Traffic Management Plans for your Workplace: Why you Need One

Any worksite with moving vehicles and pedestrians needs a traffic management plan to ensure workers, visitors, and pedestrians’ safety. This doesn’t just mean large-scale construction traffic management plans or strategies for circumstances where you may be looking to take a project to the next level. It also includes any site works that may impact traffic and pedestrians, which could be something as simple as upgrading a footpath outside of a corner store. It can also include indoor environments with moving vehicles and machines or workers and visitors; like instances where you may require a warehouse traffic management plan template. So if you are going to be conducting any site work at your location that has the potential to cause a collision between a vehicle, pedestrian, mobile plant equipment and/or physical objects – like barriers or buildings – you’ll need one of these plans in place.

What is traffic control management?

This does vary from state to state, but in most instances, you are required to present this documentation to your relevant council if you are planning any work onsite that may impact any form of roads or footpaths. Basically, if it’s going to influence the traffic flow of any thoroughfare in your surroundings – be it by use of vehicles, mobile plants or pedestrians – then you’ll need to create a strategy that’s considered compliant and able to obtain approval from the council. These traffic control management plans should also include site maps that outline any changes to traffic and pedestrian conditions. Be it detours, closures, new entrances and exit points for working vehicles, or even signage, barriers and temporary pathing – all of this needs to be clearly outlined and put forward.

What is the purpose of these strategies?

These plans are crucial to keeping everybody safe when there is a risk of a collision that could cause harm because of changed conditions. While they’re not only in existence to outline these types of threats, they’re also there to state what’s in place to mitigate them from the get-go.

What can you do to control these risks?

There are many ways you can mitigate these hazards in your traffic management plan, including:

• closing off roads and paths;
• creating detours to prevent vehicles work machinery and pedestrians coming into contact with each other; and
• signage to direct people and traffic overall.

These plans will also limit vehicle movements and speed, outline temporary parking and loading zones, and limit larger vehicles’ need to reverse around the vicinity. In the end, your tailored strategy should provide plenty of space for drivers to navigate vehicles of all sizes and forms onsite safely.

How do I write a traffic management plan?

This is not something that we recommend you try tackling by yourself, not in most instances. Plans presented to the council need to be put together by a professional consultant or company that is compliant with Code of Practice Worksite Safety – Traffic Management (like us). You can work in consultation with these companies (hello!) to provide all of the details required to effectively and thoroughly put the strategy together. Still, as a DIY option, this isn’t necessarily compliant, nor professional. The Traffic Plans Company can work with you to assemble tailored documentation like this for all projects – be it large and small. We’re also here to assist with all permits and approvals so you can get on with the job. Oh, and we love a challenge.

The Traffic Plans Company specialise in quality traffic management plans and planning around Melbourne and other areas of Australia.