AGC to offer new work zone training program in 2015

roadworksignThe Associated General Contractors of America will put $135,000 in grant money to good use in 2015, using the funds to implement safety training classes on highway work zones.

According to both federal safety data and AGC survey results, work zone crashes are responsible for a high number of injuries among construction workers.

From 2003 to 2010, more than 962 workers were killed at road construction sites. In a survey conducted last spring, the AGC found that 45 percent of contractors experienced work zone crashes on their jobsite in the past year, with workers injured in 20 percent of crashes, and killed in 6 percent of crashes.

The grant funds were awarded from the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, which is given to non-profit organizations by the U.S. Department of Labor to provide education for workers and employers on the recognition, avoidance and prevention of safety and health hazards in the workplace.

The AGC’s safety classes will train participants on how to set up highway work zones properly, as well as cover flagger safety and heavy equipment management.

Scheduled for eight locations beginning in January, AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr, says the training is expected to protect thousands of workers via incorporating best practices that will be used repeatedly. “The best defense from crashes is teaching crews how to set up and operate safer work zones,” he says.