ARTBA Honors Outstanding Efforts to Improve Safety in Roadway Work Zones

Association recognized six private sector organizations for commitment to promoting safety

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 The American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) recognized six private sector organizations for their commitment to promoting safety during the association’s 16th annual “Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards.”  The awards were presented at a September 8 luncheon during ARTBA’s National Convention in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. 

The competition recognizes outstanding programs, campaigns and technologies aimed at helping reduce roadway work zone accidents, injuries and fatalities.  Winners were announced in three categories:

Outreach Campaigns: Recognizes efforts that promote roadway work zone safety through implementation of employee and/or public education campaigns on a national, state or local level.

Training Programs: Honors national, state and local educational programs that promote worker safety on the jobsite.

Innovations in Technology: Recognizes the important role that technology plays in improving safety in and around work zones with innovative products and methodologies or innovative applications to existing products and methodologies.

Outreach Campaign/State Level  

DBi Services, LLC: “Billboard and Student Driver Outreach”

In conjunction with National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, DBi Services sponsored a series of billboard ads and roadway message boards to remind the motoring public of the importance of driving carefully in road construction zones.  The billboards appeared along stretches of I-75 in Fort Meyers, Fla., and had the potential to reach 68,000 motorists per day.  DBi employees distributed more than 1,000 work zone safety “fact sheets” at rest areas near construction sites and in an effort to educate new drivers on the need to drive cautiously, the company also sponsored industry expert presentations to high school students about the dangers of driving in work zones.

Outreach Campaign/State Level  

Granite Construction Company and Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation:

Chisholm Trail Parkway Section 6 Design-Build”

Granite Construction Company and Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation found an innovative way to protect workers and the traveling public while accelerating the construction schedule of Section 6— a 13.1 mile, $182.5 million design-build segment of the 27.6 mile Chisholm Trail Parkway in Johnson and Tarrant Counties in Texas.  The project, constructed in a Texas Super 2 configuration, required careful consideration of median barrier placement, stopping sight distances, passing lanes configurations and railroad overpass design services.  The project team installed a barrier concept that provided protection to the opposing traffic and eliminated the possibility of cross over head on collisions.  They implemented an on-site Construction Safety Program, which incorporated daily “Take 5” meetings, Job Hazard Analyses, weekly safety meetings, and also made job-specific orientation and training courses mandatory. As of June 30, 2014, Section 6 has recorded zero fatalities and has an OSHA Recordable Incident Rate of 2.24—well below the national average of 3.4.

 

Outreach Campaign/Local/Regional Level

Transurban-Fluor, AAA Mid-Atlantic, and 95 Express

Lanes: “Orange Cones. No Phones.”

Since 2009, Transurban-Fluor and AAA Mid-Atlantic have been generating awareness of the dangers of distracted driving in a constantly changing construction zone with its “Orange Cones.  No Phones.” campaign in Virginia.  The effort aims to reduce work zone related incidents caused by motorists who use their cell phones while driving along the heavily-congested I-95 corridor.   The program incorporates a series of TV and radio public service announcements, internet ads, social media posts, news conferences, distribution of safety materials, and installation of “Orange Cones. No Phones.” roadway signs along the project corridor.

 

Training Programs/National Level

Oldcastle Materials Inc.: ““Best Practices for Mitigating Effects of

Work Zone Intrusions Guide & Training Program”

 

Oldcastle Materials put together an experienced safety team with in-depth knowledge of work zone traffic control “best practices” to develop a reference guide book and training program that aims to limit injuries from vehicle intrusions in work zones.  The company’s manual, "Best Practices for Mitigating the Effects of Work Zone Intrusions," provides front-line supervisors, crew leaders and others responsible for work zone set-up with recommendations, standards, typical applications and products to help raise the level of protection of workers on site. 

 

Innovations in Technology/Products

ILLUMAGEAR, Inc.: “The Halo Light™”

The Halo Light, developed by technology lighting firm Illumagear, is a Personal Active Safety System™ that protects workers in low visibility, high-risk work zones.  The product is portable, hands-free and incorporates a band of LEDs that easily attach to standard hard hats producing a ring of light and enabling the wearer to see and be seen up to a quarter mile away in all directions at all times.  The Halo light is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 12 hours and provides four sets of lighting options.  The innovative technology provides transportation construction workers with an added layer of safety protection equipment in vulnerable conditions.

Innovations in Technology/Process

Royal Truck & Equipment: “Mobile Safety System and TMA Trucks”

In 2014, Royal Truck & Equipment, the largest manufacturer of TMA/Attenuator Trucks in North America, released an integrated technology package called “Mobile Safety System” for its industry leading TMA Trucks.  Although TMA trucks act as protective crash barriers that prevent vehicles from entering a work zone and injuring workers on the job site, they do not provide real time feedback or early warning signs to operators.  With Royal’s new Mobile Safety System, Attenuator Trucks are now equipped with important pieces of safety technology— Radar Speed Notification System, Mini Changeable Message System, Backup Camera System and Black Box Recording System—that effectively encourages lower driving speeds, increases driver awareness and most importantly, protects workers from direct exposure to the dangers of highway construction.

 

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