Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

6. Workforce Issues

6.1 General

Everyone required to work on the highway should be aware that they have a responsibility for the safety of themselves and others:-

• They need to be conscious of the special situation in which they are placed. By their acts or omissions whilst at work on a trafficked highway they must not place themselves or others at risk.
•  Whilst concentrating upon the particular task in hand, they should be aware of where they are working and the potential hazards involved.
• Before going on to a highway, they need to record at their base of operations their intended location of work and proposed return time.
• Even though they might be working within the protection of a traffic barrier or line of cones, they need to be aware of the possibility of vehicles intruding into the protected area on occasions at high speed.
• Staff must be kept up-to-date with changes in site layout and traffic management arrangements.

When working within highway limits, all personnel must wear high visibility clothing (see Section 6.6.3). On occasions additional specific personal protective clothing or equipment may be necessary (see Section 6.6).

6.2 Health

6.2.1 Introduction

Accidents cause many unnecessary deaths and injuries in the construction industry. However, many more occupation related deaths and injuries are caused through poor health.

6.2.2 Health Surveillance

The object of routine health surveillance is to supervise the occupational health of employees and to identify, at the earliest possible stage, any adverse effect on employees' health due to work related causes. Early referral to a doctor/medical practitioner can prevent permanent injury to an employee. Health surveillance should not be confused with 'Medical Surveillance' which is conducted directly by a medical practitioner.

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) imposes a duty on every employer to safeguard the health of employees so far as it is reasonably practicable. Health surveillance provides a means of fulfilling one aspect of this duty and is mandatory in the case of employees who are, or are liable to be, exposed to a substance hazardous to health. Specific requirements relating to health surveillance are contained in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 (COSHH) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

The complexity of an appropriate health surveillance system depends on factors such as the work processes involved, the substances used, any known hazards etc. It is necessary to ensure that the system takes into account the introduction of new processes or substances. Where hazards are low there may be no need for regular health checks although the records described below should be kept. Where there is a possibility of an occupational disease with recognisable symptoms, as long as medical advice is quickly accessible to the employee, there is no need to have a doctor on call. Where the hazard possibility is high, then a system of surveillance should be established in liaison with a doctor.

It is good practice to keep basic personnel records for all employees no matter how low the hazards are. For each employee these records should include the following: name, address, place and date of birth, sex, next of kin, National Insurance number, NHS number and a historical record of jobs held classified by job category.

Detailed records should also be kept of:

• Employees whose work subjects them to particular physical stress.
• Employees whose work could affect the safety of the public or of other workers.
• Employees who are exposed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents.

6.2.3 Health Assessments

Nightworkers (i.e. those regularly working between 11pm and 6am) are entitled to free health assessments. These assessments should cover medical conditions which may be affected by night work e.g. diabetes, some cardiovascular or gastrointestinal conditions and sleeping disorders, together with the general standard of physical fitness, hearing and eyesight necessary to undertake traffic management work on motorways and high speed dual carriageways. Some people who have satisfactory unaided vision in daylight do need spectacles or contact lenses to improve their vision during the hours of darkness.

6.3 Competency

It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure personnel engaged on the works are competent. Organisations responsible for implementing temporary traffic management arrangements should be able to provide evidence of competency for any or all elements of their task(s).

6.4 Training

Only adequately trained traffic management operatives who are physically fit and mentally alert should set out signs, cones etc. on a live carriageway.

Where appropriate, traffic management personnel are to be fully trained and accredited in accordance with the relevant traffic management Sector Scheme for Quality Management in Highway Works. Staff with particular roles should complete the appropriate nationally recognised training scheme.

6.5 Working Hours

Working hours are governed by the Working Time Regulations which are statute law.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 limit working hours to 48 per week, including overtime, averaged over a 17 week period. However, working hours can be averaged over a longer period of up to 52 weeks, and workers can elect not to be bound by the limits. Night workers (i.e. those regularly working between 11 pm and 6 am unless specified elsewhere in a written agreement) who are involved in hazardous, heavy or stressful work should not work more than eight hours in any 24 hour period. In many cases, work associated with implementation of temporary traffic management arrangements would also be regarded as hazardous, heavy and stressful.

In addition, workers are entitled to daily and weekly rest periods and paid annual leave. Further information on leave and rest entitlements is available from ACAS.

The cause of safety in any working place will be furthered if those employed do not become tired. Fatigue can be induced by a number of factors including monotony, stress and prolonged working hours for sustained periods.

Some people are more susceptible to the effects of fatigue than others. Fitness, alertness and competence are paramount. The interests of safety must always be foremost and people who clearly cannot cope with a particularly tiring situation should not be required to do so.

Demanding working situations can arise under the lane rental type of contract. These works require a particularly high standard of planning which will itself lead to improved safety on site. For any lane rental contract with an estimated duration of over 14 weeks, consideration should be given to the planning of a rest period towards the estimated mid-point. Additional rest periods should be considered on contracts of much longer duration.

In lane rental contracts with 16 or 24 hour working days, over-long shifts should be avoided bearing in mind that "hand-over" periods will often be necessary. Where 12 hour working days are covered by a single shift, rest days should be allowed. Due regard should also be paid to the amount of travelling time required at the beginning and end of each shift.

There will be occasions when, due to the nature of the works to be undertaken, working prolonged or extended hours is unavoidable. Under such circumstances, managers of the organisation responsible for implementing temporary traffic management arrangements should consider the effect on safety of prolonged working hours having regard to the type of work, the degree of stress involved, and the duration of long shifts.

The particular issues involved in working during hours of darkness are covered in Section 7.

6.6 Personal Protective Equipment including High Visibility Clothing

The use of personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE) should not be considered as an alternative to efforts to reduce or eliminate hazards. On many sites it is possible to minimise exposure to risk by careful selection of plant and material, e.g. by minimising noise at source rather than providing ear defenders.

Even on the safest sites, hazards cannot be totally eliminated, therefore items of PPE will be necessary. High visibility, and when appropriate, weatherproof clothing should be worn at all times. Extra care should be taken when hoods are worn because they can restrict the field of vision.

6.6.1 Selection

When selecting PPE it is important that it is appropriate for the hazard and compatible with other items of equipment. Items selected should conform to relevant standards and bear the appropriate BS EN Number. Consideration of PPE requirements should take place in conjunction with the formulation of the method statement. Suppliers and manufacturers and the British Standards Institution are sources of advice on PPE issues.

6.6.2 Records of Issue

Organisations responsible for implementing temporary traffic management arrangements should maintain a Register of Protective Equipment. When PPE is issued to any person, an entry should be made in the register.

Statute law requires that all PPE is provided free of charge.

6.6.3 High Visibility Clothing

Where work is carried out on or adjacent to a highway open to traffic, high visibility clothing complying with BS EN 471 should be worn by the workforce and the site supervisory staff. Clothing should be to Table 1, Class 2 or 3 (Class 3 on motorways and other high speed roads) and should comply with paragraph 4.2.3(b) of the Standard. In addition, on motorways and other high speed roads, jackets or coveralls with sleeves, which meet the requirements of paragraph 4.2.4 of the Standard, should be worn.

The colour of the clothing should normally be "fluorescent yellow" or "fluorescent orange-red" complying with Table 2 of the Standard. The retroreflective material used should be to Class 2 as defined in Table 5.

The clothing should be clean and in good order at all times.

6.6.4 Foot Protection

Every year, injuries are caused by material falling onto the foot and the majority of these accidents could have been prevented if safety footwear had been worn.

Where a significant risk exists to employees (e.g. falling materials, handling heavy signs or gas bottles), they should be provided with the appropriate safety footwear. As a minimum, the operative will be issued with steel toe capped shoes that should be worn at all times.

6.6.5 Head, Eye and Hearing Protection

Where there is a foreseeable risk of injury to the head, eyes and/or hearing, all persons working on site should, at all times, wear safety helmets, suitable eye protection and/ or ear defenders as appropriate to the task and location (for instance noise levels in live highway tunnels will generally require ear defenders to be worn there). The loss, damage, or destruction of this protective equipment should be reported immediately so that a replacement can be issued.