Flagger and road worker safety

Already, in these early days of the construction season, we have received several reports of near misses that almost resulted in injury at our roadside construction zones. We at MHCA WORKSAFELY ™ can’t stress enough the importance of keeping our flaggers and road crews safe. As you work in construction, you know better than most that safety starts and ends with your decisions and your own conduct. Although you have trained your employees for working in heavy construction, it’s important to remind workers about safety protocol throughout the season.

Here are some reminders to focus on with your workers:

• In road work, whenever possible face traffic as you work
• Always be aware of changing traffic conditions
• While working, be sure you’re not inadvertently moving closer to traffic
• Know where work vehicles and equipment are at all times
• Slow it down – staying focused on what you’re doing saves you from mistakes and accidents
• Review flagger safety procedures

The goal of the new SAFE Roads campaign is to “Keep Your Rage Off the Road” which can be found by clicking here. For resources that help you to keep your workers safe, please contact your WORKSAFELY™ regional advisor.

Additionally, if your worksite or workers have had incidents where your flagger or road workers were put in danger, please advise your advisor or myself, as we are in communication with the province continually to keep our road workers safe.