Protect Workers from Vehicle Traffic

Note: A guide to establishing highway work zones is available at eLosh.org

• Establish vehicle routes that are appropriately marked with clear signage
• Use one-way routes if possible
• Separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic to the extent feasible, especially when vehicles are reversed, loaded, or unloaded
• Designate and mark pedestrian routes
• Allow ready access for emergency vehicles
• Ensure that access points and any required turns are sufficiently wide to allow access for the largest fire apparatus that may be required.
• Relocate overhead electrical lines where they would obstruct vehicle access, especially for emergency vehicles.

Plan for emergencies

• Arrange emergency evacuation routes and rally points

Plan for crane safety

• Establish safe work areas for mobile crane.
• Ensure sufficient space to create an exclusion zone around the cranes swing radius.
• Ensure that the crane can be set upon solid ground with no support less than two feet from any trench.
• Locate the crane to minimize moving materials over high occupancy work areas.
• Locate the crane to ensure that the minimum safe distance from overhead power lines can be maintained

Establish safe walking routes

• Keep pedestrian routes separated from vehicle routes to the extent feasible.
• Do not allow pedestrian passage through any exclusion zone.
• Establish storage areas that minimize materials handling and provide for safe storage, handling and transport of materials.
• Have materials delivered to a location convenient to where they will be used, with a safe path between the storage area and the use point
• Minimize the need to move materials from place to place for storage as the job progresses.
• Ensure that flammable materials are stored in compliance with 1926.151
• Do not locate storage areas where they are likely to cause workers to be too close to  electrical hazards).

Select locations for motorized equipment that is:

• Locate internal combustion equipment outside, away front entrances, and down wind from workers. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly but invisible and odorless gas. Even small internal combustion engines, such as those that power small electrical generators and power washers, can produce a deadly amount of CO in a short period of time. Diesel and natural gas engines produce less CO.
• Does not block exits or emergency access routes.
• Locate equipment and material/waste storage areas at least two feet way from any trench.
• If cutting, grinding, welding or other high noise activities are to be done in a limited number of locations, locate them away from high occupancy work areas to reduce noise exposures but close enough to the storage and use areas to minimize carrying. Noise level are cut by about three-fourths when the distance is doubled. Barriers can also be used to reduce noise exposures.

Facilitate the prevention, suppression and evacuation of fires by:

• Establishing flammable materials storage areas in accordance with 1926.151
• Not storing flammables within three feet of any fire door opening
• Locating fire extinguishers within one hundred feet of the area to be protected
• Ensuring that access routes can be maintained for emergency vehicles
• Keeping ignition sources like portable heaters off of wood floors and away from tarpaulins or other flammable materials.

Encourage good hygiene, cooling and hydration by:

• Locating rest areas and toilets close to work areas but away form high noise sources
• In hot weather locating water supplies in each work area.
• locate washing facilities near rest areas and points convenient to where workers exit the work-site.

Encourage the use of safety equipment by locating rebar caps, eye wash stations, waste recepticles and similar items convenient to each work location.