Work Zone Safety Training to be presented in April

On April 1, NEPPA will host a special one-day training program on work zone safety for members at the Chocksett Inn in Sterling, MA. The program will be presented by staff from The New England Consortium for Health and Safety Training, a professional organization based at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, formed to provide specialized training programs for police officers, public works officials and other municipal employees in Massachusetts.

The program will provide an overview of how public employees work in various roadway work zone locations and applications, and overall personal protection procedures. Attendees will learn the importance of work zone safety training through the analysis of national and state injury/fatality data for work zones, confined spaces, construction sites and the OSHA "Focus Four:" Falls, Electrical Contact, Struck by, and Caught in between. Attendees will learn how to develop formal traffic control plans for work zones, and will review the types of personal protective equipment required for working safely in work zones, along with specifications for high-visibility clothing, hearing protection, hardhats, etc.

While the program is based on Massachusetts regulations and guidelines, NEPPA members from other states are invited to participate and learn the fundamentals of work zone safety. In addition to municipal electric utility employees, police officers and public works officials from NEPPA member communities are invited to participate. Registration forms and program details will be forwarded to all NEPPA members shortly, and will be posted on the NEPPA website.