ATSSA/FHWA Work Zone Safety Grant focus – Fall 2008

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AREA 1: Highway Work Zone Worker Safety Training
AREA 2: Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Development
AREA 3: Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Training
OTHER NEWS

ATSSA’s Work Zone Safety Grant Newsletter

ATSSA’s “Roadway Safety Training Institute” to Receive Prestigious ARTBA Award

ATSSA representatives will be presented an American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) 2008 Work Zone Safety Awareness Award at an awards luncheon in Chicago, Ill. on Oct. 22. The nomination for the award was submitted under the category “National Training” and read, in part, “ATSSA’s roadway safety training efforts are indeed delivered on a national scope, each course deeply rooted primarily in safety for our nation’s roadway workers. ATSSA’s core purpose – “To Advance Roadway Safety” – is the underlying theme of ATSSA training courses that are delivered coast-to-coast by highly qualified, experienced and dedicated instructors. Countless lives are saved through ATSSA’s effective, challenging training. Likewise, roadway work zones, designed in accordance with approved guidelines, add to mobility and convenience for all road users. ATSSA trained workers are recognized in the roadway safety industry as the ‘best of the best.'” The recommendation package included the wide-scope of training ATSSA delivered as one of the four grantees under the FHWA training grant. ATSSA was awarded this four-year, $11.9 million grant from the FHWA two years ago to provide roadway safety training nationwide for workers and others who make their livelihood on America’s roadways.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the Work Zone Safety Grant Program is to develop guidelines and provide training to improve highway work zone safety.

STATEMENT OF WORK

ATSSA shall perform tasks within the following work areas: Highway Work Zone Worker Safety Training; Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Development; and Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Training.

AREA 1: Highway Work Zone Worker Safety Training

Course Schedule

AREA 2: Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Development

AREA 2 Products Now Available

The ATSSA Area 2 Team and the product reviewers from the Practitioner Working Group and FHWA have been busy developing, reviewing, and revising Highway Work Zone Safety Guideline Products. Four of these products are now available on ATSSA’s website at http://www.atssa.com/cs/Federal-Highway-Administration-work-zone-safety under Area 2 Products. The remaining nine products will be
placed on the site over the next two or three months. The Products that are currently available online
include:

• High Visibility Safety Apparel in Highway Work Zones (Brochure)
• Work Zone Positive Protection Toolbox (Booklet)
• Temporary Traffic Control Zone Pedestrian Access Considerations (Guidance Sheet)
• Considering Work Zone Impacts (Brochure)

Hard copies of these four products are currently available through ATSSA’s website. When all 13
products are available, ATSSA will be making an order form available online.

AREA 3: Highway Work Zone Safety Guidelines Training

Grant Courses

Traffic Control Design Specialist-Grant Course — 2 day course *

This course is for individuals charged with the evaluation, development and implementation of a traffic control plan (TCP). The intended audiences are engineers and/or anyone responsible for designing a TCP. Previous work zone experience is not required. Topics include introduction to work zone safety, applicable standards and guidelines, fundamental principles of temporary traffic control, human factors, the component parts of a traffic control zone, traffic control devices, constructability, and development of a transportation management plan (TMP). Students will breakout into small groups for handson exercises. A certification program is available for this course.

For those individuals, who are already TCS certified, a one-day TCDS course is available.*

Work Zone Strategies-Grant Course — 2 day course

This course will discuss non-typical strategies available to work zone designers. It will focus on strategies specifically designed to improve work zone safety and mobility, such as work zone full closures, variable speed limits, impact analysis, and enforcement. The FHWA Work Zone Safety and Mobility Final Rule will be discussed. The intended audiences are engineers and/or anyone responsible for planning and designing a traffic control plan (TCP).

Maintenance and Short Duration Activities-Grant Course — 1 day course

This course covers typical applications that apply to short duration activities including utility operations, moving operations, and other short duration maintenance operations. Emphasis will be placed on the use of simplified procedures and worker protection. The intended audience for this course is anyone involved in short duration activities within the roadway’s right-of-way.

Urban Work Zone Design-Grant Course — 2 day course*

This course addresses “urban” work zones, particularly the enhancements and considerations
(“substantive safety”) necessary to address work zones in urban environments. These environments may involve restricted spaces, lack of space for buffer spaces, parking issues, limited sight distance, business access and pedestrians and bicyclist considerations, etc. The course will address instances when standards cannot be met and how to address these situations. Freeways will not be covered in this course. This course is intended for work zone designers and traffic control supervisors who may work in urban environments.

Tools for Work Zone Traffic Impact Analysis-Grant Course — 2 day course

This course provides guidance to agencies and/or individuals considering modeling and simulation tools for traffic impact analysis. It also provides a broad, fundamental understanding of how these analytical tools can be used to support work zone design. The course discusses the classes of analytical tools available to support work zone analysis: the strengths, weaknesses, data requirements and level of detail. The course describes how these analytical tools can be used to support work zone design by exploring the factors to consider when selecting a model, including data availability and quality, work zone characteristics, measures of effectiveness and available resources.
The course is intended for engineers and others responsible deciding upon work zone strategies to implement, including decisionmakers considering work zone analytical tools. Previous knowledge of work zone concepts is encouraged but not required.

The following modules will be covered:

• Overview of Work Zone Analysis
• Work Zone Analysis Approaches
• Tailoring Work Zone Analysis
• Work Zone Analysis Process
• Case Studies

Course Schedule

Other News

Grant Summary
By, Dr. Morris Oliver, FHWA

In 2005 the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law. SAFETEA-LU authorizes the Federal surface transportation programs for a 4 year period (2006-2009). The Work Zone Safety Grant, established by Section 1409 of SAFTEA-LU, provides $5 million a year for fiscal years 2006 through 2009 to non-profit organizations to provide assistance for highway work zone safety training and guideline development
towards the improvement of highway work zone safety. The grantees provide a 20 percent match of all funds received from the FHWA. Grantees include the American Traffic Safety Services Association, Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America/the American Road and Transportation Builders
Association, Wayne State University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Overall, the Grant program will:

• facilitate compliance with the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule,
• provide training resources for line workers and traffic control specialists, and
• develop guidance for assessing the effectiveness of work zone design and layout.

To date the Work Zone Safety Grant has provided a wealth of products, publications, and training resources for roadway construction industry practitioners. Many of the resources are posted on the National Work zone Safety Information Clearinghouse (www.workzonesafety.org) which is funded
by Section 1410 of SAFTEA-LU, at $1 million a year for 2006 through 2009. The Clearinghouse also serves as a portal for a work zone blog, listserv, and a wealth of information about work zone safety and mobility. The Work Zone Clearinghouse typically achieves about 7,400 visitors a month, and more than 35,000 page views. As of September 2008 there were 571 registered users of the Clearinghouse listserv. Guideline development is a key part of the Work Zone Safety Grant. Grantees are developing guidelines to help transportation agencies improve safety and mobility in work zones and meet new federal work zone legislation. Some of the guidelines being developed include the use of positive protection devices, high visibility garments, work zone planning, impact analysis, pedestrian and bicycle safety in work zones, maintenance and utility work zone safety, American National Standards Institute Standards (ANSI), and positive separation and protection of workers. More than 20 guideline publications are being developed and will be made available to practitioners.

One of the main objectives of the Grant is to provide training resources, programs, and products to construction craft workers and traffic control designers, planners, and inspectors. The training programs promote best practices and provide guidance to prevent work zone injuries, crashes, and fatalities and assist agencies with implementing Federal regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines. To date more than 11,500 craft workers and practitioners have received training made
available through the Grant. The Roadway Safety + cdrom is a resource designed to provide an overview of hazards in highway and road construction along with simple prevention measures. A software program has also been developed to help utility workers determine the optimal set up for short-term utility work zones. These electronic resources, and the train-thetrainer courses, will continue to provide benefits and positive impacts long after the Grant is completed.

Preliminary numbers recently released through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System indicate that work zones account for 835 or 2 percent of the 41,059 fatalities realized 2007 on U.S. Roadways. The number for 2006 was 1,010 of the 42, 642 or approx 2.4% of the total. This decrease can be attributed in part to additional attention, research, worker protection fines, and training including the Work Zone Safety Grant and similar programs.

“Utility Work Zone Traffic Control” Guideline and Training Program Development
Prepared by WSU-TRG

The Wayne State University Transportation Research Group (WSU-TRG) sought and received a two-year grant to develop guidelines and a training program for “Utility Work Zone Traffic Control” in September of 2006. This project is a part of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Work Zone Safety Grant initiative. Utility work zones are an important focus area as they are fundamentally different from most highway construction work zones. Utility work is often of a shorter duration and involves smaller crew sizes, which makes a traffic control plan such as that utilized in highway construction sometimes impractical. These and other unique aspects of utility work were addressed as a part of the FHWA Work Zone Safety Grant.

As a part of the guideline development process, the WSU-TRG conducted a gap study and needs assessment, which included a stateof- the-art literature review, a state-of-thepractice survey, and field observation of various utility work zone operations. The findings that resulted from these activities led to the development of the “Utility Work Zone Traffic Control Guidelines”. This guideline document provides an introduction to utility work zone operations and presents recommendations for several important aspects of safety related to utility work, including the establishment of a safety culture in the organization, the use of uniform and consistent traffic control devices and systems, and the development of a set of typical temporary traffic control plans (TTCP) that are appropriate for specific types of work sites. As a part of the “Utility Work Zone Traffic Control Guidelines”, twenty-seven typical TTCPs were developed based upon sitespecific work site factors that include the work location, type of roadway, and the speed limit and traffic volume of the adjacent roadway.

In addition to the guidelines, a two-part training program was developed specific to utility work zone traffic control operations. This training program provides reasons for specific recommendations. It presents background on the importance of establishing appropriate policies and procedures to promote safe practices appropriate for utility work zones. The second part of the training program is aimed at utility workers, foremen, and supervisors and provides instructions on how to assess the risk level posed by a specific work location and use this information to develop an appropriate TTCP. As a part of this module, participants are able to demonstrate the real-world application of the skills learned in the course through case studies which utilize a drag-and-drop software that allows them to develop appropriate TTCPs for several distinct scenarios. In addition to this learning tool, a software program has been developed that allows for the automated selection of any one of the typical TTC plans which is most appropriate for the site-specific conditions of a particular utility work zone.

Two pilot training programs have been conducted in Detroit, MI and Hanover, MD and four train-the-trainer programs have been conducted in Tempe, AZ, Dallas, TX, West Conshohocken, PA, and Gahanna, OH as a part of this work zone safety grant. To date, over 250 participants have completed the training program.

It is anticipated that the “Utility Work Zone Traffic Control Guidelines” and each of the software programs will be made available at no cost through the FHWA Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse. The State-of-the-Art Synthesis and State-of-the-Practice Synthesis is currently available through the Clearinghouse, in addition to the Gap Study and Needs Assessment, at http://www.workzonesafety.org/training/fhwa_wz_grant

Work Zone Safety Audit Guidelines Development
By Jonathan Shi, Ph.D., P.E., Professor and Chair of the Department of Construction Management, University of Nebraska Lincoln

This grant aims at developing the national work zone safety audit guidelines and training materials. The entire guidelines are structured in five modules: Module 1 – Fundamental principles of work zone safety audits, Module 2 – Guidelines for auditing work zone impacts assessment, Module 3 – Guidelines for auditing work zone transportation management plans (TMP), Module 4 – Guidelines for conducting work zone safety audits during the construction stage, and Module 5 – Guidelines for auditing work zone performance assessment at the post-construction stage.

The first draft of Module 4 was completed in April 2008. It was then extensively reviewed by work zone experts from FHWA, state DOTs, and the private sector. A revised version was completed in July 2008. This module outlines a work zone safety audit at the construction stage in eight steps as follows:

• Step 1: Project Identification. A candidate work zone is selected.
• Step 2: Audit Team Selection. An independent audit team and team leader are selected by the owner agency with representation from FHWA, state DOT, law enforcement and owner’s agency.
• Step 3: Pre-Audit Review. The audit team reviews the project information before the site audit visit.
• Step 4: Audit Meetings. Formal meetings are scheduled for the key parties in the project to make presentations about the project design and construction strategies, transportation management plan (TMP) development and implementation, and work zone operations to date to assist the audit team in better understanding the project and its work zone operations.
• Step 5: Audit Inspections. The audit team drives through the work zone and construction activity area several times including at least one at night in order to understand the traffic conditions in the work zone and to observe the behavior of drivers, pedestrians, and workers, as well as the use of law enforcement.
• Step 6: Audit Analysis. Based on the information collected from the pre-audit reviews, audit meetings, and audit inspections, the audit team assesses potential risks facing road users and construction workers in the work zone and brainstorms on practical measures that could be implemented to improve the work zone safety and mobility performance.
• Step 7: Audit Findings. The audit team presents its findings and recommendations to the project owner and other key parties in the project.
• Step 8: Final Report on Implementation. The audit team leader submits a final confidential report on its findings and implementation of the recommendations.

Through a joint effort of the FHWA and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), a first case study was conducted by applying the new guidelines in auditing a 5-mile active work zone involving milling, hot mix asphalt surface, striping, dip correction and traffic signal modernization for an urban multi-lane highway with Average Daily Traffic (ADT) over 20,000 in Central Illinois during September 17 to 19, 2008. The audit team consisted of five members: Jim Allen (team leader, IDOT), Rick Price (Illinois State Police), Kim Cummins (IDOT, District 6), Marshall Metcalf (IDOT), and Larry Simon (IDOT). Seven people observed the case study including 3 FHWA staff, one representative from WisDOT, and three members of the research team. Seven key personnel from the project owner’s agency (District 6 of IDOT) and the general contractor participated in the exercise. Ms. Priscilla Tobias, State Safety Engineer of IDOT, kicked off the case study and participated in the discussion of the new work zone safety audit guidelines. Dr. Morris Oliver, FHWA work zone safety program manager, and Mr. Brett Graves, SAIC support contractor to FHWA work zone grants, observed the entire process in the field. After the closeout meeting, there was a special feedback session for the auditors to suggest how the guidelines can be further modified or enhanced to make it a truly useful and practical safety tool for improving work zone safety across the country. It was widely agreed that the case study was very successful. The audit team, together with the observers, conducted a series of meetings, careful reviews of available project information, several rounds of drive-through inspections of the work zone and two half-day brainstorming discussions in the three days. By following the format described in the new guidelines, the audit team formulated its audit findings and recommendations at the project level, procedural level and policy level respectively.

Three project-level best practices were discovered in the project including use of balloon lighting for nighttime construction, proactive incident management and safety programs of the contractor, and use of stop bars at intersections and shoulder diagonals as temporary pavement markings. A total of seventeen project-level findings were reported. These included worker exposure to traffic, clarity of advance warning signs, clarity of guidance on lane use, minimizing drop-offs, and clarity of intersection traffic control, etc., were identified and corresponding recommendations were presented to and discussed at the closeout meeting with the key parties in the project.

At the procedural level, the audit team discovered six best practices including weekly partnering meetings and communications, broad-based design and review coordination at the district level, use of balloon lighting provision for nighttime construction, proactive public information effort, use of project completion date instead of working days, and use of limited working hours for minimizing traffic congestion. Three procedural level findings were also identified including difficulty to manage traffic control deficiencies with the sub-contractor in the current contract structure, presence of non-contractor personnel not utilizing personal protective equipment, and existing pavement markings condition.

At the policy level, two best practices were discovered including CMS (changeable message sign) information in place two weeks prior to construction and use of enforcement in work zones for slowing traffic. The audit team also identified seven policy-level findings including clarifying utilization of hire back police forces for either writing tickets or slowing down traffic, clarifying work zone speed limit guidance to motorists, need for more training on the FHWA Rule on WZ Safety and Mobility and Work Zone Traffic Control, consistent lane use practices, compliance of sign supports and bracing specifications, and how to update project TMP components when the project is finally moved to Phase II and letting in cases where the Phase I was done many years prior.

On behalf of the research team, I would like to congratulate the audit team for its successful application of the new guidelines in the first case study. Contact the author for more info at [email protected].

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