ARTBA Foundation Launches New Safety Center
WASHINGTON) – The jobsite safety of the men and women who build and maintain America’s transportation infrastructure—as well as that of those who travel through our work zones—has been a top priority for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) since its founding in 1902.
The ARTBA Foundation is taking that commitment to the next level with the launch of a new “Transportation Construction Safety Center” found at www.artbasafetycenter.org.
“Safety has always been a core ARTBA competency,” says ARTBA Chairman Matt Cummings, an AECOM executive vice president. “The safety center is the online gateway to help industry professionals take advantage of the many programs and services that are aimed at improving safety for workers and motorists in roadway work zones.” Cummings, who was elected chairman last month, has made safety issues a critical piece of his agenda for the year ahead.
The Center features unique and wide-ranging safety program and services, including:
- Policy development and legislative & regulatory engagement at the federal and state levels;
- Operation of the industry’s only internationally-recognized professional certification program—“Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals™” opened for exams in October 2016;
- Development and operation of an Online Learning Management System that offers safety training and professional development hours (PDHs)
24-7; - Development and execution of federally-supported training programs and materials targeted to transportation construction workers;
- Operation of the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse (www.workzonesafety.org), the world’s largest repository of information on the topic;
- Leadership in national safety coalitions and organizations;
- National awards programs to recognize and promote safety excellence; and
- A scholarship program to help children of highway workers killed or permanently disabled on the job pay for their post-high school education.
In the past two decades, these activities have resulted in difference-making accomplishments like:
- Federal laws requiring the collection and analysis of roadway construction safety data, support for the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse and development of a driver’s education module to help first-time motorists safely navigate road construction zones;
- Responding to over 2 million requests for safety information;
- Providing safety training to over 100,000 workers;
- Development of over 40 safety training courses and more than 25 technical guidance publications;
- Conducting 20 national or international safety conferences and workshops; and
- Providing more than $400,000 in scholarships.
Cummings said a special 16-page publication providing an overview of the center is being sent later this month to nearly 10,000 industry professionals.
Established in 1985, the ARTBA Foundation is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt entity designed to “promote research, education and public awareness” about the impacts of transportation investment. The Foundation supports an array of initiatives, including educational scholarships, awards, professional development academies, a transportation project safety certification program, roadway work zone safety and training, special economic reports and an exhibition on transportation at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
