Equipment World

May 2017

Equipment World Digital Magazine

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May 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 56 T his year marked the celebration of the 10th National Work Zone Awareness Week, an annual set of events that highlight hazards for both workers and motorists in road-construction zones. The organizers' message centers on motorists traveling in work zones, with this year's theme being "Work Zone Safety is in Your Hands." While distracted driving is a major cause of accidents, contractors also must make sure their own house is in order on this issue. This involves not just the warning and transition areas for traffic leading to a work zone, but also safety measures for the work flow on the jobsite. Traffic control programs This means you need to spend time properly developing both temporary traffic control plans for the traveling public and internal traffic control plans (ITCP), according to Bruce Drewes, an instruc- tional consultant with 3T Group, based in Garden City, Idaho. Drewes provided an overview of strategies for safer work zones during the 2017 National Asphalt Pavement Association meeting. According to Drewes, about half of work zone fatalities occur not because of distracted drivers but because of situations within a contractor's own jobsite – crew members "running over people, or capturing them in the wrong position at the wrong time or maybe crushing them," he says. ITCPs designate safe areas for workers and appropriate routes for work vehicles and equipment; they set up "no go" zones for workers, vehicles and equipment; and they define operating pro- cedures for trucks hauling materials to the area. "You need to think about what's going to take place in that workspace," Drewes explains. "Consider how you are going to highway contractor | by Chris Hill | ChrisHill@randallreilly.com Focus on the basics of developing traffic control programs and consider liability issues WORK ZONE SAFETY MANAGEMENT

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