Developing a Pre-Task Safety Briefing Tool for Kentucky Maintenance Personnel

The dangerous work environment in the construction industry and the inherent high risks associated with its work make it the focus of safety training and regulations. Highway construction and maintenance has unique hazards but seemingly less directly applicable safety standards, regulations, and programs. Department of Transportation (DOT) employees working in highway maintenance are exposed to a variety of unique hazards specifically associated with their work and not relating to the adjacent traffic. Highway site safety does not receive sufficient attention in terms of safety research and programs. As part of the efforts of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to improve safety for their employees, this paper describes the data-driven design of a pre-task safety briefing tool. By analyzing previous incident data of KYTC maintenance workers and identifying frequent hazards present within their typical work operations and the reasons behind such hazards, the final product of this study is a tool that is relatable and relevant to KYTC maintenance workers. The tool presents these hazards along with the associated reasons and the appropriate safety practices to avoid or mitigate the associated risk. The data analysis of this study highlighted that human factors and ergonomics play a significant role in the injuries related to the subject population, yet there is little guidance or standards for addressing these factors. The goal of this safety tool is to improve the safety performance of KYTC maintenance crews by increasing workers’ safety awareness.