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December 14 2007
Work Zone Training Program Awarded Top Honors by ARTBA
ARTBA Foundation Announces Winners of
2007 Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards
(Washington, D.C.)—Public and private transportation groups from across the country were recognized for their commitment to safety at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) seventh annual “Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards” competition. The awards were presented October 10 during the ARTBA National Convention, held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The program recognizes outstanding efforts to help reduce roadway work zone construction accidents, injuries and fatalities. The awards are divided into four categories: private outreach campaigns, government outreach programs, safety training and innovations in technology. An independent panel of judges reviewed the entries and selected the winners.
Private Outreach–State/Provincial/Regional
This category recognizes the efforts of national, state and local private sector organizations, such as construction companies, utility companies or trade associations that promote roadway work zone safety through implementation of employee and/or public education campaigns and training programs.
First Place: Tennessee Transportation Development Foundation
“Ollie Otter’s Work Zone and Seatbelt/Booster Seat Awareness Campaign”
To promote safety on Tennessee roads, the Tennessee Road Builders Association partnered with Tennessee Tech University, state and local officials, schools and stakeholders to promote roadway work zone safety and seatbelt/booster seat safety in all Tennessee elementary schools. The program used interactive teaching materials, an Ollie Otter mascot and in-depth classroom instruction to reach students.
Second Place: Louisiana TIMED Managers
“TIMED 2 Drive Safe” Campaign
To help teenagers learn better driving habits in work zones, Louisiana’s TIMED Program launched “TIMED to Drive Safe” targeting 45 public high schools along key highway routes. The program compiled and distributed teen driving statistics, created an educational brochure designed exclusively for teens, launched the www.timedla.com/drivesafe website, and branded the campaign with a recognizable logo and color scheme appealing to students.
Government Outreach–State/Provincial/Regional
This category recognizes the specific public outreach campaigns or safety programs by federal, state or local government agencies aimed at improving roadway work zone safety.
First Place: Missouri Department of Transportation
“2007 Work Zone Awareness Campaign”
The Missouri Department of Transportation utilized a multi-tiered approach to attract public attention to work zone safety issues. One approach was to “bathe” prominent public landmarks in orange lighting to generate public and media
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attention. The second approach was to create a hard-hitting public awareness campaign, including advertising and a public service announcement, utilizing a powerful media interview conducted by a state road crew member, who was subsequently killed in the line of duty shortly after the interview was recorded.
Second Place: (Tie) South Carolina Department of Transportation
“Work Zone Safety High Visibility Enforcement Campaign”
State officials noted an increase in construction related work zone crashes and implemented the “Let’em Work, Let’em Live” campaign—an extensive safety program including statewide public information/education campaigns, conferences, worker training, school and business presentations, and an aggressive High Visibility Enforcement Program that helped lead to a seven percent reduction in work zone crashes and fatalities.
Second Place: (Tie) Tennessee Department of Transportation
“Get in the Zone” Campaign
Noting 118 work zone accident fatalities in the four year period before the campaign, the Tennessee Department of Transportation began the statewide “Get in the Zone” campaign to target high school students who were preparing to get their driver’s license. The program included high-tech, interactive presentations provided in schools throughout the state
at no cost and geared to reduce a student’s chance of being involved in work zone accidents. The program was conducted in assemblies and individual classes, and included a role-playing/remote control work zone driving course as well as videos and discussion guides.
Training–Local/Municipal
This category recognizes national, state and local training programs that promote worker safety on the job site.
First Place: Callanan Industries, Inc.
“Safety Alert Program”
Callanan Industries employs over 100 workers throughout New York. Each week in their paychecks, employees receive a “Safety Alert” containing key messages to help promote safe behavior in work zones through the use of photos showing actual Callanan work sites and crews. To date, the alerts have been credited as an important factor in helping the company decrease incidents by 30 percent, and a lost-time accident has not been record for nearly 500,000 hours.
Second Place: Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works–Bureau of Highways
“Work Zone Safety Awareness Week 2007”
Since 2006, the Anne Arundel County, Md., Department of Public Works – Bureau of Highways has held a “Safety Week” event each spring and fall. During this event, each work day begins with a focused safety discussion prior to worker departure from their home base. In addition, the bureau also led the county by participating in National Work Zone Awareness Week and conducted a series of educational, technical, enforcement and outreach activities to raise attention and awareness of work zone safety.
Training–State/Provincial/Regional
First Place: New Jersey Work Zone Safety Partnership and New Jersey LTAP
“New Jersey Traffic Control Coordinator Program”
In the 1990’s, 12 workers were killed in New Jersey work zone accidents. To provide a preventative tool, the New Jersey Work Zone Safety Partnership was organized to implement a statewide safety program to provide workers with information and resources to use on job sites and in work zones. Today, more than 300 participants attend each year, receive educational materials and participate in a full curriculum of safety, best practices, operations and operational training.
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Innovations in Technology
This category recognizes manufacturers of all types of equipment and products that develop, integrate and market innovative technologies, and organizations that demonstrate the innovative application of existing technologies.
Methodology
First Place: Cianbro/Reed & Reed, JV
“Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory”
The Cianbro/Reed & Reed joint venture team partnered with FIGG and the Maine Department of Transportation to develop a unique project delivery method called “owner-facilitated design-build in which the contractors and designers were contracted directly to the facility owner. Under a short timeframe, the team of 100 craftsmen developed a program that helped result in nearly 500,000 hours worked without a lost time injury – safely delivering Maine’s newest bridge landmark, including the world’s tallest public bridge observatory. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory also uses a new cable stay cradle system in which the strands are continuous from bridge deck through cradles in the pylons and back to the bridge deck, eliminating anchorages in the pylon. This system challenged the team to develop new work processes and safety procedures.
Product
First Place: SignCAD Systems, Inc.
“Cone Zone”
Minnetonka, Minn.-based SignCAD Systems, Inc., developed a fully integrated software solution for designing and managing work zones from start to finish. The program helps agencies implement and enforce approved layout standards, enables personnel to manage their immediate work zone safety environment, allows for rapid response to safety problems, and establishes a computerized process to monitor and manage all safety systems and processes. It also creates a history of activities for each work zone to ensure compliance and best practices tracking as well as providing a system for bench-marking against future projects.
The Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards program is an ARTBA-TDF project that complements the association’s “PRIDE in Transportation Construction” campaign to focus public attention on the many positive contributions the transportation construction industry has made to the U.S. economy and quality of life.
June 26 2007
NJ LTAP to Host National Summer Transportation Institute at Garret Morgan Academy
The Third Annual Summer Transportation Institute will be held at the Garrett Morgan Academy, in Paterson, NJ from July 9th through August 3rd. This national program is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration – New Jersey Division (FHWA – NJ Division) and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). It is also being supported by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety (NJDHTS), the Paterson Board of Education, the New Jersey Community Development Corporation, Americorp, and the New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program (NJ LTAP).
NJ LTAP is responsible for developing and administering a month long summer enrichment program that introduces minority high school students to several modes of transportation. Activities include presentations by transportation professionals, scheduled field trips, hands-on learning activities, and participation in weekly competitions. The enhancement component of this program exposes students to mathematics, computer science activities, and the development of basic research skills. Also, a series of team building and daily sports programs are scheduled for the thirty incoming members of the Garrett Morgan Academy freshman class.
Every year, several transportation professionals travel to Paterson and serve as presenters, judges, and chaperones for activities that expose teenagers to several modes of transportation. Since the inception of this program, Patty Leech, the official FHWA representative, serves as a team building mentor for the student body; while Patricia Ott and Bill Beans, the NJDOT representatives, participate as judges of the engineering projects that include crash test competitions, bridge strength tests, car racing competitions, and even hover craft races! Charles Feggans, Al Tindall, and NJDHTS team members visit in the Safety Cruiser and train students on pedestrian and bicycle safety. Brian Tobin of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the New Jersey Asphalt Paving Association (NJAPA) is both a presenter and sponsor of land transportation programs. Janet Hansen, of NJ LTAP, conducts a presentation on her experiences traveling across the British Channel in a hover craft. Lastly, Greg McDonough, Clare Mansfield, and staff members of the Bureau of Inspection and Aircraft Operations serve as presenters and judges during Aviation Week.
In addition to the identified members of the transportation community, the 2007 NJ Summer Transportation Institute will feature Detective Arnold Anderson of Essex County, who will be conducting a workshop on the Physics of Crash Fatalities. Since the safety projects are crash test vehicles, this mathematics session compliments the session on reduction of roadway fatalities that is offered by Bill Beans and Wilbur Dixon (new NJDOT judge) later in the week.
The benefits of this program are enormous for both the transportation professionals and student participants. Since it is not the typical summer school, there are no lectures and students actually enjoy attending school. In the past, there has been a 91% attendance rate. Also, interactive learning enables them to meet and ask questions of field expert, develop model projects, and participate in field experiences. This integrated approach includes transportation mathematics and computer science that builds an understanding of history as it relates to the modes of transportation. Lastly, the transportation professionals gain enjoyment through sharing their knowledge with future members of the transportation industry.
There are still available opportunities to participate in the upcoming NJ Summer Transportation Institute. We are in need of a car rally judge, awards ceremony representatives, and presenters for the “overview” sessions. For further information, please contact me at 732 445-3632, ext. 109.
July 19 2006
Let NJ Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) Help You SHARE
DCA can help you SHARE – Share Available Resources Efficiently, our program of financial support to municipal and county governments looking to streamline government operations, reduce costs and property taxes, and increase fiscal and operational efficiency.
SHARE has two grant programs for municipalities to obtain financial assistance:
1) Feasibility Study Grants allow municipalities to study, evaluate and plan and develop shared services between local government units;
2) Implementation Grants allow municipalities to establish new or expanded shared service program between local units or to assist with the consolidation of local units.
And for county governments, we have a new grant program – COUNT which targets county governments and county wide organizations who are ideally suited to identify the most promising services to share between towns, between towns and the County, and between towns and school districts. We know shared services save money and COUNT is one way for the State to help.
All the programs now provide additional flexibility for unusual situations; flexibility that can result in added funds for programs involving multiple organizations or unanticipated circumstances. Program inquires are promptly answered, and recent changes now result in fast responses to applications.
Funding is limited and applications are funded on a first come/first serve basis. Details and applications are at the Shared Services link on www.nj.gov/dca/lgs, or call program staff at 609-292-7842 to discuss your ideas or ask questions.
July 19 2006
RUTGERS DEDICATES FACILITY FOR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING
NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, NJ-The Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, today dedicated a building that provides much-needed space for research, education, local assistance and workforce training programs.
The two-story, 15,000-square-foot building houses offices and laboratories for critical New Jersey transportation initiatives. These include expediting freight movement through harbors; enhancing port security; developing pipeline safety and security programs; improving road durability; implementing traffic analysis and forecasting systems; and providing safety training to highway workers, law enforcement personnel and local communities.
Rutgers broke ground for the $4.3 million facility in 2004. It is located on the university’s Busch campus, next to the Engineering Buildings.
“This modern facility will help us address the needs of New Jersey’s aging transportation infrastructure to handle population growth and serve as an international gateway for goods and people,” said Ali Maher, CAIT director and chair of civil and environmental engineering. “It puts our existing programs under one roof so our staff can work together more effectively and provides space to undertake new safety, security and efficiency initiatives.”
Established in 1998, CAIT is a Tier I national university transportation center – one of 10 in the country. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, with additional support from the Federal Highway Administration and the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The center conducts between $4 million and $6 million in research annually. CAIT also conducts joint research and education programs with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, part of the university’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
Major programs to be housed in the new CAIT building include:
The Rutgers Asphalt Pavement Resource Center, helping NJDOT and the asphalt industry develop pavements that increase safety and durability at lower costs. A lab in the new building will study soil foundations for roadbeds. An asphalt blending and stress-testing lab will continue to operate at its current site on the Livingston campus.
The Maritime Infrastructure Engineering Program, collaborating with New Jersey Maritime Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop environmentally sensitive ways to dredge pollutant-laden sediments from shipping channels. It also studies harbor management, freight movement in and out of harbors and ways to increase freight capacity at existing facilities.
The Pipeline Safety and Security Program, studying pipeline material performance, damage protection and inspection technologies. It is also developing safety and security training for pipeline company owners and operators.
The Local Technical Assistance Program, providing New Jersey towns with the latest concepts in transportation technology, tools and methods to help solve congestion, make repairs quickly and efficiently, and keep roadways safe and secure.
The Rutgers Intelligent Transportation Systems Program, using modeling and simulation technology to forecast and analyze traffic movement and plan the most effective facilities to handle projected needs.
The Transportation Safety Resource Center, offering crash data analysis, traffic engineering services and safety education to local governments.
The new building also has guest offices for its governing partners and a 100-seat auditorium for classes, meetings and School of Engineering student recruiting events.
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