ATSSA Town Hall: Build America, Buy America, an FHWA Update on Feb. 21
Virtual Town Hall will present new insights on Build America, Buy America with commentary from a member of the FHWA…
‘Creating a Safety Culture’ webinar set for Sept. 13
Avoiding workplace injuries isn’t just good for your team, it’s good for the bottom line. But how do you get everyone—at every level—enthused and attentive to the task? Join ATSSA’s free webinar on “Creating a Safety Culture” on Sept. 13 to gain insights for implementing a culture shift. Speaker Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, will discuss how to blend industry best practices and behavioral psychology to support behavior change. Prior to starting SALT, Kelly directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, which is dedicated to supporting municipalities and businesses in the adoption of evidence-based road safety programming. Registration is now open for this safety culture strategy session. This is the fourth of five Worker Safety Webinars hosted by ATSSA’s Training Department and the Roadway Worker Protection Council. Avoiding workplace injuries isn’t just good for your team, it’s good for the bottom line. But how do you get everyone—at every level—enthused and attentive to the task? Join ATSSA’s free webinar on “Creating a Safety Culture” on Sept. 13 to gain insights for implementing a culture shift. Speaker Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, will discuss how to blend industry best practices and behavioral psychology to support behavior change. Prior to starting SALT, Kelly directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, which is dedicated to supporting municipalities and businesses in the adoption of evidence-based road safety programming. Registration is now open for this safety culture strategy session. This is the fourth of five Worker Safety Webinars hosted by ATSSA’s Training Department and the Roadway Worker Protection Council, both of which prioritize worker safety. The final webinar will be held Dec. 6. Recordings of all webinars are available for viewing. Road Safety 101 Nov. 9, 2021 – This webinar provided an overview of current safety trends, technology and innovations changing the road safety world. Participants heard what is happening in the larger transportation industry ex. autonomous vehicles, Vision Zero programming, micromobility to inform scope and identify partnership opportunities. Watch the recording. Effective Incident Response March 2, 2022 – This webinar provided proactive ways to prepare for incident response, integrating critical safety planning into operations for effective and efficient management in stressful situations. The webinar walks through what to do, but also addresses how and why to do it effectively. Watch the recording and download the PowerPoint slides and Effective Incident Response checklist. Safety Supports June 7, 2022 – While no one wants to plan for a safety incident, it can and will happen. Learn how to support your team effectively and move through the process with grace and tact. Watch the recording. Coming Dec. 6, 2022 – Sharing Safety: Marketing and Partnerships to Create Safer Streets. Participants will learn how to tell compelling stories about the work they are doing and leverage partnerships to increase awareness of roadway workers and projects. Registration link to come. The Roadway Worker Protection Council evolved from a Roadway Worker Protection Summit held at ATSSA’s 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo. The Council’s first formal meeting was held during this year’s Convention & Traffic Expo in February. Register now for the free Sept. 13 webinar. All webinars start at 2 p.m. ET and run for one hour.
Limit your risk in contracts with help from new ATSSA group
The overreaching contractual obligation to assume responsibility for another party beyond the extent of your own negligence or willful misconduct is unreasonable and a clear and present danger to the roadway safety infrastructure industry. Michael Capell of Brown & Brown recently listened while an ATSSA member shared an experience, recounting the unsettling details of a lawsuit that altogether changed his approach to every project. For this member, had it not been for a negotiated settlement in exchange for a full release, a jury award would have easily exceeded the company’s available limits of liability insurance and forced a sell-off of corporate assets. The hard-to-swallow reality of the matter was that his involvement was simply a consequence of a far-reaching contractual obligation. The business survived, with the experience serving as an endless reminder to never again roll over for blanket contractual risk shifting. This member now fires back, many times successfully negotiating a narrowed responsibility that is fairly and appropriately aligned with his company’s presence on a project, something previously thought unachievable. These circumstances are all too familiar and place high priority for the continued drive for awareness and education of the issues, contract review protocols and a push for legislative changes. A new group of ATSSA members and volunteers has formed to assist members and will be presenting a webinar on Nov. 8 and a panel at the 2023 Convention & Traffic Expo in Phoenix. By Michael Capell, Brown & Brown The overreaching contractual obligation to assume responsibility for another party beyond the extent of your own negligence or willful misconduct is unreasonable and a clear and present danger to the roadway safety infrastructure industry. I recently listened while an ATSSA member shared an experience, recounting the unsettling details of a lawsuit that altogether changed his approach to every project. For this member, had it not been for a negotiated settlement in exchange for a full release, a jury award would have easily exceeded the company’s available limits of liability insurance and forced a sell-off of corporate assets. The hard-to-swallow reality of the matter was that his involvement was simply a consequence of a far-reaching contractual obligation. The business survived, with the experience serving as an endless reminder to never again roll over for blanket contractual risk shifting. This member now fires back, many times successfully negotiating a narrowed responsibility that is fairly and appropriately aligned with his company’s presence on a project, something previously thought unachievable. These circumstances are all too familiar and place high priority for the continued drive for awareness and education of the issues, contract review protocols and a push for legislative changes. ATSSA’s 2023 Convention & Traffic Expo in Phoenix will include a panel-style education session targeting awareness, instruction and a path for solutions to the issue. Before then, the Association will run a series of blogs and hold a Nov. 8 webinar on the topic. The Nov. 8 webinar, “Leveling the playing field for contractual liability,” will be held at 2 p.m. ET and is free for ATSSA members. It will include a panel discussion including folks from the insurance, legal and roadway safety fields including Doug Dolinar and Mary Beth Applegate of Guidemark Inc., Whitney Remmes of RoadSafe Traffic Systems Inc., Greg Stefan of Arch Insurance, Todd Welch of Charter Partners and me. Registration is now open. For members new to contract review protocol, the process is an evaluation impacting your final decision for action on a contract. To evaluate, we must have criteria. Here the issues are lopsided contractual provisions favoring the drafter—typically, the general contractor—through excessively burdensome obligations imposed on the subcontractor. From the standpoint of the issues at hand, we center on additional insured, indemnification, waiver of subrogation and scope of work. We will define the language, provide clarity on how it can impact you and offer suggestions for improving your position. In addition to helping reduce exposure to costly claims, these improvements can increase the availability of insurance to you and influence the cost and structure of your specific liability insuring program. A change in the law in states that currently do not have anti-indemnification statutes, or that carry only partial application, holds potential to improve the overall insurance marketplace environment for the roadway safety infrastructure industry. Our goal in these blogs and the webinar is to lay the framework for an energized and impactful panel session in Phoenix. The panel session will provide an opportunity for you to ask questions and offer details on how to protect your business from the contractually assumed risks that are more appropriately left in the hands of the general contractor or upstream parties. This issue is critically important for this industry and our goal is the security and profitability of ATSSA members. Register now for the Nov. 8 webinar, watch for the next blog in September and get ready for the education session in Phoenix at ATSSA’s 53rd Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, Feb. 17-21. Michael Capell serves as vice president of commercial practice with Brown & Brown, an insurance brokerage in Bethlehem, Pa. NOTE: Information provided here is not legal advice. Rather, all information, content and references are for general informational purposes only.
‘Safety Supports’ webinar set for June 7
Every organization wants to avoid worker injuries but ignoring the possibility is an unwise approach. ATSSA’s Training Department and the Roadway Worker Protection Council present the third of five Worker Safety Webinars on June 7 at 2 p.m. The June webinar covers “safety supports,” which addresses how to assist your team effectively after a workplace incident. Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, leads each of the Worker Safety Webinars, all of which are free for members and held from 2-3 p.m. E.T. Prior to starting SALT, Kelly directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, which is dedicated to supporting municipalities and businesses in the adoption of evidence-based road safety programming. “Since 2021, ATSSA and its members have expanded their emphasis on roadway worker safety by forming the Roadway Worker Protection Council and taking coordinated steps to be proactive in protecting workers and being prepared in case tragedy strikes,” said ATSSA Vice President of Education and Technical Services Donna Clark. “This Worker Safety Webinar series is one way we are helping our members be prepared in case an incident occurs.” Every organization wants to avoid worker injuries but ignoring the possibility is an unwise approach. ATSSA’s Training Department and the Roadway Worker Protection Council present the third of five Worker Safety Webinars on June 7 at 2 p.m. The June webinar covers “Safety Supports,” which addresses how to assist your team effectively after a workplace incident. Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, leads each of the Worker Safety Webinars, all of which are free for members and held from 2-3 p.m. E.T. Prior to starting SALT, Kelly directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, which is dedicated to supporting municipalities and businesses in the adoption of evidence-based road safety programming. “Since 2021, ATSSA and its members have expanded their emphasis on roadway worker safety by forming the Roadway Worker Protection Council and taking coordinated steps to be proactive in protecting workers and being prepared in case tragedy strikes,” said ATSSA Vice President of Education and Technical Services Donna Clark. “This Worker Safety Webinar series is one way we are helping our members be prepared in case an incident occurs.” All webinars are recorded. Recordings of the first two sessions—Road Safety 101 and Effective Incident Response—are available now. The other remaining webinars this year include: Sept. 13 – Creating a Safety Culture: Learn how to create a strong safety culture within your organization. Find out how to blend industry best practices and behavioral psychology to support behavior change within your organization. Dec. 6 – Sharing Safety: Marketing and Partnerships to Create Safer Streets: Participants will learn how to tell compelling stories about the work they are doing and leverage partnerships to increase awareness of roadway workers and roadway projects. Registration is now open for the June 7 webinar on “Safety Supports."
Prepare now for effective incident response
Preparing for an incident that may never happen could seem like a poor use of resources. But, if a serious injury or death takes place on the job, the investment will have been well worth it, Alex Kelly, CEO of Salt + Company, said today during a Worker Safety Webinar. Today’s webinar, “Effective Incident Response,” covered the basics of how to prepare and important resources to have at hand in case a worker is seriously injured or killed on the job. This was the second of five free Worker Safety Webinars hosted by the ATSSA Training Department and its Roadway Worker Protection Council. The first webinar, “Road Safety 101,” was held Nov. 9. All webinars are free and run from 2-3 p.m. ET. Preparing for an incident that may never happen could seem like a poor use of resources. But, if a serious injury or death takes place on the job, the investment will have been well worth it, Alex Kelly, CEO of Salt + Company, said today during a Worker Safety Webinar. She opened with a quote she attributed to Bob Fields, manager of Emergency Services in Santa Clara County, Calif. “The only thing tougher than planning for a disaster is explaining why you didn’t.” Today’s webinar, “Effective Incident Response,” covered the basics of how to prepare and important resources to have at hand in case a worker is seriously injured or killed on the job. This was the second of five free Worker Safety Webinars hosted by the ATSSA Training Department and its Roadway Worker Protection Council. The first webinar, “Road Safety 101,” was held Nov. 9. All webinars are free and run from 2-3 p.m. ET. Upcoming webinars include: June 7 – Safety Supports Sept. 13 – Creating a Safety Culture Dec. 6 – Sharing Safety. Recordings of the Worker Safety Webinar Series are available for anyone who was unable to attend the live event or wishes to watch again. The Nov. 9 webinar is now available. Today’s webinar should be available within a week, Pamala Bouchard, ATSSA’s director of Member Engagement said. Before starting to share information, Kelly, who has a master’s degree in public health and directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, cautioned that some people may find the discussion difficult, especially if they have lost a worker to a roadway incident. She encouraged them to come back and listen to the recording if they reach a point where they need to step away. Grief varies for each individual, including the time and duration, she noted. While her discussion focused on the roadway workplace, she noted that major incidents that employees suffer outside of work can have an impact within the workplace. Kelly provided a PowerPoint presentation with lists of information such as what to do, what to say, how to handle media requests and the importance of debriefing, often multiple times about different issues. She explained that the best time to come up with a plan is while everyone is calm and can collaborate on scenarios and solutions rather than under the stress of an incident when the physiology that comes with such experiences can interfere with effective decision-making. Dealing with it now means the plan will be created in an organized, systematic way, Kelly said. She also noted that a written response plan is useful when discussing how things went and assessing ways to improve—all part of a debrief. She also explained that creating the response plan is not “a one and done project” but requires periodic reviews to update it for things such as staffing changes and policy or regulatory updates. Those reviews also serve to mitigate risks, she added. She provided a government-produced chart that shows the tasks of each group from start to finish of an incident but noted that for companies or public agencies, the effects don’t end when the incident is over. She said that preparing for an incident includes answering the following: How would you respond? How would you protect your employees? How would you help them recover from emotional trauma, the deaths of co-workers or injuries? How would you help your employees get back on track? How would you take care of yourself? She noted that risk is everywhere and that roadway workers are especially vulnerable. She listed the following five points to preparing a plan. Create a safety committee that includes representatives from all areas. Create a response plan. Identify the right people for each role such as communications, technical, staff training. Revisit the plan regularly. Mitigate risks throughout plan development. She then shared bulleted lists for what to do, what to say and what’s needed. She ended by emphasizing that people overseeing the incident response must not forget to take care of their own needs brought on by the stress of their role.
‘Effective Incident Response’ webinar set for March 22
Prepare for effective incident response by attending the free March 22 Worker Safety Webinar hosted by the ATSSA Training Department and its Roadway Worker Protection Council. This is the second in a series of five webinars, all of which are free and focus on learning ways to protect roadway workers. “The goal of these webinars is to help our members protect their employees and to help prepare them in case a work zone incident occurs,” said ATSSA Vice President of Education and Technical Services Donna Clark. “Obviously, we never want any roadway worker to get injured but we’ve learned it’s better to be prepared and not need the skills than to be unprepared if the worst happens.” Prepare for effective incident response by attending the free March 22 Worker Safety Webinar hosted by the ATSSA Training Department and its Roadway Worker Protection Council. This is the second in a series of five webinars, all of which are free and focus on learning ways to protect roadway workers. “The goal of these webinars is to help our members protect their employees and to help prepare them in case a work zone incident occurs,” said ATSSA Vice President of Education and Technical Services Donna Clark. “Obviously, we never want any roadway worker to get injured but we’ve learned it’s better to be prepared and not need the skills than to be unprepared if the worst happens.” "Effective Incident Response" will be led by Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company. The webinar will help participants prepare for incident response and integrate safety planning into their operations for effective and efficient management in stressful situations. The webinar will walk through what to do and how to do it effectively Kelly, who will lead the entire Worker Safety Webinar series, directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute prior to starting her own firm. Webinars run one hour and start at 2 p.m. ET. Registration is now open. The first webinar, “Road Safety 101,” was held in Nov. 9. A recording is available for anyone who missed it or would like to watch again. Road Safety 101 provides an overview of current safety trends, technology and innovations in roadway safety. It also will include a briefing on what is happening in the larger transportation industry on topics such as autonomous vehicles, Vision Zero programming and micro-mobility. The effort is to address the scope of the issue and identify partnership opportunities. Upcoming webinars include: June 7 – Safety Supports Sept. 13 – Creating a Safety Culture Dec. 6 – Sharing Safety. The Roadway Worker Protection Council evolved from a Roadway Worker Protection Summit held at ATSSA’s 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo. The Council’s first formal meeting was held during this year’s Convention & Traffic Expo in February.