long they stayed. JDS Development Group can use this data to provide to other stakeholders to discuss ways to become more efficient, and can also use this data for contact tracing purposes if someone were to get sick. While the contact tracing hasn’t been required at 111 West 57th St, it has been used successfully at other construction job-sites to keep the project open.


CONCLUSION


As of January 2021, there have been no confirmed reports of COVID-19 at the job-site. This validates Virtual Badge’s use as an easy-to-deploy risk management system for construction companies. Health and safety risk factors were mitigated due to linking Virtual Badge issuance with on-site COVID-19 testing. Legal liability risk factors were eliminated because it was impossible to get a Virtual Badge without signing a waiver of liability and attesting that each badge-holder had no COVID-19 symptoms — all in compliance of federal, state, and local laws.




Rather than wondering who was there and if their paperwork was completed properly, the JDS Development Group staff could look at each Virtual Badge profile. At a glance, the team was able to see each attendee’s current status, if they needed to complete any documentation, and if the security team needed to communicate with them. With regards to safety and risk at the 111 West 57th Street project, JDS Development Group can rest easy knowing their workforce is protected by Virtual Badge.