With several construction projects simultaneously taking shape at the World Trade Center site over the next few months, the
owners of the site have created a new post for someone to oversee all safety issues and prevent accidents.
Joseph Schwed of Honeywell International started as safety director of the World Trade Center site last week. Previously, the
Port Authority of New Jersey and New York had separate safety managers for each construction project. Schwed, 40, will oversee
all of the safety contractors and coordinate all activities on the 16-acre site. Work at the site began in 2005 and construction is
underway for the Sept. 11 memorial, a transit hub, the Freedom Tower and towers 2, 3 and 4. The entire project is scheduled for
completion in 2012, Port Authority officials said.
"It's of the utmost concern that the safety of the employees and the general public are all taken into account and that this
unprecedented project is being done in a safe manner," Schwed said.
Schwed, who worked for the Port Authority from 1993 to 1997, said he will also maintain a close relationship with Silverstein
Properties and their contractors and insurance representatives.
Port Authority officials said there have been no fatalities at the World Trade Center site. In recent years, high-rise construction
accidents have more than doubled at other city sites, prompting a new set of safety rules. Officials said the position was
necessary to prevent accidents at the site for workers and the general public.
"It's critical that we carefully orchestrate the numerous safety programs on the 16-acre site, where the equivalent of five Empire
State Buildings will rise simultaneously during the next four years along with a world-class Transportation Hub and Memorial,"
Port Authority Executive Director Anthony E. Shorris said in a statement. "This is an unprecedented urban construction project
that will ultimately involve 2,000 construction workers, and we are determined to make it the safest in the region."
Schwed was previously the Corporate Manager of Global HSE Operations for Honeywell International, Morristown, N.J. for 11
years. He was responsible for the corporate managed facilities health, safety and environment programs with operations at ten
locations around the world.
"It's great to be a part of this," Schwed said. "That's why I was so eager to come back."
