A site-specific safety plan is a bespoke traffic management plan centred on the unique requirements of a particular construction site, project or – in some cases – an event. Many professionals may think that one initial site-specific safety plan is enough to ensure the safety of pedestrians, and the flow of traffic, around their project. But, this isn’t true.
As your site or project develops, the impact on the surrounding environment also evolves. This will affect your site-specific safety plan, which should be updated and maintained in line with these advancements. Find out how to update your site-specific safety plan in this article by ISAV Design, below.
You will only know when to update your traffic management plan by periodically assessing traffic conditions and any changes to your construction site, including any emerging hazards that may threaten the safety of nearby drivers, pedestrians and employees. Elements of traffic control that should be monitored and updated include signage, barriers and traffic diversions. For example, if a diversion is no longer necessary at this stage in your project, and is in fact causing traffic congestion, it should be immediately addressed and removed.
Once you’ve assessed the current traffic conditions, and other factors influencing your site-specific safety plan, it’s time to modify the documentation involved in your SSSP. This is essential to the maintenance and implementation of the plan! These documents generally include traffic flow diagrams, safety procedures, and more. They should perfectly depict the current flow of traffic surrounding your project, and thus devise an appropriate response to the regular patterns of congestion and peak commuting times.
The modified documentation must be passed down to everyone involved in the project, from stakeholders to site supervisors and employees. This ensures that everyone is aware of the latest traffic management protocol for safety purposes.
As suggested above, maintaining your SSSP is dependent on training and informing all relevant personnel about the new traffic management strategies you have devised in response to your assessments. New procedures should be detailed in regular training sessions to make sure that everyone on-site is aware of the management protocols and safety standards, and how to enforce them. This can be done with the assistance of a professional traffic engineering consultant, such as those at ISAV Design Ltd.
For more information on devising a site-specific safety plan to ensure the smooth running of your construction site or project, and to maintain this plan on a regular basis, contact ISAV Design. Across New Zealand, we are the traffic engineering consultants that mitigate a number of traffic-related hazards to protect your project, your employees, surrounding road users, and pedestrians.
