Stay Visible and Stay Safe

Many of the job tasks LMCIT member employees work on daily involve working in the street right-of-way. This may include pothole filling, crack filling, water main break repair, sewer line maintenance, tree trimming, and the list goes on and on. Working in the street right-of-way requires high-visibility garments like vests, and temporary traffic control devices such as barricades and cones.


Q: Who is required to wear high-visibility clothing?
A: Each employee exposed to or working adjacent to moving motor vehicles as part of the employee’s assigned job shall be provided with and required to wear a high-visibility warning vest or other high-visibility garment, as required by Minnesota Rules 5207.0100. A high-visibility garment is defined as being a Performance Class 2 garment or greater as specified by the American National Standards Institute and International Safety Equipment Association in ANSI/ISEA Standard 107-2004.



Q: When is temporary traffic control needed?
A: Any public or private agency performing work within the right-of-way of streets or highways open to public travel is responsible for supplying, installing, and maintaining all necessary traffic control devices. The specifics are outlined in the Temporary Traffic Control Zone Layouts Field Manual, which is a section of the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.



Q: Where can employees learn how to set up temporary traffic control?
A: The Minnesota Local Technical Assistance Program (MNLTAP) conducts training throughout the state in late winter each year and also offers an online tutorial.
The live training is called “Work-Zone Safety, Temporary Traffic Control, and Flagging.” In this four-hour comprehensive workshop, attendees will learn key elements required for temporary traffic control, safety, and flagging.

The online tutorial, called “Orientation to Work Zone Safety”, addresses many of the hazards inherent in road and street work and how these dangers can be minimized to keep motorists, pedestrians, and employees safe.

 

By: Joe Ingebrand, CSP, LMCIT Senior Loss Control Consultant