Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/816123
May 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 58 get your vehicles, equipment and ma- terials into that work area through your access and egress points and what those points are going to look like. Think about how that equipment is going to work in that space and how you're going to sepa- rate the people on foot away from your equipment." Both temporary traffic plans and ITCPs need to be designed before anyone oc- cupies a work location, Drewes says, and the plans need to require everyone be trained for the job decision he or she is supposed to make – from the flagger, to the technician, to the supervisor, to the plans' designer. "The plan details how you communicate; it's used to communicate with the people setting up traffic control, the people work- ing within the traffic control and those driv- ing into the area hauling material," he adds. Contractors also need to make sure they're giving the traveling public correct information and that traffic control devices are legible and updated. For example, if a sign is posted that indicates a flagman is ahead, make sure a flagger is in place. Inconsistencies can lead to public mistrust. In developing an ITCP, contractors need to consider what each individual is sup- posed to do and the common behaviors of people on foot, such as cellphone usage or the condition of retro-reflective cloth- ing. This extends to communication among workers, particularly with operators and crew on the ground. "They need to keep their head in the game," Drewes says. "We get very focused on our job and forget where we're work- ing. In those high-risk locations, we need to make sure we have our best staff." For instance, a flagger is a position that often gets scant consideration by contrac- tors, Drewes says. "Who do you have flagging? A lot of companies will use their newest employee because they can't do anything else," he says. "But think of the risk of having that flagger that has no experience with traffic control." Drewes adds that contractors must devel- op their temporary traffic control programs to comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Taking the liability approach "With external traffic control, it's impor- tant to have certain standard operating procedures in place, because when there is an injury to the traveling public in or near your work zone, there is going to be a liability suit," says Greg Stefan, vice president of risk control for Arch Insur- ance Group, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Stefan also spoke during the NAPA an- nual meeting and focused on the legal ramifications of not following proper traffic control plans. "What you and your teams have done before a bad event occurrs is going to highway contractor | continued Training resources 3T Group's Bruce Drewes recommends contractors use the training tools available on the Work Zone Safety Consortium website, workzonesafety.org. The main tool there is the Roadway Safety + series of training modules, for which he is an onsite trainer. The program offers basic training that provides an overview of the more com- mon hazards in road construction as well as prevention, and an advanced module for supervisors, manag- ers and staff who create work zone designs and set up or control them. Roadway Safety + offers programs on a series of topics, in- cluding runovers and backovers, operator safety, flagger safety, temporary traffic control, night work, fall protection, health hazards and working with law enforce- ment. "You can select which modules you want your people to look at, and you can either have it run by an instructor or automatically. In the automatic mode, there are audio explanations offered in English, Spanish or Portuguese." Law enforcement involvement is a major factor in temporary traffic control programs. Photo: Missouri DOT