Work zone safety training is essential to improve traffic safety and operational efficiency of highway work zones for highway users and highway workers. Video training highway safety products are an essential tool for raising employee awareness and knowledge regarding safety in the workzone.

The Federal Highway Administration has now initiated the National Highway Work Zone Safety Program which consists of four components:

• standardization of highway safety regulations
• methods to enforce compliance
• evaluation standards
• innovation and training

Of special interest to highway construction contractors and managers is an increased emphasis on the ongoing training of workers and compliance expectations.

FHWA's experience with traffic safety and work zone operations indicates that ensuring compliance with existing standards and guidelines at all times would substantially improve the safety and operation of work zones.

The common causes of non-compliance include:

• underestimating a project's traffic management needs or complexity
• failing to accurately implement the traffic safety control plan initially or modify it to meet changing conditions
• gradual deterioration of traffic safety devices over the life of the project including traffic signs, traffic cones and speed bumps.

FHWA plans to develop new inspection methods to identify traffic safety devices that have been improperly installed or inadequately maintained to increase the highway and road contractors’ compliance and highway agencies’ enforcement of contract traffic control provisions.

Our selection of workzone safety videos are designed to be an important part of your employee training program covering planning, implementation of equipment and responsibilities of employees in the workzone.

THe FHWA's plan includes promoting the National Highway Institute’s training course— ‘‘Inspection of Work Zone Traffic Control Devices,’’ which provides guidance to inspectors for assuring an acceptable quality level of installed and maintained work zone traffic control devices.

The use of innovative technologies and procedures can help improve highway user and worker safety, and traffic flow through work zones. Such innovations consist of the development of new products and procedures and more effective use of existing ones through increased training.