Roll-Up Construction Signs

MUTCD Standard:
The needs and control of all road users (motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians within the highway, including persons with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Title II, Paragragh 35.130) through a TTC (temporary traffic control) zone shall be an essential part of highway construction, utility work, maintenance operations, and the management of traffic incidents.
CONSTRUCTION signs are orange diamonds specifically used only to WARN drivers about construction and work zone activity.
Quick to set up and highly visible, roll-up signs provide temporary warning along roads, danger areas, and construction sites. Easy to take down and roll up for compact storage and portability.
Constructed of lightweight, flexible fabric, these safety-orange signs have contrasting black messages and symbols from the Standard Highway Signs Manual, as specified in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). They provide temporary warnings of roadway changes and hazards ahead.
These diamond shaped signs are available each in 36" x 36" or 48" x 48" in three fabrics:
• Non-Reflective Mesh is PVC extruded over polyster strands, ideal for daytime applications.
• Fluorescent Vinyl is non-reflective fabric-reinforced, UV stable vinyl with bright fluorescence for daytime use only.
• Reflective Vinyl is high-intesity, retro-reflective sheeting bonded to vinyl-coated, fiber-reinforced nylon fabric, ideal for attention-getting and low-light conditions.
For these and other available traffic, roadside workzone devices, and all of your hi-visibility needs, visit hivissupply.com.

School Crossing Guards

Safety is an important issue for everyone, but an often overlooked occupation where workers put their lives on the line every day - well, one every school day - is the often un-noticed, and under-appreciated, school crossing guard.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines a crossing guard as someone who directs traffic (both pedestrian and vehicular) on streets, at schools, and at railroad crossings and construction sites. In 2007, there were an estimated 70,000 school crossing guards employed nationally, and in the years between 1993 to 2006, there were 97 school crossing guard fatalities, or almost 7 a year. This may not seem like a lot of deaths, but these men and women put their lives on the line each day to keep our children safe.

Additionally, the state of Florida reports that in 2006, 39% of all 16 and under pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 and 7 pm. Of the 516 fatalities, 104, or (20%) were pedestrians - usually children. In an effort to lower these numbers, the state trains crossing guards to:
• Use proper crossing techniques consistently
• Encourage patterns of proper crossing behavior by students
• Deter students from committing unsafe/unlawful acts
• Recognize and report hazardous conditions
• Take proper actions in an emergency
• Know their responsibilities and limitations of authority
• Exhibit professionalism and instill confidence
• Earn students’ respect

In a New Jersey report, other factors attributing to motor-vehicle related injuries include among school crossing guards include:
• Unsafe driving
• Parents rushing to and through the school zone
• Distracted driving including cell phones, eating, drinking and smoking

As parents, let's respect school crossing guards, the men and women who serve our children every day and make sure they get to cross the street safely. As drivers, let's start paying attention to school zones, and wait to send that text message, or wait to eat the fast food when we get home.

For more information checkout this pdf from the state of New Jersey
Or this pdf from the state of Florida

At HiVis Supply, we are proud to resell high visibility apparel including incident command vests, safety vests, and traffic vests, as well as traffic safety accessories and ANSI compliant vests for crossing guards, pedestrian crossing and speed limit signs.

The Basics of Surveying

Surveying is defined as the art, science, and technology of detecting the relative position of points at, above, or below the surface of the earth; or establishing such points. Ultimately, a surveyor determines land boundaries. They also determine boundaries of roads to be built, help make sure skyscrapers are being erected vertically and measure airports so that the runways are perfectly aligned and smooth. Land surveying is commonly, and comically, referred to as the world's second-oldest profession.
Surveyors also map:
- topography of land for engineering design
- establish elevations of home sites for flood insurance
- perform title surveys for real estate transactions
- certify that structures are built according to design
- lay out buildings and subdivisions
- map river bottoms for dredging
- lay out photo control for aerial photography and photogrammetry
- write legal descriptions to describe pieces of property
- map and layout corridors for tunnels, roads, airports, pipelines, cellular networks and railroads
Being a surveyor means having a full understanding of the inexactness, uncertainty, and variable nature of measurement. This creates the professional attitude needed to constantly seek new evidence, and consequently a higher probability of approaching the truth or proving something with confidence. As an analyst of both measurement data and boundary location evidence, the surveyor is in a position to develop a keen sensitivity to the importance of finding and applying the truth.


For more information used in this article and downloadable pdf's:
Oregon DOT/Geometronics pdf
Ferris Basics of Surveying pdf
Harrelson Basics of Surveying pdf
Surveying Equipment pdf

HiVis Supply is a reseller of high visibility apparel including: ANSI approved clothing, safety vests, traffic vests, incident command vests, specialty vests, survey vests, high visibility t-shirts, high visibility jackets, sweatshirts, coats, windbreakers and rainwear.

Coal Mining Most Frequently Cited Standard of 2010

The accumulation of combustible materials in coal mines leads all violations in the last 90 days with 2,197 violations, or 11.52% of all violations.

From the Mine Safety and Health Administration, www.msha.gov, 30 CFR § 75.400:
Coal dust, including float coal dust deposited on rock-dusted surfaces, loose coal, and other combustible materials, shall be cleaned up and not be permitted to accumulate in active workings, or on diesel- powered and electric equipment therein.
[61 FR 55527, Oct. 25, 1996]

For an explosion to occur, there are five necessary elements which must occur simultaneously: fuel, heat, oxygen, suspension, and confinement. These form the five sides of the Explosion Pentagon. Like the fire triangle, removing any one of these requirements would prevent an explosion from propagating. For example, if fuel, heat, oxygen, and confinement occurred together in proper quantities, an explosion would still not be possible without the suspension of the fuel. However, in this case, a fire could occur. If the burning fuel were then placed in suspension by a sudden blast of air, all five sides of the explosion pentagon would be satisfied and an explosion would be imminent.

HiVis Supply www.hivissupply.com is proud to offer high visibility apparel for a variety of job duties like roadside construction, manufacturing and mining. We offer great savings and product selection for helping you maintain a safe and OSHA/ANSI compliant work environment.

Personal Safety Lites

Personal Safety Lites are perfect for a multitude of applications. Parents, use these lights to draw attention to children by wearing an armband or attaching directly to book bags, jackets, belts, bicycles or scooters. And adults can increase their visibility when walking, jogging or bicycling during low light or dark conditions.

Safety on the jobsite for construction workers and road crews, traffic control personnel, or for anyone who needs to be seen in low light or no light conditions is always an important issue. Personal Safety Lites are visible for a distance of approximately ½ mile, and over a mile in the right conditions.

Polycarbonate lenses are not scratch-resistant but are very difficult to break and will not shatter. The housing assembly is also made of a durable polymer to withstand damage.

LED’s have:
- Extended lifetime - most rated to 100,000 hours
- Energy savings in many applications
- Reduced heat output
- Brighter, more intense colors

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard maintains that LED lights cannot be used in place of chemical flares for broken down vehicles, however, they can be used as supplemental warning devices “in addition to...the required warning devices*, provided those warning devices do not decrease the effectiveness of the required warning devices.” Required warning devices include three bi-directional emergency reflective triangles that conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 125, §571.125; or at least 6 fusees or 3 liquid burning-flares.

Personal Safety Lites can be attached to oversize loads or when used in traffic control applications. Construction companies and DOT flaggers use these lights in various applications and other environments requiring a highly visible signaling device.

Incident Command

The Incident Command System was originally established in California in response to natural disasters, and the complications of several agencies trying to cooperate to effectively cope with these disasters and save lives. A unified Incident Command eliminated structural and communication problems associated with agency cooperation during a national crisis.
Concepts of Incident Command include:
- Unity of Command
- Universal Terminology
- Management by Objective
- Flexible and Modular Organization
- Span-of-Control
Concepts were then integrated into the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in 2003.

NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all jurisdictional levels and across functional disciplines. It is intended to:
- Be applicable across a full spectrum of potential incidents, hazards, and impacts, regardless of size, location or complexity
- Improve coordination and cooperation between public and private entities in a variety of incident management activities
- Provide a common standard for overall incident management
FEMA's NIMS Resource center details a:
- Five-Year NIMS Training Plan
- NRF Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC)
- NIMS Courses

Road Construction Across the Nation

ARRA By The Numbers

As of January 7, 2010:
- 1,125 bridges had been improved, replace or newly constructed
- 21,400 miles of pavement were either improved, resurfaced or widened
- 1,700 miles of safety traffic management projects were implemented
- Over 630 miles of bike lanes, sidewalks or environmental mitigation projects underway
- 7,450 buses have been purchased and 1,637 bus shelters constructed
Real People Are Working Real Jobs
- 280,000 direct, on-project jobs have been created or sustained across the country
- Total employment from these projects, which includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs, reaches almost 890,000 jobs.
Visit the Projects and Paychecks website.


Workzone Fatalities - Click image for downloadable pdf.

Secretary LaHood Announces Funding for Over 50 Innovative, Strategic Transportation Projects through Landmark Competitive TIGER Program

One year to the day after President Obama signed the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will announce Recovery Act awards to states, tribal governments, cities, counties and transit agencies across the country to fund 51 innovative transportation projects. The U.S. Department of Transportation required rigorous economic justifications for projects more than $100 million and will require all recipients to report on their activities on a routine basis.

ASTM Standard Covers Sustainable Use of Recycled Asphalt Pavement

Developed by Subcommittee D18.14 on Geotechnics of Sustainable Construction, proposed standard ASTM WK26824 is an important step in guiding federal, state, and local highway agencies, contractors, material suppliers, and consultants on sustainable use of recycled asphalt pavement. According to Haifang Wen, Ph.D., use of recycled materials reduces need for virgin materials and disposal of existing materials and can protect the environment, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.Click the image to go to the ASTM website.