A Build for the Ages

Posted on: 11 October 2022

If you are a manager of a work crew for repairs and improvements on municipal or county government roads, you need to make sure that your flaggers have the proper training and equipment. You should give special attention to these workers because they have the responsibility for the safety of their coworkers, along with motorists and pedestrians. The following are a few important things that pertain to their safety and equipment.

Make sure they have accessory equipment

Whether you provide them yourself, or a worker is responsible for their own, there will be certain items that can increase their safety. These easily obtained items can also make their work more comfortable throughout the day. To this end, your flagger should have long sleeve shirts, a good pair of work boots, long pants, a pair of earplugs, and a pair of work gloves. Safety glasses are often important to protect the eyes from gravel or other flying debris. Your flagger will need access to water throughout the day.

Make sure they have the proper safety garments

They will need a high-visible, hard hat and a high-visible safety vest. The vest needs to be the proper kind. The vest should have the required amount of reflective material. The worker should be able to fasten it, and it should provide 360-degree coverage of a person's torso. If your flagger will be working at night, they also must wear trousers with a high visibility material and reflective banding on the legs. If there is fog or rain, a color other than white needs to be used.

Make sure your flaggers are oriented properly

With every new job location, your flaggers should have an orientation meeting concerning the job site, along with daily briefings as to the equipment that will be moving and at what time. You must make sure that other workers know not to distract the flaggers, and the flaggers are to be given no other task than that of their signs. Each flagger should know their specific job function for each day. They should also understand what type of signaling will be used by the flaggers and equipment operators and other workers on the job site. Any traffic information for that day should also be given to your flaggers.

Flaggers are an important part of road work. Your job as a supervisor begins with their safety. Make sure they have the necessary safety equipment prescribed by federal and state regulations. You should also make sure they have the accessory equipment needed to make their job safer and more comfortable throughout the day. And they should be informed about the worksite, and what is planned for the equipment that day. 

For more information about work zone equipment, contact a local company.