8 Ways Your Highway Construction Team Can Protect Themselves

It’s well known how highway construction can be a potentially dangerous job, therefore, safety for the workers has become a concept of utmost importance. A large portion of highway safety has been legislated by individual states, yet a good employer often goes beyond legal requirements to assure skilled and unskilled labor on the job can go home safely at the end of their shift. Such concerns don’t only apply to working with heavy equipment or being hit by oncoming traffic, but also involves things like slipping on uneven terrain, falling objects during movement or transport, and breaking fingers or hands while working with manual tools in support of the heavy equipment.

The most important aspect of highway safety is, like most other jobs, planning. That can include wearing proper boots with steel toes and ankle support, wearing appropriate clothing which makes workers visible without having loose ends which can get tangled up, and generally being aware of what dangers exist on a particular jobsite and taking the necessary precautions of such considerations. With that said, there are a few well known tactics for every crew which are proven to prevent, or at least diminish the possibility of an accident occurring.

1- Traditional Means of Safety

Traditional means of protecting workers involves placing cones and barrels around the work area to keep vehicles out of the way. That might be all that’s needed for certain small quick jobs, but more often signage is needed as well to alert drivers to upcoming road conditions. These basic means of protection also require a certain amount of training, both in how to set up the site and how to act while behind such barriers.

2- Formal Traffic Enforcement

When available, it’s also helpful to enlist the help of local law enforcement. Cars are going to slow down and drive safely when police are monitoring the road. Although it’s not much good after an accident, if police are there at least they can hold bad drivers at fault for either criminal or civil cases should a driver be at fault for causing an accident.

3- Lighting and Understanding Extraordinary Conditions

Working night shifts can be a double-edged sword, it depends on the amount of traffic during the day and how long the job is going to last. Night work can reduce the risk of having an accident caused by heavy traffic flow, but can be inherently dangerous for trying to work in the dark. Great lighting is an absolute in such cases to assure everyone can see where they’re stepping and what they’re doing, as well as allowing machine operators to see where people on the ground are.

4- Well Rested Workers

Working at night brings about another danger which can also be an issue with daytime crews, that of being fatigued. In some jobs, people can work shifts of twelve to sixteen hours or longer. With roadside construction, there are simply too many dangers to allow people to make mistakes because of exhaustion. The problem is addressed by hiring two shifts of workers instead of having one group work overtime every day.

5- Paying Attention and Maintaining Awareness

No safety measure is going to work when the rules are ignored or forgotten. Again, this often has to do with fatigue, but can also occur when people become too comfortable with their job, when the work is rushed to the point where safety steps have to be skipped, or when the overall work environment doesn’t emphasize safety starting from top level management all the way down to the labor assistants. Accidents happen when one rushed job skips safety procedures with the idea of, “just this once,” as it then becomes easier to forego safety measures in the future.

6- Safety Training

One way to avoid such complacency with job safety is ongoing safety training. This is in addition to initial training everyone should go through before setting foot on a job. Ongoing training reemphasizes the need for continued dedication to remaining safe on the job. It can also introduce new methods as research determines more efficient means of safety, and it can introduce new technology as it becomes available. In such terms, safety training is different from ongoing job training employees might need as they earn promotions or when new types of machinery are introduced to the company’s repertoire.

7- Cell Phones and Other Distractions

It’s nearly impossible to prevent an employee from using their phones at all in today’s world, but there are ways to restrict such use. Making designated areas to use cell phones at appropriate times lets workers know they will have a chance to check for messages instead of answering immediately. If someone needs to talk to their spouse or check on a family member during the day, they need to know there are safe ways to do so. Another distraction can include arguments with coworkers, which are going to come up and need to be resolved immediately. Yet another distraction is tools in poor repair which don’t work as intended.

8- Establishing a Smart Work Zone

A smart work zone involves programmable signs detailing what the road conditions are and how drivers can prepare for an upcoming construction area. The signs can be changed as conditions change throughout the day. They can further provide information about local laws, reduced speed limits, or any other information a driver might need to know. Engineers determine the best placement of such signs before the job begins based on research studies, they’ve become familiarized with concerning traffic and traffic patterns.

Do You Need to Create a Safer Work Environment for Your Employees?

WorkSafe Traffic Control Industries is dedicated to providing safe jobsites where people can do their job well and go home safely. We offer traffic control barriers and signage, along with individual safety equipment. For the most part, if you’ve seen particular safety equipment associated with road work, we have it available for sale. We also offer rental options on much of our equipment for companies who don’t do roadwork for every project or don’t have storage space for such equipment.