MITA and many of its members have been involved with the Michigan Work Zone Safety Task Force since its inception at the end of 2018. One of the goals of the task force is to improve work zone safety culture across the state. The attached MDOT Office Memorandum issued by Tony Kratofil, MDOT’s Chief Operation Officer, outlines the Department’s ongoing commitment to encourage safety in work zones.
If you perform MDOT work, you will be asked to participate in Safety Moments on a regular basis. These moments will be your reminder that safety should come first in all aspects of your projects. While many members already conduct their own safety huddles or toolbox/tailgate talks, this official concept will allow MDOT and contractors to discuss project-specific or non-project safety issues in an effort to change our collective culture regarding work zone safety toward one of joint responsibility.
The memorandum provides some suggestions on where to find safety topics for discussion, like the task force’s page on Facebook. MITA feels the best topics come right from your experiences on the job site, but we are also happy to provide additional topics and projection inspections as requested.
We hope you will all work with us to take this small step that will have a huge impact statewide. Let’s make our work zones safer by spreading the message together.
If you have any questions, please contact Rob Coppersmith, VP of Membership Services, at robcoppersmith@thinkmita.org or at 517-347-8336.
