10.5 Job-Site Pre-Planning, Traffic Control & Field Work Safety

10.5 Job-Site Pre-Planning, Traffic Control & Field Work Safety

The Collection Systems needs-to-know lists Job Site Pre-Planning and Basic Traffic Control as separate required topics, ahead of the technical maintenance subjects. That ordering is deliberate: a crew that plans the job and controls the traffic goes home.

---

1. Pre-planning the job

Before leaving the yard, the crew leader confirms:

1. Scope and work order — what is being done, where, and what "done" looks like.
2. Records review — maps, as-builts, prior CCTV, valve and manhole records, depth and material of the line.
3. Utility locates — an NC811 ticket placed and marks confirmed on the ground, positive response received.
4. Access — easement condition, gates and keys, property owner notification, whether equipment will physically fit.
5. Equipment and materials — including the fittings and couplings that match what is actually in the ground, not what the map says.
6. Hazards — confined space entry permits and gas monitors, excavation protective systems and a competent person, overhead lines, traffic exposure, weather.
7. Notifications — affected customers, the fire department for any water shutdown or hydrant out of service, police for lane closures, and the DEQ regional office if a discharge is possible.
8. Restoration and close-out plan — backfill, pavement, seeding, and who returns to inspect.

---

2. Utility locating and marking colors

North Carolina's underground damage prevention law requires notifying NC811 before excavating. Marks follow the APWA uniform color code:

Marks are a guide, not a guarantee: excavate carefully within the tolerance zone, hand dig or vacuum excavate to expose the facility, and stop and re-notify if marks are missing, unclear, or destroyed.

---

3. Work zone traffic control

A temporary traffic control zone under the MUTCD has five parts:

  [ ADVANCE WARNING AREA ] -> [ TRANSITION AREA ] -> [ BUFFER SPACE ]
        signs ahead              taper with cones       empty space, no workers
                          -> [ WORK SPACE ] -> [ TERMINATION AREA ]
                               crew + equipment         end road work sign

• Advance warning distance and sign spacing increase with road speed.
• Taper length is calculated from speed and lane width; a too-short taper is the most common setup error.
• Buffer space is left empty — it is the margin that absorbs a driver's mistake before it reaches a worker.
• Devices: cones, drums, signs, arrow boards, portable changeable message signs, and barricades, all retroreflective and stable in wind.
• Flaggers must be trained, use a STOP/SLOW paddle, stand where they are visible and have an escape route, and never turn their back to traffic.
• Night work requires additional lighting and higher-visibility devices, and lighting must not blind approaching drivers.

High-visibility apparel meeting ANSI/ISEA 107 is required for anyone exposed to vehicle traffic — Class 2 for most utility street work, Class 3 for high-speed roadways and night work.

---

4. Vehicle and equipment safety

• Backing kills utility workers every year. Use a spotter, agree on hand signals, and never position yourself between a backing vehicle and a fixed object.
• Pre-trip inspection of the truck, jet reel, vacuum system, hoist, and safety devices.
• Load securement of pipe, plates, pumps, and shoring — an unsecured trench plate is lethal.
• Overhead clearance for dump beds, jet reels, boom trucks, and vactor booms near power lines; maintain the required minimum approach distance and treat every line as energized.
• Hoists and lifting — rated slings and shackles, inspected, with no one under a suspended load.

---

5. Working around the public

• Identify yourself. Marked vehicles, uniforms, and photo identification — and encourage customers to verify identity.
• Communicate. Tell residents what is happening, how long, and what to expect (discolored water after flushing, temporary odor after smoke testing, driveway access limits).
• Protect the public from open excavations, open manholes, and hoses across sidewalks — an open manhole is never left unattended, even for a moment.
• Notify before smoke testing — residents and the fire department — because smoke entering a home alarms people and indicates a plumbing defect that needs explaining.

---

6. Close-out

Restore the site: backfill and compact, replace pavement or gravel, re-seed disturbed ground, and remove all debris. Account for every tool, plate, cone, and sign — a plate left over an excavation and forgotten is a liability that outlives the job. Document what was done, what was found, and what still needs attention, and update the map and asset records. Remove traffic control in the reverse order it was set, from the downstream end back, so workers are never exposed to unprotected traffic.

[!WARNING] Confined space and excavation rules do not relax for short jobs. "We were only going to be in there a minute" is the most common sentence in a utility fatality investigation. If the hole is five feet deep, it needs a protective system; if the space is a manhole, it needs testing, ventilation, an attendant, and a permit.