Preliminary Scope

Safety training is an important tool for (1) informing employees about workplace hazards and (2) increasing their awareness of safety controls to remove and/or minimize associated risks. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends specialized training for workers and supervisors when the workplace presents unique hazards. Workplace hazards exist for many employees within state DOT highway construction and maintenance operations, both inside and outside of active work zones. Specialized training programs and knowledge transfer strategies can help increase safety awareness and improve safety performance.

The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practice regarding specialized safety training programs and knowledge transfer.

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

•  Written training requirements;
• Types of specialized safety training programs used;
• Position-specific training requirements;
•  Frequency of training required;
• Method of training delivery;
• In-house-developed or consultant-led safety training programs;
• Practices for keeping safety training programs current and relevant;
• Practices for getting employee feedback on safety training programs;
• Whether safety training programs are agency-wide or district-specific;
• How safety training programs match up with agency-wide risk management and other priorities;
• Collection of safety data (e.g., agency level, district level); and
• Tracking training around near misses.

Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

Information Sources (Partial)

• Ammar, A., and Dadi, G.B. (2023). “Specialized Safety Training and Tracking for Highway Construction and Maintenance Personnel.” International Conference on Transportation & Development, American Society of Civil Engineers, Austin, TX. June 14-17, 2023.
•  Dadi, G.B., Ammar, A., Atkins, S., and Horseman, M. (2022). “Specialized Safety Training and Tracking for KYTC Construction and Maintenance Personnel.” Research Report KTC-22-18/SPR21-608-1F. Kentucky Transportation Center, Lexington, KY.
•  Jazayeri, E., Liu, H., and Dadi, G.B. (2018). “Modeling a Safety Training and Competence Model for Construction Craft Professionals.” 2018 Construction Research Congress (CRC). New Orleans, LA. April 2-5, 2018.
• Mullen, J. (2004). “Investigating factors that influence individual safety behavior at work.” Journal of Safety Research, 35(3), 275-285
• Namian, M., Albert, A., Zuluaga, C. M., and Jaselskis, E. J. (2016). “Improving Hazard-Recognition Performance and Safety Training Outcomes: Integrating Strategies for Training Transfer.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 142(10):04016048. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001160
• Wang, Y., Goodrum, P. M., Haas, C. T., and Glover, R. W. (2008). “Craft Training Issues in American Industrial and Commercial Construction.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 134(10), 795-803.

TRB Staff
Jo Allen Gause
Phone: 202-334-3826
Email: jagause@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: September 19, 2024 (Virtual meeting)
Teleconference with Consultant: TBD
Second Panel Meeting: TBD