The Shift from Paper to Digital: A New Era for NYC Construction Compliance

For years, general contractors, owners, and developers in New York City have faced many obstacles when it comes to construction in the Big Apple. One major obstacle that has gone under the radar for years is now starting to show its face since the industry has undergone a digital transformation. 

The struggle surrounding managing stacks of physical documents for each construction project has created huge challenges and setbacks for General Contractors. To give context, as we all are away, each project requires many forms of documentation to keep the project running. These critical documents such as safety logs, workforce records, and compliance documents are often stored poorly, tucked away in trailers and locations that do not have efficient storage. 

This traditional form of managing paperwork has seen more negatives than positives and is often at risk of being lost, damaged, or delayed creating a huge burden on admin and extra stress. This method has proven to be inefficient and puts General Contractors at a higher risk of non-compliance with NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) construction regulations. There is an unwanted outcome for being non-compliant on construction projects, which leads to heavy fines, costly project delays, and higher safety risks. 

Stemming from the recent Bulletin 2024-007, the NYC DOB has recently announced that they officially allow digital record-keeping for construction safety and compliance. This approval is a huge step forward and a big win for our industry. Digital record-keeping will take the industry toward a modern approach, allowing for easier processes, workflows, tracking & management of critical documents, tracking workforce data, improving site safety management, & allowing General Contractors to be proactive with compliance instead of reactive. 

BiltOn’s role in helping NYC DOB approve digital record-keeping

This milestone didn’t happen overnight. The approval of digital compliance records was the result of collaboration between industry leaders and the DOB, and BiltOn played a very key role in helping make this policy a reality.

In 2024, BiltOn was actively working alongside the NYC DOB as part of an industry-wide initiative to modernize construction processes such as compliance. As part of a pilot program, BiltOn helped prove that digitizing essential documents and compliance records will lead to increased efficiency, improved safety oversight, and reduced administrative burden. Feel free to check out the recent article from Commercial Observer that interviewed BiltOn’s CEO, Omer Slaving, and showcased how BIltOn helped push the NYC approval of digital record-keeping to come to reality.

Proven Results & Benefits of BiltOn’s Digital Document Management:

Result #1: 40 =minutes saved per inspection

The General Contractor was able to reduce the time spent locating and verifying records. No more scrambling around and being reactive with compliance. Now, GCs can become proactive instead of proactive with compliance.

Result #2: Became audit-ready 

Compliance checks are smoother with instant on-demand document retrieval. BiltOn’s unique capability to provide offline mode allows users to work anytime, anywhere, allowing documents to be checked, adjusted, and properly managed with ease.

Result #3: Strengthened workforce operations, safety, risk, & compliance management through real-time project visibility 

The GC was able to have a real-time project overview using the BiltOn solution. BiltOn’s solution  & allowed the workforce, safety, and compliance documentation to be hosted in one unified solution.

Result #4: Reduced the number of claims, violations, and potential fines.

Ensuring accurate, up-to-date records helped contractors avoid costly penalties

This successful pilot was a game-changer and BiltOn is very proud to be a part of this historical moment in time. The impact of digitalizing documentation speaks for itself and BiltOn was able to prove ROI through proactive management. Let’s take a look at what documents were digitally approved.

What type of documents are we able to digitize?

Under the new NYC DOB Billetin policy, general contractors can now store several key compliance documents in digital format—ensuring they are always accessible, secure, and audit-ready. Each document is a critical component and plays a key factor in the success of a project. By eliminating reliance on paper-based record-keeping, general contractors can stay ahead of compliance requirements and be audit-ready instead of being reactive.

Digital documents include:

• Daily safety logs

  • Documentation of all on-site daily safety activities

• Workforce attendance & headcounts

  • Digital check-ins for tracking personnel

• Site safety plans

  • Up-to-date records accessible for audits

• Toolbox talks & safety meetings 

  • Digital records of training sessions

• Permit records 

  • Easily retrievable electronic copies of all active permits

• Incident reports

  • Digitized logs to track and analyze safety incidents

• Worker/subcontractor certifications & COIs

  • Verified and instantly accessible credentials

• Pre-shift safety meetings & compliance checklists

  • Ensuring full regulatory adherence.

Why Traditional Record-Keeping is Inefficient & Costly

For countless years, the construction industry has stuck to paper-based compliance tracking, but this method is no longer sustainable. The comparison and benefits between traditional vs digital compliance tracking and management are very clear. The question is how easy it is to make the transition. The answer is very easy. 

The Risks of Traditional Pen & Paper Management:

• Documents can easily get lost, misplaced, or damaged

  • Hard copies are difficult to organize and often get lost. 

• Traditional documentation management leads to higher risk, and outcomes for violations

  • Missing records during inspections can lead to violations and fines

• Increased risk & liability for the project

  • Handwritten logs and manual entries increase the risk of inaccuracies

• Difficult to be proactive and audit-ready. Most GCs tend to be reactive & stressed

  • Searching through paper files slows down compliance checks

Digital record-keeping benefits summary & review

Embracing digital compliance solutions isn’t just about staying compliant—it’s about unlocking greater efficiency, transparency, and site safety.

Why digital transformation is critical for today’s contractors:

• Historical document repository with instant access, anytime, anywhere

  • Compliance records are available on demands

• Unlock real-time workforce oversight with accurate automated tracking 

  • Ensure accuracy and compliance tracking without manual work.

• Streamline alerts & notifications with simple automation

  • Never miss an expiring permit, training, or report deadline.

• Become audit-ready & proactive instead of reactive

  • Eliminate last-minute scrambling for inspections.

• Gain stronger compliance oversight & management

  • Keep safety and risk management data in one place

• Save time & major costs by avoiding heavy penalties & litigation

  • Able to protect your yourself, your workers, and company from costly issues.

How BiltOn Helps General Contractors Stay Compliant & Penalty-Free

BiltOn is a recognized industry leader in construction technology and NYC DOB-approved. BiltOn’s comprehensive construction operations & risk management software is made to simplify the headaches surrounding hurdles and challenges we face on the field. Our cloud-based platform is designed to help general contractors, owners, and developers seamlessly manage:

Features & solutions to take advantage of:

• Streamline operations & enhance workforce/labor management

  • Ex: Real-time tracking of workforce & subcontractors through advanced access control & facial verification, automated headcount, labor hours (time-in/out), and worker certifications to name a few.

• Strengthen safety management

  • Ex: Automate incident reporting, daily logs, pre-shift, safety checks, toolbox talks, and more.

•  Lower potential risks & avoid litigation with simplified compliance management 

  • EX: Maintain NYC DOB-compliant documentation with ease, such as permits, COI management, diversity reporting, tracking certifications, and more.

With BiltOn, contractors can easily digitize, store, and manage compliance documents—ensuring they are always audit-ready and penalty-free.

The industry is moving forward and evolving. If you want to stay competitive, now is the time to embrace digital technology to support compliance, streamline operations, ensure safety, avoid NYC penalties, and litigation, and overall improve project efficiencies.

Want to see how easy it is to go digital? BiltOn can easily help and set your projects up for success & ready to tackle compliance.

Click Here to Schedule a Free Demo Today!