Tag: Traffic Control

WORK ZONE SAFETY – NIGHT CONSTRUCTION WORK

Posted on by Jim Wood

Reduced visibility during night construction can increase the amount time it takes for a motorist to see and respond to work activity taking place on or near the roadway. Other factors that can affect a driver’s ability to respond effectively to night construction work activity include age, experience, mental condition, physical condition, weather and familiarity with the roadway.

Reduced visibility during night construction work can also affect an equipment operator’s ability to see and respond effectively to the activity taking place around them. It is important to follow the worker safety plan for night construction work activity which should include the following:

HIGH-VISIBILITY SAFETY APPAREL

  • ANSI Class 3 shirt or vest, as the outermost clothing. Replace these when faded, worn, dirty or defaced.
  • ANSI high-visibility gaiters or bands around the ankles.
  • Hard hat with reflective tape or work light attachment.

ANSI Class 3 apparel and high visibility gaiters place the reflective material on the arms and legs in a design that conveys biological motion (body movement). Road workers wearing biomotion clothing are recognized at significantly longer distances than the standard vest alone.

TEMPORARY WORK AREA LIGHTING

  • Light the work area and approaches to provide visibility for motorists to safely travel through the work zone.
  • Illuminate work activity areas where workers are present to make them visible.
  • Control glare so as not to interfere with the visibility of the work zone by drivers and workers.

VEHICLE LIGHTING

Ensure all lighting and supplemental lighting on construction vehicles and equipment is in good working order.

ACTIVITY WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

Night construction activity can also create limited visibility for equipment operators and other construction vehicles.

  • Ensure back up alarms are working correctly.
  • Be aware than equipment blind spots/zones can increase during night work.
  • Use spotters when backing equipment to prevent run overs or back overs.
  • Don’t walk behind or between operating or moving equipment and vehicles.
  • Be aware of the greater chance for trips and falls while walking on the construction site.
  • Follow the temporary traffic control plan and the worker safety plan for night construction work activity.
  • Know the details of the project’s emergency action plan.

Download the printable PDF and recording form here.

Members can download the audio version of this toolbox talk here.

Internal Traffic Controls

Posted on by admin_ici
Originally published on Aug. 2, 2016

Internal traffic control plans detail how construction traffic should be set up inside the construction area so that vehicles and equipment are separated – as much as possible – from workers on foot. Pedestrian workers are those employees who perform most of their duties outside vehicles and equipment, and they are particularly vulnerable to being struck by equipment.

According to the Work Zone Hazards Workbook published by OSHA in 2008, “the majority of fatalities that occur in road construction work zones in the United States involve a worker being struck by a piece of construction equipment or other vehicle. A worker in this industry is just as likely to be struck by a piece of construction equipment inside the work zone as by passing traffic.”

Workers are at risk when:

  • They are preoccupied by their work and are not paying attention to what is going on around them.
  • They become comfortable in a dangerous environment.
  • They don’t have convenient access to and from their work space for restrooms, food and water, shade or breaks or other local work areas.

The purpose of an internal traffic control plan is the safety of all employees. An effective plan will inform all parties operating within the work site about the location of others, focus on worker safety within the work site, and establish “No On-foot Worker Zones” designed to minimize interaction between workers and vehicles.

Internal traffic control plans should:

  • Designate routes and operating procedures for large trucks delivering materials.
  • Create a traffic pattern to minimize backing.
  • Use temporary traffic control devices to mark traffic paths.
  • Facilitate communication among key work zone parties in advance of their arrival on the construction site.
  • Limit access points to the work zone.
  • Coordinate truck and equipment movements.
  • Provide information on traffic paths and safe/unsafe work areas for employees.
  • Heighten the awareness of pedestrian workers to vehicle traffic in the work zone.
  • Maintain smooth traffic flow.
  • Restrict the use of cell phones while near heavy equipment.

Develop and follow a good internal traffic control plan to ensure the safety of everyone on the construction site.

Download the recording form here.

ICI Welcomes New Member

Posted on by Andria Hine

The ICI Board has approved Indiana Traffic Services, LLC’s application for subcontractor membership. The company specializes in permanent and temporary pavement markings, as well as rental and sales of traffic control items. Contact Kathi Ottesen, call (317) 891-8065 or visit the company website at http://www.indianatrafficservices.com. Indiana Traffic Services, LLC is located at 3867 North Commercial Parkway Drive, Greenfield, Ind. 46140